The future looks bright for MFPs, according to the latest figures from channel research company Inform.
The market analyst has credited the office all-rounders with a 9 per cent rise in unit share for the first half of 2002 and said resellers posted a 53 per cent unit share growth year-on-year, taking the MFP market to its highest ever Inform-recorded market share.
Stuart James, chief peripherals analyst for Inform, believes the arrow of technology is clearly pointing in the direction of the all-in-one MFP.
"Vendors are now moving aggressively to target the expected uptake in the SOHO and SMB space by offering all-in-one machines that equal their ancestors in terms of specification and price competitiveness," he said.
HP dominates the space with a 60 per cent share, while nearest rival Lexmark has 15 per cent of the market.
Scanners performed exceptionally well with a 26 per cent unit share growth in comparison with July and 39 per cent year-on-year. This helped the scanner market to a 37 per cent increase in value over July and a staggering 49 per cent year-on-year.
Price cuts in the traditional printer market helped it to achieve a 36 per cent rise in unit share and 16 per cent by value compared to July.
Canon tops the inkjet space with 41 per cent while HP heads the laser market with 38 per cent. Inform predicts the imminent arrival of "affordable" colour and a continued growth in digital home photography will help the Australian printer market to a healthy second-half performance.
