Confidence in the hardcopy peripherals market should remain high as the overall market continues to increase year on year despite some segments showing signs of continual decline. These declines are being offset by growth in areas such as color printers and the whole MFP market.

"Vendors are continually developing their strategies towards gaining revenue and profit away from the traditional hardware business. These areas may include consumables, supplies, pint management contracts, outsourcing, and other print-related services, but fundamentally, without installing the hardware initially, any additional sources of monies remain limited," said Phil Sargeant, senior research analyst, European Peripherals, IDC.