Thermal & Inkjet Disc Printers Market Segmentation, Key Players Analysis and Forecast to 2026

The report provides an in-depth examination of key growth drivers and trends that are expected to have an impact on the market in the coming years. The adoption of cloud computing and artificial intelligence is expected to drive healthy growth in the technology industry over the forecast period. Increasing competitive pressure and advanced digital transformation in the areas of data analytics and artificial intelligence are expected to improve the Thermal & Inkjet Disc Printers market growth outlook in the coming decade.

According to a recent market report titled “Disc Printers Market: U.S., Europe, and Japan Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment, 2016-2026,” the U.S., Europe, and Japan disc printers market was valued at US$ 929.6 Mn in 2015, and is expected to decline at a CAGR of -3.0 percent from 2016 to 2026. The growing demand for online media content, the continued adoption of cloud-based storage services and other media storage devices, high raw material costs, and technological innovation with efficient alternatives for data access are the major factors influencing the growth of the disc printers market in the United States, Europe, and Japan.

Changes in consumer behaviour, robust product innovations, and expanding distribution networks, according to the FMI report, continue to influence the growth of the Thermal & Inkjet Disc Printers market. FMI’s analysts use unique research methods and comprehensive data analysis to study the current and upcoming trends in the Thermal & Inkjet Disc Printers market report, and they collect data from a variety of primary and secondary sources.

The process of printing text, data, or images on the surface of an optical disc is known as disc printing. Thermal disc printing and inkjet disc printing are two methods for printing CD-Rs on-demand. A thermal disc printer applies text and graphics to the disc surface using pressure and heat. Thermal printed discs have a more durable print surface. Thermal disc printing generates colour custom labels that are waterproof, scratchproof, and require no additional coating. However, their colour printing capability has limitations that prevent it from being used in cases where the label contains complex colour graphic content.

Inkjet printers use a mechanism in which the print head contains a number of tiny nozzles/jets that spray ink onto the disc as it moves past the print head, forming the characters or images. Depending on the model, inkjet disc printers may use a single cartridge for multiple colours or several cartridges, one for each colour, and are priced accordingly.

Highlights of segmentation

The market for disc printers in the United States, Europe, and Japan is divided into two types: thermal disc printers and inkjet disc printers. The market is further segmented based on thermal disc printer technology (direct thermal printing and thermal retransfer & dye-sublimation printing) and ribbon type (monochrome black, colour and photo). The market for inkjet disc printers is further subdivided based on technology (continuous ink technology and drop on demand technology) and head design (fixed head and replaceable head).

Forecasts for regional markets

This report also discusses the trends that are driving each segment and provides analysis and insights into the potential of thermal and inkjet disc printers in regions such as the United States, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, and Japan. Western Europe had the largest market share among these regions in 2015. This is primarily due to service providers’ preference for offering packaged services such as disc printing, duplication, and packaging, allowing key players to attract price-sensitive customers and gain a competitive advantage in the long run.

Insights from vendors

Rimage and Formats Unlimited (MF Digital), which operate in both the thermal printing and inkjet disc printing markets, are two of the key market players identified across the disc printers market value chain in the United States, Europe, and Japan. TEAC America Inc. and Microboards Technology are in the thermal disc printers market, whereas Seiko Epson Corporation and Primera Technologies Inc. are in the inkjet disc printers market.