According to the latest figures from the IDC Worldwide Quarterly Industrial Printer Tracker, the industrial printer market in Australia and New Zealand fell by 33.8% year-on-year (y-o-y)and 18.4% quarter-on-quarter in Q1 2020.
“Bush fires in the December/January period, trade conflict between the US and China, and the COVID-19 pandemic have all contributed to the contraction in the market,” said Muhammad Faris Latief, Market Analyst for Imaging, Printing and Document Solutions at IDC Asia/Pacific.
“Advertising businesses are increasing their use of digital ad-sense and digital signage, instead of installing new signage or billboards as a result of declines in foot traffic,” said Faris Latief.
This fall in demand for static out-of-home advertising, such as billboards, has led to a fall in shipments of large format printers – that is, those sized 1.8 metres and above.
There have also been declines in overall graphic printers (-15% y-o-y) and computer-aided design large format printers (-45%).
Looking ahead, IDC estimates that the industrial printer market will rebound in the second quarter of the year, as business sentiment begins to recover and regular business activity resumes.
