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OPPORTUNITIES FOR EUROPE-BASED SEMICONDUCTOR VENDORS
An analysis of the semiconductor content of a printer shows that most of the
technology, and therefore value, is packed into ASICs. Considerable use is made of gate
arrays and full-custom ICs, particularly in the printer head controlling the pin drivers.
Most of this technology is proprietary, and in the case of Japanese printer companies,
the design is done in Japan. This makes it very hard for European semiconductor
companies to design in their products. The fundamental requirement must be to have a
design center in Japan.
Other than ASICs, printers incorporate standard logic, EEPROM, EPROM, DRAM,
MCUs, and power transistors. Further integration of standard logic into ASICs is
difficult, since this mainly comprises octal bus fxmctions.
The Ihinter Mai^et's Potential Impact on the Semiconductor Market
The printer market can be broken down into the following three major categories:
• Serial printers
• Line printers
• Page printers
Each category has several types of printers; for a full breakdown, please refer to the
"Definition Section" of your ESAM binder or turn to the glossary at the end of this
newsletter.
Serial Printers
The total serial printer market in 1988 was estimated to be 4.5 million units in
Europe. Of these, Dataquest estimates that 1.6 million units were produced in Europe.
This many units would represent a potential semiconductor market of $29 million if
semiconductors were sourced locally. The market is expected to grow at a compound
annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.5 percent, reaching 5.9 million units by 1993. We
estimate that 4.5 million units will be produced in Europe by 1993. Assuming that the
majority of semiconductors will be purchased locally, this represents a potential market
of $82 million.
The market is led by Epson, Star Micronics, and NEC, which together control
40 percent of the market. Citizen, Oki, and Amstrad follow; together they control
19 percent of the market.
Line Printers
The line printer market is aimed at professional users (i.e., mainframes,
microcomputers, and workstation installations). The total line printer market for 1988
was estimated to be 46,500 units and is expected to grow to 61,800 units by 1993. The
largest growth would be in line, impact, thermal transfer printers; we expect this market
to grow at a CAGR of 33.8 percent to reach 28,600 units.
Dataquest estimates that 14,000 line printers were produced in Europe in 1988. Of
these, 9,000 were in the line, impact, fully formed category. The leading companies in
this category are: Dataproducts, Gemicron, Fujitsu, IBM, and Nixdorf.
ESAM Newsletter © 1989 Dataquest Incorporated October 5