According to the research firm Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c45472), based on in-factory tours, Greater China's supplier base annually produces 25% of the world's supply of printer ink and toner cartridges. And that figure is forecast to further grow, spurred by surging demand for printing equipment and desktop printing applications.
Its latest sourcing report points out that global shipments of printer consumables have undergone sustained growth, spurred by the surging demand for printing equipment and high performance desktop printing applications. However, the industry is not without its challenges. For makers of remanufactured cartridges, empties are harder and more expensive to obtain because end users continue to resist recycling. Hence, makers may have to put in place more sophisticated, and often more costly, reclamation schemes, according to the report.
Furthermore, brand owners have been aggressively defending their patents in courts by filing lawsuits against ink cartridge manufacturers and distributors over infringing inks. While this has failed to put a serious dampener on growth, makers are compelled to enhance product value by improving the performance of their offerings and applying for patents in major export regions.
The printer cartridge and toner supply from Greater China is a mix of compatible and remanufactured units that commonly support printer brands such as Hewlett-Packard (HP), Epson, Canon, Lexmark and Brother. Zhuhai in Guangdong province is the main production center for printer cartridges and toners. It hosts two of the largest makers in the region, both of which are featured in this report. Factories in Zhuhai produce about 70 percent of mainland China's output.
This report covers makers of printer ink and toner cartridges, continuous ink supply systems and ink refills in Greater China, which collectively produce about a quarter of the industry's output. The majority of these makers typically generate more than 50 percent of their sales revenue from exports. To come up with this report, the research teams toured the factories of 21 makers and discussed with top-level executives about manufacturing, sales and export performances. The report has an in-depth profile of each of these makers, as well as detailed profile tables of another 17 suppliers.
Based on the manufacturing, product development and export statistics provided by 38 printer cartridge and toner manufacturers, including 31 from mainland China, four from Taiwan and three from Hong Kong, Research and Markets presents the following findings: Mainland China suppliers have monthly production capacities of up to 6.5 million units. Many of these makers have excess capacities to cope with new orders. Large-volume makers prefer to focus on compatible toner cartridges, while entry-level and mid-sized suppliers concentrate their effort on remanufactured toner cartridges. While most makers ship their products predominantly to established markets such as Europe, North America and Asia, some are exploring emerging opportunities in Africa and Oceania.
According to the report, makers outsource a considerably large portion of the manufacturing processes to cut down on production costs. Only final assembly and packaging are mostly done in-house. Manufacturers are keeping price increases to a minimum to avoid losing out to large-volume makers that can offer competitive prices. Production of water-resistant inks and IC designs as well as increasing ink and powder capacity and print yield are some of the key R&D initiatives.Ink cartridges will continue to dominate this market segment well into 2007, but toner cartridges are gaining traction. For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c45472
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