large format printing : Having It Large
The cost of buying a large format printer has decreased and investment from major vendors across the product range shows how much attention is being paid to the market. With advancements in technology, large format printers (LFPs) are also breaking into new markets areas. Growth is so high in the Middle East region that HP has announced that it will hold its 2006 EMEA LFP Academy, an event attended by over 500 partners, in Dubai.
“I’d imagine only 35% to 40% of our business is with repeat customers. The rest is all coming from new customers and we are winning market share across the Middle East. All sectors are growing,” says Chris Govier, production business manager Middle East and Africa at Xerox.
The best thing about the LFP channel is that it presently has breathing room. Resellers such as Jordanian distributor NAF, which started out as a small print shop, are doing a healthy business with their LFP offerings. “I was the first person to take HP LFPs into Jordan. They asked me how many I thought I could sell in one year — I said around 50. That first year I sold 300 printers. By the time they had got me stock of 24 large formats to Jordan, I had already sold 17 of them,” explains Nedal Odeh, general manager at NAF Engineering Equipments in Jordan.
While there is still a slice of the pie up for grabs in the large format market, exactly where is not so easy to define, as it covers a very broad area. An LFP is usually defined as anything larger than an A1 printer; anything above 64” in width is usually described as a super wide format, or grand format machine. The market is also split into different sectors, divided by the printer’s application: technical drawing and line printers (usually black and white) used by construction sites, and the graphic market (usually colour machines). These products are then split between indoor and outdoor offerings. Typical large format resellers will stock A1 to 64” printers, though vendors usually require partners to work on either the industrial or graphic side.
“The partners have to pledge their allegiance one way or the other. In some small markets one partner can cater to both but we prefer a focus on one area of the market. LFPs require expertise and it is full solution selling — for example, with graphics, partners have to calibrate the printer, install it and train users,” comments Ernest Azzam, business development manager, large format printing at HP’s IPG group.
by Stuart Wilson
“I’d imagine only 35% to 40% of our business is with repeat customers. The rest is all coming from new customers and we are winning market share across the Middle East. All sectors are growing,” says Chris Govier, production business manager Middle East and Africa at Xerox.
The best thing about the LFP channel is that it presently has breathing room. Resellers such as Jordanian distributor NAF, which started out as a small print shop, are doing a healthy business with their LFP offerings. “I was the first person to take HP LFPs into Jordan. They asked me how many I thought I could sell in one year — I said around 50. That first year I sold 300 printers. By the time they had got me stock of 24 large formats to Jordan, I had already sold 17 of them,” explains Nedal Odeh, general manager at NAF Engineering Equipments in Jordan.
While there is still a slice of the pie up for grabs in the large format market, exactly where is not so easy to define, as it covers a very broad area. An LFP is usually defined as anything larger than an A1 printer; anything above 64” in width is usually described as a super wide format, or grand format machine. The market is also split into different sectors, divided by the printer’s application: technical drawing and line printers (usually black and white) used by construction sites, and the graphic market (usually colour machines). These products are then split between indoor and outdoor offerings. Typical large format resellers will stock A1 to 64” printers, though vendors usually require partners to work on either the industrial or graphic side.
“The partners have to pledge their allegiance one way or the other. In some small markets one partner can cater to both but we prefer a focus on one area of the market. LFPs require expertise and it is full solution selling — for example, with graphics, partners have to calibrate the printer, install it and train users,” comments Ernest Azzam, business development manager, large format printing at HP’s IPG group.
by Stuart Wilson
