The Top 5 Best-Selling Multi-Function Laser Printer Brands In Q3

Multifunction Laser Jet Printer Smackdown

NPD Group has released its list of the top 10 best-selling laser jet multifunction printers in revenue market share through distribution for the third quarter of this year. The numbers, based on the dollar value of branded laser jet multifunction printers, not on volume, reveal that Hewlett-Packard remained the entrenched leader, with nearly double the share of its next closest competitor, Lexmark.

According to NPD, the average selling price for a multifunction laser jet printer jumped 4 percent, to $635 from $610, from Q3 2014 to Q3 2015. HP dominated the top 10 models, including LaserJet Pro 400 M425dn, LaserJet Enterprise 500 M525f, LaserJet Pro M277dw and LaserJet Pro M476DN. Another top seller comes from Lexmark: the color Lexmark X792dte color laser multifunction printer.

Of the five top-selling laser jet multifunction printers, three are color, NPD data revealed. The following slides provide a peek into channel activity for this product category for the best-selling laser jet multifunction printers of the third quarter of 2015. NPD Group is a Port Washington, N.Y.-based research firm that provides data from leading technology distributors. NPD Group's DistributorTrack sales database comprises primarily U.S. Global Technology Distribution Council members.

Hewlett-Packard

In the third quarter of 2015 Hewlett-Packard -- which has since split into two separate companies -- dominated the multifunction laser jet printer market in dollar terms, with a 43.9 percent share. Those numbers were up a hair for HP from the same period last year, when it captured 44.1 percent share.

HP led the market with sales of models LaserJet Pro 400 M425dn, LaserJet Enterprise 500 M525f and LaserJet Pro M277dw, according to NPD.

Lexmark

Lexmark maintained its No. 2 position on NPD's list of top 10 laser jet multifunction printer brands in the third quarter of 2015, thanks to a 2.2-point rise in market share, to 25.6 percent.

Lexington, Ky.-based Lexmark’s biggest laser jet multifunction printer in terms of generating revenue, according to NPD, was the color laser multifunction printer Lexmark X792dte.

Xerox

Coming in at the No. 3 spot in revenue market share was Xerox. The Norwalk, Ct.-based firm lost share, falling to 12.4 percent of the laser jet multifunction printer market share for the third quarter, down from its 13.7 percent share for third quarter 2014.

In its third-quarter 2015 earnings report, Xerox said unit shipment growth for its entry-level color multifunction devices was 94 percent. Midrange color printer sales grew 1 percent, Xerox reported. Gains were offset by a 36 percent decrease in unit shipments of entry-level color printers, an 8 percent dip in midrange black and white printer shipments, and a whopping 28 percent drop in shipments of high-end black and white systems.

Canon

Canon experienced the biggest share loss for the third quarter of this year compared with the same period last year. Canon’s share dropped from 6.9 percent in Q3 2014 to 4.7 percent in Q3 2015.

The two other losers, when comparing Q3 2014 with Q3 2015, were Xerox, which dropped 1.4 points, and Brother, which dropped 1.3 points.

It was a tough quarter for Canon, slipping from the No. 4 spot in 2014 to No. 5 in 2015.

Samsung

Samsung had a banner year when it comes to multifunctional laser jet printers. Samsung jumped from the No. 5 spot to No. 4, with 6.5 percent of the dollar share market in Q3 2015, compared with Q3 2014's 4.2 percent share.

Samsung still has a ways to go to overtake its next closest competitor, Xerox, which has 12.4 percent of the market. That said, Samsung enjoyed the most growth, with a 2.3 percentage-point gain to Q3 2015 from Q3 2014.

The Rest: Brother, Dell, Ricoh, Okidata And Panasonic

The bottom half of NPD’s list of best-selling laser jet multifunction printers includes Brother, Dell, Ricoh, Okidata and Panasonic.

Brother, which had 6 percent of the dollar share of the laser printer market in 2014, saw its share erode to 4.7 percent, for a share loss of 1.3 percentage points.

Among trailing companies, Dell, which owns less than 1 percent of the dollar share market, saw its dollar share grow from 0.6 percent to 0.9 percent.

On the flip side, Okidata slipped from owning a miniscule 0.6 percent of the dollar share market to 0.3 percent, putting it near the bottom of the heap -- just ahead of Panasonic, trailing with 0.1 percent.

Panasonic held steady, owning 0.1 percent.