| Each
month CAD
SPAGHETTI
will provide
market intelligence from our database of nearly 20,000 UK
CAD/CAM user sites. This
month, we look at usage of large format devices.
Large
format plotters and printers
Our sample of 2,635 UK CAD
users reveals that 63% are using large format
printers/plotters (large format is defined throughout
the article as A1 or larger).
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The
UK CAD/CAM User Site Database contains in-depth
information for each record covering some 150 separate data
items. The data
is updated twice a year by our specialist IT researchers.
The scope for analysis is huge, but here are a few
facts taken from interviews conducted in January 2001 with
2,635 sites (selected to provide a representative sample of
the total UK CAD/CAM market). |
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This position has not changed greatly
since 1999 when our survey of 2,201 respondents revealed average
usage to be 61%. Again
penetration by business sector was similar to 2001.
Chart 2 below shows usage by
application area and again shows AEC and GIS as the heaviest users
of large format plotters/printers.
Plotting
changes
Just
as the level of overall use of plotters/printers has remained
consistent over the past few years, the usage of different types of
plotter has not changed greatly since 1999 (Chart 3).
The
proportion of sites using pen plotters has nearly halved, but the
fact that one in ten are still using pens will surprise suppliers
who have tended to assume that this plotting method has all but
vanished. Inkjet
technology has risen from 79% to 84% over the last two years.
It dominates the AEC area, where 93% of sites are using large
format inkjet machines.
The change from analogue to digital
technologies is hard to pick up in these surveys as users are often
unable to name the technology they are using, but the evidence
suggests that the installed base of digital technologies is slow to
rise. This is a further
indication that the market is moving more slowly than suppliers
tend to think.
HP in control
In
terms of brands, an overwhelming 91% of inkjet users have a Hewlett-Packard plotter/printer (Chart
4). This figure was the
same in 1999. HP’s
dominance leaves little room for other major brands as shown
below.
Large
format copiers and plan printers
One
in five CAD/CAM sites have a large format copier or plan printer.
As Chart 5 shows, again there is a significant difference
between business sectors, with AEC and government being the heaviest
users. Océ and Xerox
are the dominant brands in this field.
Scanners
The incidence of large format
scanners is very low. Only
3% of CAD sites reported a large format scanner.
The number of scanners appears to be declining; installed
base figures have fallen from 6% in 1998, to 4% in 1999 and 3% now.
This is felt to be due to the emergence of new digital and
multifunctional equipment.
| Business
Advantage has been collecting data on large
format devices over the past 4 years. We regularly
analyse this data to examine trends
in this market. Extracts of this report are shown here
- but you can obtain the full report from Business
Advantage for only £199. Please contact David
Eaton on +44 (0)1689 873636 or david.eaton@business-advantage.com |
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