Russian OEM representatives about the local market of printing devices in 2007

In one of the January’08 issues the PCWeek published in Russian produced an interesting article about the market of printing equipment in the Russian Federation. In this short article PC Week published the opinions of the representatives of Russia-based OEM offices /Konica Minolta, Xerox Russia, HP, Epson/. Here I will give the main points put forth in the article.

…The actual growth of shipment of printing devices into the country grew by 15% as compared with 2006. The MFU segment grew twofold (in volume) and it is even higher than expected. This growth tempo allows to state the Russian printing market is close to saturation, but it still has potential for further growth in 2008-2009.

So what were the main trends in the copying and printing business in 2007? All experts say the MFUs are leaders in sales, color mono functional devices are also on the rise. The segment of A4 all-in-ones experienced the most significant growth rates as A4 is still the leading format in the country, said the representative of Xerox. Laser MFUs costing less 500 USD are in strong demand due to a drop in retail price for this type of products. These products (under USD500 color laser MFUs) have become popular due to the drop of the price under the psychological 500 USD barrier.

Epson’s representative mentioned that inkjet is already considered by businesses as a good alternative to laser printing. However, people from Xerox think inkjet printing shrinks and belongs merely to the realm of home printing.

What do all experts think about 2008 perspectives?

To sum it up, the interviewed experts thinks that:

1) the situation on the local market of printing and copying equipment will not change abruptly;
2) cost-per-copy principle will come upfront as more efficient and beneficial; this will make the market even more competitive;
3) some printing-based spheres will continue going digital (like university, educational establishments, etc.), this will increase demand for low-end color desk and small group devices;
4) MFU segment will continue to grow;
5) Logistics will be improved, which will result in better retailer-supplier processes.

The original article is available here.

Trends on the Russian Market of Printing Devices and Cartridges

The Russian company Teko, one of the leading distributors and suppliers of printing equipment and supplies, made a list of trends, which shaped in 2007 in Russia:

#1: Growing tempo falls and dumping is not a way-out:

Russian marketing of printing equipment cannot boast of 20-25% yearly growth anymore. Some segments show good growth rates, but the overall market growth is slowing down. In 2007shipments of printing equipment grew by 17-20%, which is lower than during 2006 or 2005.

#2: Fluctuatuations in USD rates:

The falling USD and growing EUR and their constant fluctuations made a lot of local importing companies to switch to RUR, which showed higher stability.

#3: Chips and laser color devices are the truth of the day:

Monochrome laser printers sink into oblivion. They are becoming real rarities. Ignoring color is the direct way to failure.

The full report in Russian can be downloaded from here.

Toner filling machine from Russia

The Russian company Novis features its toner filling machine.
The machine is present in the video below:



The price is around 5600 USD.
All other details are presented here.

Free access to RechargEast's archive

From February 1, 2008, RechargEast Magazine opens its archive for free access. The access to the online version of RechargEast Magazine will be free for you for one year when a reader provides the following information:

full name:
company’s name:
company’s acitivity:
full post address:
website:
valid email:

This information should be sent to nikolai(at)rechargeast.com with the subject "RCE archive access".

The archive can be browsed here: Issues, company profiles, technical how-to instructions in Russian and English.

Keywords: aftermarket, rechargeast, archive, access, remanufacturing, cartridges

Panasonic to warn Russian consumers

The Russian headquaters of Panasonic made a statement that the company's specialists found there are a lot of fake Panasonic cartridges at the local market.

All cartridges are sold as originals and are of good quality.
Fake Panasonic KX-FA83А cartridges print well first 1000-1500 pages. After 2000 prints the black is less saturated and after 3000 prints the print is not seen.

The company's authorities suppose a large party of remanufactured cartridges produced in China are sold in the country as original cartridges.

Source: www.panasonic.ru

New Wi-Fi printers from Ricoh

Ricoh launched a new series of Wi-Fi printers The new HotSpot series of printers includes SP C410DN-KP (color printer) and SP 4100N-KP (monochrome printer). These two printers can print documents transmitted via Wi-Fi from any working station.



Ricoh follows the new trend of equipping printers with Wi-Fi introduced by Lexmark and HP.

Source: www.ricoh.com

RechargEast Magazine, January'08

RechargEast Magazine goes free. All issues can be freely downloaded one month after their publication in the printed version.

The January'08 issue is available in .pdf for download:



Click on here to download the January'08 issue directly.
In the January'08 issue one can find:
» Xerox Phaser 7400 Cartridge Reman.
» EcoTape in Bulgaria and Italy.
» Eastern European News.