HP Leads Laser Single Function Devices Too

It was just laser printers last year, before it was decided to open it up to an all-encompassing Laser Single Function Devices. What, however, hasn't changed is the top half of the pack. HP continues its reign as the numero uno choice in both 100-499 employees and 500-999 employees segments, nearly maintaining its massive lead over Canon - the second most preferred brand. Ricoh is the only new entrant in the category, which replaces last year's debutant Epson from the club.

In both the segments, Samsung has consolidated its position as the number three, down one position in the 500+ segment from the Users' Choice Awards 2012. HP's dominance in the 100-499 employees segment seems to have relented a bit, with Canon scoring 33% and Samsung 28%, both up from 25% and 18%, respectively.

As expected, HP scored highly on brand satisfaction with a mean of 4.3 out of 5, Canon 4.2 and Samsung 4.1 in the 100-499 segment. About 39% of the SMB users said they chose HP for its brand name and 33.3% picked Canon for the same, but more users of Canon voted for its after-sales support and service as compared to HP.

In this segment, 99% of HP users said that they would stick to it, with 1% not sure about what to go for next. In contrast, 30% of Canon users wanted to switch to another brand, 11% of them to HP. So, HP is likely to gain from that.

A new entrant to the 500+ segment, Ricoh scored an impressive index score of 22%, after Canon's 36% and Samsung's 33%. In this segment as well, 45.9% HP users rated the quality of its products and services highly, yet only 9.6% vouched for its after-sales support and service, whereas for Canon it was 17.2%. The users of HP and Samsung Laser SFDs were the most satisfied lot, who gave them 4.2 out of 5, and Canon and Ricoh could manage only 4.0. HP's loyal base remained at 97%, but 7% of Canon users might switch to HP.