Despite a 10% year-over-year increase for the full year 2012, the color laser multifunction peripheral (MFP) market declined 1% in the fourth quarter of 2012 (4Q12) as ongoing weakness in the global economy finally caught up with this segment. This marks the first quarter where color laser MFP contracted year over year to 995K units. Overall, the worldwide hardcopy peripherals market declined 11.2% year over year in 4Q12 to 31.1 million units, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Hardcopy Peripherals Tracker.

"The inkjet market is largely responsible for the declines due to weak consumer demand. However, business inkjet growth is solid, and these premium-priced products are helping vendors to overcome some of their consumer revenue declines. IDC expects the market will slowly begin to recover as consumer confidence returns, but growth rates will be in the single digits," said Phuong Hang, program manager, Worldwide Hardcopy Peripheral Trackers.

Technology Highlights

• Inkjet accounted for 64% of the total hardcopy peripherals market in 4Q12 with more than 19.8 million units shipped, declining 14% year over year. All regions experienced year-over-year declines in the quarter.
• Monochrome laser represented 27% of the total market, up 2 points from 4Q11. Monochrome continues to be very much in demand in business environments, especially in times of financial hardship. Most pages printed are in fact monochrome, and the A4 MFP is becoming a popular model in environments where no color is required.
• Color laser decreased 11% year over year on shipments of more than 1.7 million units. Eventually, color devices will overtake monochrome in volume. There are aspects of monochrome that are declining, but color is rapidly developing in both A4 and A3 markets.

Vendor Highlights

• HP leads the global hardcopy peripherals market with 38.5% market share and more than 12.9 million units shipped in 4Q12. HP achieved its best year-over-year results in China, growing 1% to over 983K units in the fourth quarter. For the full year, HP held 38.9% of the overall market on shipments of nearly 13 million units.
• Canon, the number 2 ranked vendor, captured 22.4% of the market in 4Q12, up 3 points from a year ago. With 6.9% year –over-year growth in the quarter, Canon had the best performance among the top 5 vendors. Canon also grew an impressive 40% year over year to reclaim the top spot in Japan, with more than 1.8 million units shipped in the region.
• Epson maintained its spot among the top three vendors in 4Q12 with 14.4% share, down 2 points from a year ago, and shipments of 4.5 million units. Epson's best results came in the United States, where it experienced 11% year-over-year growth in the quarter. For the full year, Epson experienced a decline of 23.9% year over year, the sharpest drop among the top 5.

In addition to the table above, a graphic showing the 4Q12 market shares of the top 5 HCP vendors for China, Japan, the U.S. and worldwide is available at IDC.com. The chart is intended for public use in online news articles and social media. Instructions on how to embed this graphic can be found by viewing this press release on IDC.com.

Table Notes:

• IDC tracks A2-A4 devices in the Quarterly Hardcopy Peripherals
• Hardcopy Peripherals include single-function printers, multifunctional systems (MFPs), and single-function digital copiers (SF DC) for both officed-based and Production segments. Data for all vendors are reported for calendar periods.

For more information about IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Hardcopy Peripherals Tracker, please contact Phuong Hang (Phang@idc.com).

About IDC Trackers

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About IDC

International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. IDC helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community to make fact-based decisions on technology purchases and business strategy. More than 1,000 IDC analysts provide global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries. For more than 48 years, IDC has provided strategic insights to help our clients achieve their key business objectives. IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world's leading technology media, research, and events company. You can learn more about IDC by visiting www.idc.com/.

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