The Hindu Business Line : Small, medium firms may spend $330 m on printers

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Small, medium firms may spend $330 m on printers

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Kolkata May 9 Small and medium businesses (SMBs) in India are likely to spend $330 million on printers in the current calendar year.

This would be an increase of 19 per cent over an expenditure of $280 million incurred by Indian SMBs on printers in 2006, according to a study conducted by the New York-headquartered Access Markets International (AMI) Partners, Inc.

According to the AMI study, about 75 per cent of the country's total SMB expenditure on printers would be by small businesses that engage below 100 people. Increased volume of documentation, easy availability of low-cost printers and increased adoption and usage of integrated printing solutions that help in saving costs have been cited as the main drivers fuelling SMB expenditure on printers.

The study states that Indian small businesses have made great progress with regard to technology adoption. These small businesses were transitioning from basic infrastructure and focussing on building up their communications and networking infrastructure. In fact, nearly 40 per cent of the PC-owing small businesses in India bought printers in 2006, either as first-time adopters or to augment their existing infrastructure.

Gradual shift

The study notes that there has been a gradual shift from inkjets to colour laser printers and multi-functional devices (MFDs). This has largely resulted due to the shrinkage in the price differential between inkjets and lasers/MFDs. SMBs have also begun to appreciate the intrinsic advantages of printers, such as faster speed, better print quality, lower overall operating costs and increased features.

One interesting feature of the SMB market in India is the significant presence of the dot-matrix printers, which account for 29 per cent of the installed printer base among SMBs. Dot-matrix printers have seen a revival with increased buying in traditional markets, such as financial services, and new markets such as retail, private education and small computer centres. Special billing solutions needed consequent upon the implementation of VAT is also a factor driving the deployment of dot-matrix printers among SMBs, the study states.

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