Printer – Ink Market is Big Business
Big companies plunge in to the new market
It is the printer ink which is making waves now. Refilling of ink cartridges for computer printers is big business, almost Rs 15 million, if the recent trends in the market are to be believed. The printer-ink market has largely been a bastion of MNC’s led by players who have a huge precence in the printer segment already. Hewlett Packard (HP), Canon, Epson, Lexmark, Xerox and Ricoh are some big names which emerge.
The refill market however, is unorganized but nevertheless more extensive. There are various small players who make inks of various hues and try to get whatever cartridge share they can manage.
`Compatibles’, another smaller segment in the ink industry, is proving to have a large market. Currently at 3 million, it is doubling in size every year. Normally, size of inkjet cartridges differ from printer to printer, but compatibles are one size fits all cartridges that can be used in printers of any make. Media reports confirm that the growing segment is attracting big companies like IBM and Wipro, along with the Chinese companies.
