CONTEXT has published a blog piece analysing how ink tank printers are on the rise in emerging economies and what opportunities this can bring.
CONTEXT’s blog piece looks at the shift in Argentina, Russia, Brazil and Turkey towards low cost printing solutions due to the currency shifts in 2018. Ink tank printers offer this cheaper alternative and according to CONTEXT “this is especially obvious in the technology sector where prices have climbed significantly and consumer buying habits and behaviour have pushed changes in the market as a result.”
According to the blog, HP, Epson and Canon understand this shift of buying behavious and have adapted their ink tank offering in those countries accordingly. Shifting from traditional ink cartridges to ink bottles enables the user to print “from 6,000 to 8,000 black and white pages (4,000 to 6,000 colour) while a standard set of ink cartridges will set you up to print anywhere between 400 to 600 pages (sometimes less).” Although the actual printers are initially more expensive, the cost per page is significantly less.
CONTEXT stated that in the second quarter ink tank sales in Russia were 30 percent and 60 percent in Brazil compared to only 10 percent in Western Europe. Looking at these numbers in emerging countries, the blog piece is questioning why this opportunity is not catching on in Western Europe. A conceivable explanation could be price, since the volume sold in emerging countries has brought down unit prices considerably but are still high in Western Europe, according to CONTEXT.
CONTEXT’s blog concludes: “For once consumers in emerging countries are leading the way on this new technology adoption, even though the main driver in this case is cost. There is also a significant card to be played from printing vendors to market ink tank printers as eco-friendly (less plastic, reduced cost per print etc) which has not been sufficiently exploited and could be the best way to help European consumers see the huge potential in ink tank printing.”
