According to new data from the IDC (www.idc.com), the large format printer (LFP) market recorded year-over-year growth of 0.6% in the third quarter of 2014 (3Q14) with more than 78,000 units shipped. This marks the fifth consecutive quarter of worldwide shipment growth. Shipment value declined -4.0% year over year to nearly $782 million.

"The third quarter is often the softest quarter of the year in the global large format market," says Phuong Hang, program director, Worldwide Large Format Printer Tracker. "While global shipments are ahead of 2013, hardware revenue is essentially flat for 2014 so far, due primarily to vendor price promotions."

The top five wide format printer manufacturers make up over eighty percent of global wide format shipments, but only two-thirds of revenue. With manufacturers like HP, Canon, and Epson dominating the aqueous segment, this points to the maturity of the conventional aqueous graphics and solvent inkjet markets and the fragmented nature of the wide format UV-curable inkjet segment, according to IDC.