Market Intelligence

The office products industry is ripe for channel agnostic disruption. But first, the technology platform that eliminates barriers in the current value proposition must be deployed. This will then become the trigger for a disruption that will start in the transaction-dependent Read More

Those who watch the markets for office imaging devices and consumables know that both are tied—inextricably—to the economy. Good news: These days, the economies in North America are looking pretty good and that’s great for the regional office imaging equipment industry and its Read More

At first glance, Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A. Inc.’s acquisition of Muratec America appears to be motivated by the companies’ longstanding OEM relationship and complementary office technology businesses. Konica Minolta gains B&W A4 engine technology, an installed Read More

On May 30, the Supreme Court of the United State issued its much-anticipated decision in the Impression Products v. Lexmark International matter. In a nearly unanimous ruling, the high court found in favor of Impression Products, a small remanufacturer based in Charleston, West Read More

Despite low interest rates and plenty of available capital, the market for leased or financed office equipment has been flat for the past few years. The missing ingredient has been confidence in the economy, the lack of which has caused some business owners to scale back or put Read More

For most hardware manufacturers, over half the revenue generated by their printer or copier businesses comes from the sale of consumables. Consumables also offer the fat margins manufacturers have come to rely on to make their respective printer and copier businesses profitable. Read More

As the printer industry continues to wrestle with overcapacity and declining print volumes, word came in 2016 of two major deals involving three key vendors. The deals promise to radically change the competitive landscape. In April, a consortium of Chinese investors announced Read More

The newest conversation taking front stage today is that if we expect to grow we must pursue adjacent business opportunities. Is this really the path to growth? I suspect the answer is more complicated than the question suggests. Regardless to whom I speak with these days the Read More

Consolidation is the hallmark of any mature industry and it’s been ongoing within the third-party supplies industry for years. At the opening of the 21st century, the North American industry began to experience extensive merger and acquisition activity and within 10 years only a Read More

Earlier this year, Actionable Intelligence and ENX Magazine co-hosted a webinar entitled “The State of the Hardcopy Industry in 2016.” During this one-hour online event, which was held on June 16, we explored current market conditions and product introductions. In this artic Read More

I recently returned from Düsseldorf, Germany, where drupa 2016 demonstrated that the graphic arts industry is rebounding after several difficult years. The world’s largest printing tradeshow attracted more than 260,000 visitors from 188 countries over 11 days. They came to learn Read More

As ENX magazine went to press, the earnings season for the opening months of 2016 was wrapping up and the news from hardcopy hardware manufacturers was not good. The strengthening yen and weaker markets in various regions worldwide left Japanese firms with flagging sales and unit Read More

In their relentless pursuit of the zillions of pages printed annually on electrophotographic devices in the office, Epson and Hewlett-Packard each made key announcements recently about their business inkjets. In early March, HP unveiled a bevy of new hardware including rebranded Read More

We’ve said it before: 3D printer OEMs will live or die in the commercial markets by the strength of their channels. Market leader 3D Systems seems to agree. After a string of disappointing quarterly earnings reports, the company has focused more intently on developing its channel Read More

As market conditions deteriorated around the word last year, most companies in the office imaging space watched their revenue and profits tumble. In China, however, business at many third-party supply manufacturers and their trading companies was stronger than ever. It appears Read More