(Weymouth, MA) August 23, 2007 -  The wide format LED market represents a massive portion of total wide format print volume. Market trends that InfoTrends has identified in the past, such as distribute and print, the influence of color, and the trend toward electronic document transfer, continue to have a considerable impact on the market.
InfoTrends expects worldwide shipments of wide format LED hardware to grow from over 42,000 units in 2006 to almost 52,000 units in 2011, for a CAGR of 4.0%. While North America, Western Europe, and Japan represent the largest markets for wide format LED printer and copier hardware, InfoTrends believes that Eastern Europe, India, and China will receive more attention in the coming years as architectural and engineering projects are increasingly outsourced to less expensive design centers.
Low-end units, which account for half of all unit shipments, are expected to drive overall market growth. Similar to the way that the office printing market has evolved, InfoTrends believes that end users are adopting more cost effective printing and information sharing processes, and this is dramatically impacting the wide format LED hardware and supplies markets.
"The continued move toward decentralized printing and the growing use of color, combined with the electronic information sharing and smaller size printing, are eroding demand for high-end systems and driving growth in low-end digital systems," commented Tim Greene, a Director at InfoTrends. As users adopt these new processes, it often reduces their need for professional wide format technical document production services.
To sustain their growth, print-for-pay companies that have primarily served industries that use wide format technical documents are now offering document management services (including scanning and archiving) and/or wide format digital graphics production. Hardware manufacturers have enabled these changes by offering more reliable and productive wide format LED hardware. At the same time, vendors are using aggressive sales and marketing tactics to drive new unit shipments.
InfoTrends’ Wide Format LED Printer/Copier Market Forecast 2006-2011 examines trends and risk factors and presents projections for the wide format LED hardware, supplies, and service market size for the period from 2006 through 2011.
The complete forecast is available immediately for purchase. For more information about the study or to make a purchase, visit our online store or contact Nicole Shown at +1 781 616 2100 ext. 207 or [email protected].