Kodak Steps Away from the Printer Industry

After only recently putting hundreds of millions of dollars into creating a new line of business in desktop inkjet printers, Kodak has already decided to scrap the project. The company announced recently that it is planning to shift its focus in 2013 from ink sales to printers it has sold, which is the most profitable part of that particular business. The company also announced that it would stop selling printers, an area where competition is leaving little room for Kodak.

The news only gets worse from there as the company also announced that it would be asking Federal bankruptcy court for more time to put together a Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization plan. Plans like this would spell out how a reorganized company will operate after bankruptcy and the steps that company will take in order to make creditors as whole as possible.

Kodak has made a plethora of big changes ever since filing for bankruptcy back in January in attempts to raise money and cut costs. These measures have included shutting down its digital camera business and selling its online Kodak Gallery operations. Kodak currently has a few other businesses that are also up for sale, including document scanners and still camera film.

Kodak has talked about profits in desktop inkjet printers for a while now, with the company stating that the main profits are found in consumables like the ink itself. According to a recent statement from the company, getting out of the printer business "will significantly improve cash flow in the U.S. beginning in the first half of 2013."

Source: USA Today - Kodak quits printers, wants new deadline

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A 7% Increase in Printer and Copier Market Discovered in Q2 2012

According to the research firm Gartner, the combined serial inkjet and page printers, copiers and multifunction products market in the United States totaled 7,150,202 units in the second quarter of 2012, a 6.8% increase over the same period last year. The total end-user spending reached $208.1 million USD, an increase of 35% from the same period last year as well.

According to Gartner Research Analyst Amrita Choudhury, "The MFP market growth here has been driven by the banking, financial services and insurance, education and government sectors." Choudhury went on to say that the market also gained some traction in the high speed segment, often used by large publishing houses or organizations to print their outbound communications. 

HP remained on top in the markets for printers, copiers and multifunction printers, accounting for 51.4% of shipments. Canon pulled in the number 2 spot with 23%, while Samsung and Epson rounded out the leaders with 8.3% and 8.1%, respectively. In the A4 MFP segment, HP was the market leader as well with a 48.2% market share, followed by Samsung with 22.7% and Canon with 13.7%. The A3 flatbed copier MFP segment saw Canon leading the pack with a 28.9% market share. Konica Minolta took the number 2 spot with 19.7% and Ricoh commanded 12.8% of the market. 

Not everything was positive, however, with the inkjet printer market declining 7.2% in the second quarter compared to the same period last year. HP, which accounted for 50.8% of the total sales in the segment, also saw a decline of 23.6%. Epson held a market share of 30% and also had a shipment decline of 8.8%. Canon also improved shipments in the inkjet division by increasing by 136% compared to the second quarter of 2011, contributing 18.8% of market share.

Source: NDTV Gadgets - Printers and copiers market grows 7%: Gartner

Canon Updates Dedicated Photo-Printing Products

Canon recently updated its photo-printing products, the Pro10 and the Pro-100, to follow the same design as the high-end Pixma Pro-1 which was released nearly one year ago. These devices now offer WiFi/AirPrint and Ethernet connectivity as well as a new plug-in for Lightroom and Photoshop.

The Pro-10, which sells for $699, uses the Lucia pigment inks, supplemented with the same Chroma Optimizer as the Pro-1, minimizing gloss differential and bronzing of black inks whenever you print on glossy paper. In addition to that, Canon reformulated the yellow ink and claims that there is now increased coverage in the red/magenta/yellow area of the color gamut.

If you are a fan of dyes, then the Pixma Pro-100 is what you will be interested in. This $499 device uses a reconfigured ChromaLife 100+ ink set, dropping the red and green primaries to add gray and light gray. Canon also incorporated a reformulated magenta which, according to the company, "delivers better reds for improved black and shadow reproduction."

Both of these printers have also received increases to print speeds while the drivers also ship with a new Pro mode, designed to deliver more accurate automated color matching. Both printers are expected to be released this October. These devices seem to be optimized for photographers and photo enthusiasts as they have a lot of features that help with the production of pictures. 

Source: CNET - Canon updates prosumer photo printer line

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