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Lyra: Digital Imaging Supplies Revenue to Top $100 Billion in 2006

March 21, 2006

Lyra Research forecasts that the global digital imaging supplies market will exceed $100 billion in 2006. While the digital imaging industry has been generating more revenue from supplies than from hardware for some time, 2006 marks the first time the supplies sector will register 12-digit revenue numbers, exceeding hardware revenue by 68 percent. According to Lyra''s Hard Copy Supplies Advisory Service, the growth is attributed in part to the availability of more affordable, high-speed, easy-to-use color inkjet and color laser printers that enable users to print more graphics-intensive documents.

Rodger Reis, analyst for Lyra''s Hard Copy Supplies Advisory Service, explains the surge. "Broadband Internet service, digital photography, affordable color printers, high-capacity e-mail accounts, and desktop publishing technologies are some of the factors driving supplies revenue. These fast-spreading elements have made it easier to create, share, and access electronic documents. New high-speed, easy-to-use color inkjet and color laser printers and digital color presses are enabling users to print sophisticated, graphics-intensive documents, transforming the old digital document landscape from one of monochrome-only applications to one of rich and complex color applications that include digital photos, Web pages, PDFs, and other graphics-intensive documents."

Reis concludes, "Lyra estimates that color and graphics-intensive documents will consume three to four times as much toner and ink per page as traditional monochrome applications such as photocopies. These trends will result in increased consumption of ink and toner and, to some extent, value-added papers, driving digital imaging consumables revenue worldwide."