HP aggressive on net-based image printing

Kolkata: Hewlett-Packard (HP) is aggressively looking at securing the largest share of the growing internet-printing market, which includes individual or home consumers, small and medium businesses (SMBs), and the segment of graphic arts enterprises. 

According to reports, HP would soon be present in 60 cities by the first half of 2008, including up-country locations, and has garnered the sales force it needs to staff its aggressive expansion plans. 

Reports indicate global revenues from the printing market to be in the ballpark of $147 billion, which would reportedly grow to around $221 billion by 2010. Segmenting further, it is said that of the $147 billion market, the home and office printing segment makes up $88 billion, while the Internet printing market tallies $43 billion. 

According to Ashwini K Aggarwal, country business manager for the consumer imaging and printing products, imaging and printing group at Hewlett-Packard India, the company has been working towards bringing about an evolution from being just a printer creator to offering printing solutions, and ultimately turning printers into web tools. Towards this end, the company has unveiled a line up of revolutionary printers, boosted with its “Print 2.0 strategy“, which sees some printers being wireless ready, and others capable of printing anything from postcards to posters. 

HP's printers span a huge market, with prices  ranging from Rs2,799 to Rs 19,999. HP's inkjet printer portfolio comprises seven HP All-in Ones, three HP Deskjets, three Photosmart printers, six HP Officejet printers and one HP Scanjet. 

The third quarter (Q3) International Data Corp (IDC) report attributes a marketshare of 75 per cent of the overall inkjet printer market to HP. HP is also reported to be viewing key verticals such as tourism and jewellery as demand drivers, along with exporters, design agencies, photographers and self-employed professionals, through focused market development programmes. 

According to Aggarwal, content creation is increasingly becoming digital, with more people spending time online on the Internet for content creation as against PC-based applications.