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Global Printer Market 2026
Posted by Toner Buzz on 07/30/2026
Updated July 2026.
The printer market in 2026 is not disappearing. It is changing shape.
Office page volumes are still under pressure from hybrid work, cloud documents, and digital signatures. At the same time, printers remain essential for labels, shipping, healthcare, education, small businesses, packaging, creative work, industrial production, and homes that still need reliable paper output.
That split explains the market: fewer casual office pages, more demand for multifunction devices, lower-cost ink tank systems, label printers, managed print services, and specialized commercial or industrial machines.
Market-size estimates vary because research firms define "printers" differently. Some include office, home, commercial, industrial, label, and large-format equipment in one total. Others use a narrower hardware definition. The useful takeaway is the direction: the market is growing slowly in revenue, but the mix of devices is shifting.
Are Printers Still Selling?
Yes, but not evenly.
IDC's hardcopy peripherals data showed a recovery in the fourth quarter of 2024, when global shipments rose 3.1% year over year to nearly 22 million units. That was the second consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth after a difficult 2023.
By the first quarter of 2026, IDC described the market as facing a more difficult start to the year. Inkjet shipments were broadly stable, with ink tank devices gaining share across consumer, SOHO, and SMB segments. Laser shipments contracted, especially single-function laser printers and A3 multifunction printers.
In plain English: people and businesses are still buying printers, but they are buying different kinds of printers. Low-cost-per-page ink tank models are taking share from cartridge inkjets in many regions, while some office laser categories are feeling pressure from digitized workflows and tighter budgets.
Printer Market Snapshot for 2026
The Biggest Printer Brands in 2026
The global printer market is still led by familiar names: HP, Canon, Epson, and Brother. Xerox remains important in workplace and managed print, especially after completing its Lexmark acquisition in 2025.
IDC's public Q4 2024 vendor table still put HP first in hardcopy peripherals unit shipments. The company remains strong in home, office, laser, inkjet, and supplies. At the same time, HP's own fiscal 2026 reporting shows the pressure in hardware: in Q2 FY2026, HP said printing revenue was flat year over year, while total printing hardware units were down 7%.
Canon remains a major player across home inkjet, office multifunction, laser, production printing, and large-format systems. Canon's 2025 annual report shows total Printing Business Unit sales declined 1.1% year over year, with inkjet printer unit sales up thanks to refillable ink tank models and laser printer sales down mainly in Europe and China.
Epson is one of the clearest beneficiaries of the ink tank shift. Epson's 2025 financial reporting points to strength in high-capacity ink tank printers, especially in emerging markets and North America.
Brother continues to be a strong office, small-business, label, and home-office brand. Brother's Printing & Solutions business remains its largest segment, and the company reported higher sales of consumables in its FY2025 results.
Inkjet vs. Laser in 2026
The old shortcut was simple: inkjet for home, laser for office. That is no longer enough.
Inkjet is gaining because tank-based systems have changed the economics. Refillable ink tank printers cost more upfront than many cartridge printers, but they can lower the running cost for households, students, home offices, and small businesses that print regularly.
Laser printers still matter in offices because they are fast, durable, and well suited to sharp text output. But the weakest laser categories are exposed when businesses print fewer routine documents or delay hardware refreshes. IDC's Q1 2026 update specifically called out contraction in laser shipments, with single-function laser and A3 MFP devices under the most pressure.
The result is not "inkjet wins and laser loses." It is more specific: ink tank inkjet is growing in cost-sensitive and distributed work settings, while laser remains useful where speed, text quality, fleet management, and duty cycle matter.
Multifunction Printers Are the Center of the Market
Multifunction printers, or MFPs, combine print, scan, copy, and sometimes fax in one device. They are the most important format because they fit how buyers now think about hardware: fewer devices, broader utility, and easier management.
For homes and small offices, an MFP is often the only printer worth buying. For larger organizations, MFPs are part of managed print programs that track usage, reduce waste, add security controls, and simplify supplies procurement.
This is why multifunction devices can lead revenue share even while total office page volume declines. Buyers may print less, but when they do refresh equipment, they often choose a device that can do more than print.
Regional Printer Market Trends
Asia Pacific is the largest and most important growth region in most printer market forecasts. The region benefits from manufacturing activity, expanding SMB ecosystems, education demand, and strong adoption of refillable ink tank printers.
Latin America is another important ink tank region. IDC's Q1 2026 update notes that ink tank devices now represent the dominant technology across the region.
The United States is more mixed. IDC said U.S. laser MFP shipments declined sharply year over year in Q1 2026, while inkjet MFP shipments held up better than expected. That pattern fits the broader market: office refresh cycles are cautious, while home-office and SMB printing remains more resilient.
Where the Growth Is Coming From
The printer market's growth areas are not just traditional home and office printers.
Ink tank printers are expanding because buyers want predictable running costs and fewer cartridge replacements.
Label and thermal printers benefit from e-commerce, shipping, healthcare labels, warehouse operations, and retail logistics. These are practical print jobs that do not disappear when documents move online.
Large-format printers remain important for signage, architecture, engineering, packaging mockups, retail graphics, decor, and textile applications.
Managed print services help businesses control spending, supplies, security, and fleet maintenance as print environments become more distributed.
3D printing is a separate market, but it is now too large to ignore in any overview of printing. Mordor estimates the 3D printing market at $34.45 billion in 2026 and projects it to reach $69.26 billion by 2031. That growth is driven more by manufacturing, healthcare, aerospace, prototyping, and end-use parts than by office printing.
What This Means for Buyers
For most home users, the best value in 2026 is usually a reliable ink tank or cartridge inkjet MFP, depending on print volume. If you print often, ink tank economics are hard to ignore. If you print rarely, the cheapest printer may not be the cheapest printer to own if replacement ink dries out or costs too much.
For small businesses, the decision is more about workflow. A compact laser MFP may still be the right tool for frequent black-and-white documents. An ink tank MFP may be better for mixed color work and lower running costs. A label printer may save more time than either if shipping and inventory are daily tasks.
For larger offices, printer buying is increasingly about fleet management. The questions are not only "Which printer is fastest?" but also "How secure is it?", "How easy is supplies management?", "Can usage be tracked?", and "Does the fleet match the way employees actually work now?"
Bottom Line
The global printer market in 2026 is mature, but not dead. The weakest areas are routine office pages and some traditional laser hardware categories. The stronger areas are multifunction devices, ink tank systems, label and logistics printing, large-format output, managed print services, and industrial printing.
Printers are no longer the default output device for every document. They are becoming more specialized, more cost-aware, and more tied to real workflows. That is the real state of the printer market in 2026.
Sources
- IDC Worldwide Quarterly Hardcopy Peripherals Tracker, Q1 2026 highlights
- IDC, Worldwide hardcopy peripherals shipments increased 3.1% year over year in Q4 2024
- Mordor Intelligence, Printer Market Size and Share
- IMARC Group, Printer Market Report
- HP Inc., Fiscal 2026 Second Quarter Results
- Canon Annual Report 2025
- Epson FY2025 Financial Results Presentation
- Brother Industries, FY2025 Financial Results
- Xerox, Xerox completes acquisition of Lexmark
- Mordor Intelligence, 3D Printing Market Size
