Ink – MetaFacts' TUP findings

March 19, 2018December 15, 2020

Home Printers – Refilled or Original? [TUPdate]

When consumers buy a home printer, they’re also buying ink for as long as they use their printer. HP has the lowest rate of US consumers using refilled ink. Of the major brands, HP has the lowest share – 16%, while Brother and Dell have the highest share, 37%. Over the last two years, this refill share has only slightly wavered.

This is based on the most recent wave of Technology User Profile (TUP), the 2017 edition.

The majority of HP’s home printer customers are using HP’s ink, and only 7% are using a replacement brand such as Office Depot or Staples.

Similarly, most of Epson and Canon’s ink is their own brand, making up two-thirds of home printer users.

Outside of the US, the picture is somewhat similar.

The majority of ink being used in HP printers is HP-branded, at a rate that is being closely trailed by Dell. While the US original-ink rate is strongest in the US for most major home printer brands, this rate is lower in nearly every country in the TUP 2017 survey: China, India, and Germany.

Brother’s original-ink share is nearly as strong in India as it is in the US, at just under one-half of home printers.

Who are the refillers?

Refillers around the world are younger than those who buy original ink – whether the same brand as the printer or a competitive offering. While the average (mean) age of adults who use refills in their home printers is 36, the age of original ink users is 41, a full five years older. Those using competitive ink are yet again another 4 years older.

There’s also a difference in choice of ink with respect to employment status.

Those using refilled ink have a higher share that are employed or self-employed than those using original ink. Those using competitive ink are less likely to be employed outside the home than those using original ink.

Related research results

MetaFacts Technology User Profile (TUP) includes extensive printer-related information: printer usage volume, actively used printer features, printer activities, wireless printing, high-capacity and subscription ink, and more.

Source

The information in this TUPdate is based on a survey of online adults in mid-2017 as part of the MetaFacts Technology User Profile (TUP) study. The TUP study universe included a representative sample of online adults, carefully selected and weighted to be fully representative. Current TUP subscribers can obtain the results of this newest research at a discount. For more information about MetaFacts and subscribing to TUP, please contact MetaFacts.

December 7, 2016October 28, 2020

Subscription Ink – Only for Busy Youngsters?

Is there an age skew for subscribing to an ink replacement plan?

Consider the person racing to print that important report or family photo, only to discover their printer is out of ink. While office supply and discount retailers still lead as major sources for printer ink purchases, the most-recent market disruption offers a preemptive choice – ink by subscription.

Busy and convenience-oriented youngish adults have lead the adoption of subscription ink. Adults age 25-39 have the highest rates of subscription ink usage.

While the national average rate is 22% of adults with printers that subscribe to an ink replacement plan, among adults age 30-34 the rate is double that – at 45%. This is narrowly followed by Adults age 35-39 with 43%.

In addition to their quest for ease and convenience, these age groups are also highest in the presence of children full-time employment and household income, a very active life stage. These sociological factors help drive the demand for family photos, recipes, and greeting cards.

Looking ahead, we expect the attitudes of this often-engrossed group to continue, furthering adoption of subscription ink within this age segment.

Resources

This is based on our most recent research among 7,336 US adults as part of the Technology User Profile (TUP) 2016 survey.

This MetaFAQs research result addresses one of the many questions profiling active technology users, and is based on the following TUP table set: 460 SUxAGE in the Age Category Section of the TUP User Profile Chapter.

Many other related answers are part of the TUP service, available to paid subscribers. The TUP chapter with the most information about printers and printing activities is the TUP 2016 Printer Chapter, and about age-skewed tech usage in the TUP 2016 User Profile Chapter.

For more information about MetaFacts and subscribing to TUP, please contact MetaFacts.

November 18, 2016October 28, 2020

Home Printer Brands-from Refillers & Laggards to Bigger Spenders (TUPdate)

Home Printer Brands-from Refillers & Laggards to Bigger Spenders – Dan Ness, November 18, 2016

Home printer makers do their best to make innovate products, manage their distribution, and support their customers – all while competing. Buyers, meanwhile, make their choices. Interestingly, all home buyers aren’t created equally, and some brands have carved out a customer base which may or may not be favorable for them.

Home printer buyers can be tough on some brands. Some users choose refills instead of new ink, while others spend much more on supplies and technology than the users of other brands. Meanwhile, others have a longer printer replacement cycle.

