By Graham K. Rogers

Epson has been in the business of making printers for a few years now and in my early days of PC use, the Epson LX 500 was one of the best low-price printers available at the time. Printer technology has moved on since then and the inkjet type of printer has now become the standard home or office device, with many models to choose from.

It has been announced by Epson that cumulative global sales of their high-capacity ink tank inkjet printers have reached 20 million units. This type of printer was first released in 2010 in Indonesia followed by availability in over 150 countries and regions, with cumulative sales reaching 15 million globally less than a year ago in June 2016.

Growth is especially good in emerging markets, with this type of printer making up about 10% of the laser/inkjet market in those areas where there was a total market of about 45 million units.

Epson forecasts 25% year-on-year unit sales growth for these printers in the fiscal year ended March 2017, and that these products will account for approximately 40% of Epson inkjet printers sold in the same period.

Printer unit sales in emerging markets

Epson notes that reasons for the popularity of this printer type is because there is no need to change ink cartridges, printing costs are lower and there is less waste when using the printers.

For more information, see the Epson Global site or link to a regional connection.

Graham K. Rogers teaches at the Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University in Thailand. He wrote in the Bangkok Post, Database supplement on IT subjects. For the last seven years of Database he wrote a column on Apple and Macs. He is now continuing that in the Bangkok Post supplement, Life. He can be followed on Twitter (@extensions_th)