Mar 26, 2007 — Express Computer (March 26, 2007) It's a digital world-whether you are taking a photograph or communicating with a colleague, chances are that you will be using an electronic medium to do so. That does not mean, however, that paper is passé. The fact is that the use of e-mail in an organisation causes an average 40 percent increase in paper consumption and that digital photographs get printed-a lot. As per MAIT's recent report, overall printer sales in India stood at 7.6 lakh units growing by 4.4 percent during H1 2006-07 over the same period in fiscal 2005-06. Moreover, the study also forecasted that printer sales will cross 18 lakh units in fiscal 2006-07. Sales of laser printers grew 46 percent in H1 to reach 2.2 lakh units. Sales to large enterprises grew by 142 percent and those to small enterprises by 6 percent. On the other hand, sales declined by 2 percent in the case of medium enterprises. Laser printer consumption has been impressive, with these being preferred over inkjets and dot-matrix printers, especially by large enterprises. 5.5 lakh laser printers are projected to shift during FY 2006-07. Natesh Mani, Executive Director, New Office Group, Xerox India Limited says, "Advances in office automation have played a pivotal role in revolutionising the use of office space in India. In addition, the increased expenditure on IT infrastructure has enabled offices to evaluate new options and go in for solutions that enhance their productivity such as multi-functional devices and products with customised features." At the same time SMBs are becoming more inclined towards investing in imaging and printing infrastructure. With PC penetration increasing, Vishal Sriwastv – Country Manager, Brother International (India) Pvt. Ltd expects that the printer market will also pick up correspondingly. Sriwastv says, "From a current 1:7 printer to PC attachment ratio (one printer sold for every seven PCs), with falling prices, we expect that the ratio will come to about 1:3 or 1:4." Ram Agarwal MD and CEO of Wep Peripherals says, "The market is becoming more price conscious. Customers don't want to invest on printers as standalone devices, they want advanced printing solutions."