Older and newer printers

HP can justifiably claim that home printer owners get longer use. Users of HP Home Printers use older printers than do users of other major home printer brands. The average printer age is 2.4 to 2.6 years for printers being used in the prior 90 days by Brother, Canon, or Epson home printer users. In contrast, among HP home printer users, the average printer age is 3 years.

Active with images and graphics

Users with some brands have attracted more or less graphics-oriented users. There is a different profile based on their breadth of graphics and image-oriented activities across their connected devices, such as PCs, Tablets, and Smartphones.

Users of Brother Home Printers have the widest range of graphics/image activities. Breadth of use is higher than those with other home printer brands. Nearly half (46%) of Brother home printer users are in the top-third.

Uniquely-strong activities with connected devices among Brother home printer users are creating personal graphics/presentations (38% of Brother users vs. 28% nationally) and work graphics/presentations (37% versus 28% nationally).

Use of refills

Whose Home Printer customers are most likely to use refilled ink/toner?

Among major home printer brands, Epson’s users have the highest rate of using refilled ink cartridges. Over one-third (35%) do so, a 53% higher rate than the national average of 23%. Just over a quarter (26%) of Canon’s home printer brands do.

Tech spending

Brother’s home printer users spend the most on their home technology devices and services. Over one-third (34%) of these users are in the top quartile of consumer technology spenders. Brother home printer users spend substantially more than users of other major home printer brands. At $10.2k per year, this is 30% higher than the national average of $7.9k.

Brother’s home printer users also outspend on levels on ink, toner, and paper. Compared to the national average, their annual spend of $980 is 53% higher than the national average of $640.

Experience levels

Epson’s home printer users have the least tech experience. Twenty percent first started using a desktop PC within the last 8 years, versus the 12% national average. Similarly, 37% first started using a basic cell phone within the last 8 years, a rate 54% higher than the national share of 24%.

HP is at the other end of the spectrum, having attracted a more-experienced tech users. Although this measure of tech adoption – years since first using a given device – also reflects older users, when correcting for age, this same pattern holds true. Epson has a higher share of tech laggards than other home printer brands. Comparing similarly-aged users, more of Epson’s users were laggards – in the last 16% to adopt desktops, notebooks, smartphones, basic cell phones, and tablets.

Among customers with less tech experience, support costs can be higher, and products, marketing messages, and instructions need to be simpler and clearer. Being strong in any particular market segment may have benefits, however if they’re more expensive to support and sell too, over the long run other segments may be more worthwhile to pursue.

About this TUPdate

This TUPdate includes a complimentary brief summary of recent MetaFacts TUP (Technology User Profile) research results. These results are based on the most-recent results of the MetaFacts Technology User Profile 2016 survey, its 34th wave, with 7,334 respondents (US). Trend information is based on prior waves. For more information about MetaFacts and subscribing to TUP, please contact MetaFacts.

Resources

Current TUP subscribers can tap into any of the following TUP information used for this analysis or for even deeper analysis.

The TUP 2016 Printers Chapter details printer brands, types, printing activities, and other key analysis points. The TUP 2016 Technology Adoption Chapter drills down into experience to profile Early Adopters, the Early and Late Majority, and Laggards.

September 30, 2016October 29, 2020

Is there an age skew for using refilled printer ink? (MetaFAQs)

Who refills their printer ink, or buys refilled toners or cartridges?

Younger adults use refilled ink more often than older adults, with the practice being strongest among printer users age 18-34. In fact, nearly half of printer users using refilled ink are under age 35, and among these younger adults, refill usage rates exceed one in three.

In our other TUP research, we’re finding that while overall printing levels have declined over the last five years, certain segments of graphically-oriented users are printing more than ever. Also, subscription ink replacement plan usage is growing.

About this MetaFAQ

In addition to profiling the spending, demographics, activities, and devices of printer users, many other related answers are part of the TUP service, available to paid subscribers. One section of TUP 2016 which includes extensive results about printers, printer users, and printing activities – the TUP 2016 Printers chapter. This is one of more than a dozen chapters in the entire TUP 2016 study.

These MetaFAQs are brought to you by MetaFacts, based on research results from the most-recent wave of Technology User Profile (TUP).

For more information about MetaFacts and subscribing to TUP, please contact MetaFacts.