Wireless printing the way forward for resellers

Released 23/06/2010

Brother named fastest growing wireless printer vendor

The wireless printer market is in fine form, according to the latest Context figures, which value it at £76m per year and growing.

An increasingly common feature in many offices and homes, the flexibility offered by wireless printing saw the market grow 114% between 2008 and 2009. Wireless machines now account for 22% of all printers sold - more than a fifth of the market.

Whilst laser is showing the strongest growth in wireless, with a year on year increase of 181%, the real money lies in wireless inkjet, which has a market value of £65m per year.

As wireless rarely features on entry level models, the growth trend signifies a willingness to pay extra for the benefits of this feature. When coupled with the increasing number of wireless models being offered by vendors, this represents an important opportunity for the channel to up-sell to its customers.

Jim Stevenson, buyer manager for the stationery and computing department of Jarrold's department store in Norwich agreed that there's been a definite upturn in wireless printer sales: "Over the past six months, the price of wireless machines has fallen slightly and customers have come to see it as an affordable extra. Most of the machines we sell are for home use. There's a definite feeling amongst end users that, even if they're not yet set up for wireless in their homes, they will be soon, making a wireless printer a sound investment in terms of future proofing."

Jeff Steers, MD at Computer Plus in Liverpool has also seen an increase in demand for wireless print: "We first started stocking wireless machines back in September and they've proved incredibly popular, especially the inkjets. They're great for multiple users, offering a way of sharing a printer without a tangle of wires."

Stevenson agreed that flexibility is key: "Our customers love the fact that they can work on their laptop in one part of the house and print somewhere else. The fact that set-up for these machines has become much easier has also helped, especially as many of our customers are ‘silver surfers'. As always, offering good back up and customer support is also important."

According to Context, Brother is the fastest growing wireless printer vendor in both the inkjet and laser categories. The company's sales and marketing director, Phil Jones, commented: "At a time when the channel is still recovering from a recession, it's important to identify genuine opportunities to increase sales and wireless is one such opportunity. It's a very simple feature really, but one which can change the way people use their printers, both in the home and at work.

"Wireless multifunction machines offer even more features, such as wireless scanning, providing resellers with additional opportunities to sell. People have become a lot more familiar with wireless; the flexibility it offers, how easy it can be to set up and the fact that it's still secure. There's a definite opportunity here for the channel to capitalise - now is the perfect time for resellers to familiarise themselves with the increasing number of wireless products available and watch the impact it has on their business."

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