Computer News: 31/7/09

PRINTER SALES UP 1 PERCENT, UPS SLIP 6 PERCENT IN FY08-09
New Delhi
The Economic Times (Delhi edition)

Printer sales in the country is expected to grow by 8 percent in the ongoing fiscal to cross 1.74 million units sales even as economic slowdown hits the other peripheral business in the country. The total printer sales between April 2008 and March 2009, with dot-matrix, ink-jet and laser-jet printers taken together, were 1.61 million units, up 1 percent from the year ago period, industry body Manufacturers Association for Information Technology (MAIT) said in a statement. "PC and peripherals consumption in 2008-09 was adversely impacted, especially in the second-half of the fiscal year, by the slowdown in the Indian economy," MAIT said.

HP FOCUSES ON STAR-RATED PRODUCTS
Bhaskar Hazarika, New Delhi
Financial Chronicle

After the consumer durables market witnessed the inflow of star-rated products, global printer maker HP is betting on energy efficient products.

Ivy Liang, vice-president marketing, Imaging and Printing Group, HP, Asia Pacific and Japan, said that as enterprises in Asia Pacific continue to find ways to reduce costs in the present economic climate, the company has launched the star-certified products to meet the new challenge. "In 2008, we shipped around 25 million star-certified printers. There is competition in the imaging and printer industry, but the challenge is to meet the consumer demands with reduction in carbon footprint," Liang said.

Liang said that the company has set some goals to be met by 2011. "We plan to use £100 million cumulatively, of recycled plastic in printing products. We will reduce the average weight of printer packaging per product by 35 percent (relative to 2005) and utilise at least 35 percent recycled paper in cardboard packaging for printers," she said.

According to the Manufacturer's Association for Information Technology (Mait) report, the total printer sales between April 2008 and March 2009 — including dot-matrix, ink-jet and laser-jet printers —were 16.1 lakh units, registering a growth of one percent over the previous year. According to Vinnie Mehta, executive director, Mait, with business sentiment gradually gaining momentum, overall printer consumption in financial year 2009-10 is expected to cross 17.4 lakh units, registering an 8 percent growth.

"Consumer sentiment was subdued due to uncertainty in the economy in 2008-09 which impacted the consumption of IT. While consumption in the first-half of the year was satisfactory, less than expected offtake in sales in the second-half pulled down the overall growth into the negative quadrant," Mehta said. Personal computers and peripherals consumption in 2008-09 was adversely impacted, especially in the second-half of the financial year, by the slowdown in the Indian economy.

CRISIS DENTS PC, PERIPHERALS CONSUMPTION IN FY08-09
Mumbai
The Financial Express

The Manufacturer's Association for Information Technology (MAIT) in its annual review for the IT peripherals industry for the FY 2008-09, reports PC and peripherals consumption in 2008-09 has been affected by the slowdown in the Indian economy, especially in the second half of the fiscal.

The body representing India's IT hardware, training and R&D services sectors, has, however, said that with the economic situation gradually improving, overall printer consumption in FY2009-10 is expected to cross 1.74 million units, registering an 8% growth. However, sales of UPS are expected to remain flat.

According to MAIT's findings, total printer sales between April 2008 and March 2009, were 1.61 million (16.1 lakh) units, registering a growth of 1% over the previous year. According to the study, sales of printers in the top four and the next four cities registered a decline of 9% and 31% respectively in 2008-09.

Though sales of ink-jet printer declined by 4% during the same period, the consumption of dot matrix and laser-jet printer grew 5% and 7% respectively in FY 2008-09 over 2007-08. Smaller towns and cities outside of the top eight metros drove the printer consumption registering a growth of 6% accounting for three-fourths of the overall printer consumption in the country.

Consumption of UPS declined 6% over 2007-08 registering 1.51 million (15.1 lakh) units in sales. The households segment, which experienced a decline of 25%, pulled down the overall UPS sales to negative. Desktop sales in the households had declined 18% in FY2008-09 and consumption of UPS is highly correlated to desktop sales. In case of networking products, consumption of Network Interface Cards grew 3% while that of modems and hubs declined 44% and 35%, respectively.

Vinnie Mehta, executive director, MAIT said, "Consumer sentiment was subdued due to uncertainty in the economy in 2008-09 which impacted the consumption of IT in the country."

DESIGNTECH MAKES FORAY INTO 3D PRINTING
Bangalore
The Hindu

DesignTech, the product life cycle and designs solution provider, has entered the 3D printing and modelling market, estimated at $50 million in India.

DesignTech will enter the field with uPrint, the 3D printer from Statasys of the U.S., which sell the printers in the sub-$15,000 price bracket. In the Indian market, the products would cost much less than comparable printers besides taking up less space, Vice-President-International Sales, Woody Frost, told reporters here on Thursday.