Aftermarket suppliers have captured 33 per cent of monochrome toner shipments worldwide and about 25 per cent of revenue, and have also made gains in the colour space, according to a new report from analysts Virtulytix.
In its 2018 Global Toner Cartridge Forecast, Virtulytix examines the $60 billion worldwide toner cartridge market across 24 laser and multifunction printer segments. Aftermarket sellers have approximately 13 per cent of colour shipments, and while OEMs maintain more than 90 per cent of revenues in this space, that share is declining, warns Ron Iversen, vice-president of market intelligence at Virtulytix.
"Aftermarket toner cartridge suppliers are targeting the growing mid-high speed colour MFP segments where cartridge usage is quite high," he said. "With almost 80 per cent of the toner cartridge market existing in the colour area, this is clearly the biggest risk to OEM manufacturers."
Aftermarket companies are increasing their technological prowess, and their cartridges are beginning to rival OEMs in print quality, the report found.
The 2018 Global Toner Cartridge Forecast uses historical data from 2014-17 to help predict the shape of the toner market around the world to 2022; this data includes actual and forecasted unit shipments, growth rates, revenue, average selling prices, and printer installed base for each cartridge type.