Dot Matrix Printers

No surprises here also. Epson is the winner, followed by TVSE and Wipro/WeP. Lipi is fourth. This is not exactly a uniform category, with TVSE increasingly concentrating on smaller printers and Lipi having made its name in large-volume, high-speed printing. The reason we have combined the two is because, as separate categories, either may not be big enough. In fact, there is a strong school of thought that the DMP market is itself over.

Is the era of the dot matrix printer over? This is an oft-debated question, and every year, fresh evidence is provided to prove and disprove this point with equal vehemence. Last year, writing about this segment we had said that DMPs are “showing increased vigor, but whether that is a long term trend is the moot question”.Empirical evidence seems to indicate that while the market may not be exactly dying, it is at least diminishing in the original strongholds of the metros and the bigger cities. More importantly from our context, at least in the case of large organizations, the intent to purchase is lesser than current ownership.

Only 87% of current owners intend to buy a DMP soon. While this could also be a reflection of the longevity of the products in this category, it does indicate that fresh markets for this category many be moving not only to smaller cities, but also to smaller organizations. 

Let us explore this hypothesis a bit. If we analyse the survey response by turnover of respondent, we find that for organizations with a turnover under Rs 100 crores, there is a match between the numbers who already own DMPs and the numbers likely to buy new DMPs. After that, the intent to buy drops to around 85%. That is, for every 100 organisations who own DMPs, only about 85 are likely to buy in the coming six months. Interestingly enough, the largest drop in purchasing intend is in the Rs 500 to 100 crores category, where it drops to 73% and then picks up again as the turnover increases. If we look at the data by industry vertical, then manufacturing is where the category is likely to take the biggest hit, with BPO/IT/ITES remaining steady. All other verticals are showing a downward trend.

Brand Shift (%) 2003

That brings us back home, to comparative performances. Both TVSE and Wipro /WeP have increased their relative indices while Lipi has seen a drop. Coming to likely brand shifts. Epson has very high brand loyalty (93%), and is likely to gain further, from shifts from current owners of TVSE, Wipro and assorted others. TVSE on the other hand would gain most from Lipi. Does this indicate that there is a likely move from high speed centralized printing to distributed, local printing, even in the DMP

segment?