NEWTONVILLE, MA —A new report from Lyra Research analyzing the market for ink jet printers forecasts that worldwide unit volumes of workgroup ink jet printers will rise to 1.2 million units in 2005 from about 680,000 units in 2000, for a CAGR of nearly 13 percent. The report, entitled Ink Jet Printer Market Forecast, acknowledges that while this represents a fairly sizeable growth rate, shipments of workgroup inkjet printers are still relatively small, especially when compared with the personal ink jet segments. Commenting on Lyra's five-year outlook, Larry Jamieson, Senior Consultant, of Lyra Research's Hard Copy Industry Advisory Service, said, "Initially, color-centric users, such as ad agencies, graphics professionals, architects, and CAD users will fuel growth. In the longer term, an increase in color applications among general-office users will also increase growth in this market. While growth to-date has been much slower than vendors had anticipated, continued refinement of products will better address user requirements. For the same reason, corporate users will overcome some of their concerns about ink jet in the office." While there will be more emphasis on color in the future, the study finds that the availability of low-end personal printers and more affordable high-end color lasers will affect demand for workgroup ink jet printers. The report notes that ink jet will become more readily accepted as a business print technology, but the current laser bias that now limits ink jet use in the office will still exist by the end of the forecast period. Commenting on price/performance, Jamieson said, "Lower cost color laser printers will influence market demand and when they hit that key price point, workgroup ink jets will have to be priced lower to remain competitive. The analysis shows that overall average prices will decline to $666 in 2005 from $842 in 2000 with revenue expected to increase 41 percent." In addition to providing worldwide numbers, the report details shipments, revenue, and installed base for all categories of ink jet printers in the United States, Europe, the Pacific Rim, Latin America, and the rest-of-the world. Founded in 1991, Lyra Research, Inc. is recognized worldwide as the leading provider of publications, market information, conferences, and custom research services focused on the imaging industry. Internal group practices at Lyra Research provide imaging industry market research, publications, advisory services, and consulting services to more than 2,000 clients in 40 countries worldwide. Lyra Research is a privately held company with headquarters in Newtonville, MA.