CI: 1996 a banner year for retail printer sales, with a record one million units sold in December.

LA JOLLA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 3, 1997--

Computer Intelligence Finds Ink Jets Accounted for 70% of

Printer Units Sold in 1996

New research from Computer Intelligence (CI), the leading source of fact-based information about the computer and communications industries, reports that printer sales through the U.S. dealer and retail sales channels in 1996 reached an all-time high of 8.048 million units, with revenues of $4.043 billion. A record one million units were sold in December alone, contributing to the 23 percent increase in unit sales and 9 percent increase in revenues over the 1995 totals.

According to Ed Pullen, CI's Senior Analyst for Printers, "For the printer vendors, 1996 was the best of years and the worst of years. It was the best in regard to sales volumes, but it was the worst for profit margins decimated by intense price competition."

1996 U.S. Printer Type Market Share by Channel

                                 PC          Office       Consumer
                    Dealers  Superstores   Superstores   Electronics
                                                           Stores

Page/laser            73%        35%           27%         12%
Ink jet               17%        54%           63%         82%
Multifunction          2%         6%            8%          5%
Other                  8%         5%            2%          1%
(dot matrix, thermal,
 etc.)

Source: Computer Intelligence, January 1997

CI's data shows that ink jet printing technology was 1996's fastest growth segment, earning 70 percent of overall unit sales and a 43 percent share of the revenues for the entire year. Fourth quarter sales for ink jet printers alone accounted for 32 percent of total unit volume and 30 percent of the revenues for the entire year.

This growth, however, came at the expense of page and laser printer unit sales. Despite a continued revenue and unit sales lead maintained over other print technologies, page printers suffered a revenue drop from a 52 percent share in 1995 to a 48 percent share for 1996. Multifunction products doubled both unit and revenue share in 1996, but still accounted for only 4 percent of printer revenues.

U.S. Revenue by Printer Type, 1995 vs. 1996

                     1995         1996      Increase/Decrease over95

Laser/Page             52%          48%            -4%
Ink Jet                38%          43%            +5%
Multifunction           2%           4%            +2%
Other                   8%           5%            -3%

Source: Computer Intelligence, January 1997

CI's data reflects a significant shift in printer sales by distribution channel. While the dealer channel continued to command the largest portion of printer revenues, its total share slipped from 51 percent in 1995 to 48 percent in 1996. "The real surprise in the 1996 printer market has been the shift away from the dealer channel to the superstores," said Pullen. "Computer and office superstores have both increased their market share, an interesting trend that should continue in 1997."

Despite the Consumer Electronic Stores (CES) channel increase in revenues generated through ink jet sales, this channel's share of printer sales remained unchanged in 1996. While CES's share of the ink jet revenues increased to 37 percent, the channel lost share in all other printer technologies.

U.S. Printer Revenue by Distribution Channel, 1995 vs. 1996

                  1995     1996    Increase/Decrease over '95

Dealers             51%      48%         -3%
PC Superstores      18%      20%         +2%
CES                 19%      19%          0%
Office Superstores  12%      13%         +1%

Source:  Computer Intelligence, January 1997

Computer Intelligence, a Ziff-Davis company, is the leading source of fact-based information for the computer and communications industries. CI's extensive research capabilities provide a wide variety of products and services that help computer and communications companies sell and market more effectively. All of the company's products and services are based on proprietary information databases built and maintained by CI specialists. Headquartered in La Jolla, Computer Intelligence has offices in Cambridge, Mass.; Farmington, Conn.; Sunnyvale, Calif.; Dallas, Tex.; and Europe. Samples of CI's extensive market data and research results, timely commentary from industry authorities and previews of upcoming technology events are available on the company's site on the World Wide Web, http://www.ci.zd.com .

Ziff-Davis, a Softbank company, is the leading provider of special-interest content about the Internet and computing. The quality and quantity of this content attract the largest and most powerful audience of early adopters and opinion leaders in both the business and consumer markets. Ziff-Davis enables advertisers to reach this audience effectively and efficiently through an integrated system of print, online, and broadcast media.

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