When The Ink Dries On Innovation, It Won’t Be Laser
As the print industry heads to Las Vegas for Printing United 2026. I think about the realities of how far inkjet technologies have come. What is more amazing is the lack of motivation among Inkjet OEMs, as they seem to have accepted that laser is dominant in business printing. I continuously ask, why are they are completely comfortable ignoring a 50-billion-dollar TAM just to fit in when the laser world allows?
I had an opportunity to ask a panel of some of the Laser OEMs dominant in the business printing space what their strategy was regarding Inkjet in the business printing space.
I was not surprised by their answers but was definitely critical of the answers they gave. They all agreed that Inkjet in the production space within the business printing sector is a growing opportunity. However, these OEM leaders weren’t optimistic at all about Inkjet replacing the MILLIONS of MFPs spread throughout offices around the world.
What I find so interesting is that OEM leaders have, for the most part, recognized the opportunity regarding Inkjet in production but have a litany of reasons why Inkjet in business won’t work!
So, now let's discuss Kyocera, the only OEM that looked at the light production print space and decided that delivering the future to the present was a more logical approach than simply doing what all its peers have been doing as they all focus on Laser. As a side note, Kyocera had no representation on the panel I questioned.
The Kyocera TASKalfa 15000c has been a big hit! Our friends at Xerox have been rebaging the technology for about a year. Recently, Kyocera introduced the TASKalfa 15000b BLACK ONLY! That introduction is game-changing and will cause heartburn for many laser-focused sales organizations as the leases on the millions of black-only production units expire.
The genius of this black-only Inkjet product by Kyocera is that all the silly objections that salespeople and the industry’s technicians have convinced themselves of regarding quality are irrelevant, because black-only production printing isn’t an outcome determined by who has the best laser color.
This black-only production inkjet by Kyocera again highlights Kyocera breaking apart the status quo. Kyocera has a massive opportunity to now bring black-only MFP technology to their entire office equipment portfolio. As service departments realize the major benefits of inkjet, the snowball effect will begin.
The facts are that, in business printing, the very few applications where Laser is preferred over inkjet are based more on the sales organization than on the end-users.
As those from the business printing space wander through the massive display floor at Printing United, this week ask yourself: has Inkjet completely changed the landscape of Industrial Printing? The answer will be YES! Then ask: Why is Laser still the dominant player in business MFPs?
That answer is more about the industry’s OEMs and sales channels than the industry’s end-users.
The OEMs and their dealers worldwide that have been providing MFPs and printers to businesses must reevaluate all aspects of the industry’s deliverables.
During this reevaluation, the industry’s actors must turn their focus to end users and truly understand the outcomes they desire. With that realization, it will clearly define that Inkjet is more than acceptable.
The other redefined component of the deliverable must be the service processes, which are under pressure from the industry’s aging technician population. Everyone understands at this point that servicing laser equipment is so much more intensive than Inkjet!
When any industry focuses more on why the old way should remain than on why it should innovate, the cancer of status quo will eventually consume the old way.
I have been very critical of our friends at EPSON, as they really had an opportunity to dominate the much-needed migration from laser MFPs to Inkjet. Unfortunately, I believe EPSON became very comfortable fitting in with Laser rather than disrupting the hell out of it.
HP was on the panel I questioned, and their excuse for dismissing Inkjet in business printing was a rehashing of the PageWide product. HP thinks trying something defines that something. In reality, it’s the innovator who doesn't run back to what they are comfortable with when innovation gets uncomfortable who achieves perfected innovation.
Our friends at RICOH and Canon also have broad knowledge of inkjet. When will either of them decide that Inkjet should become their dominant product in the business MFP space?
I have been vocal about pushing Kyocera to disrupt the laser printing business landscape. Kyocera has Billions in liquid assets and has proven that the marketplace will, in fact, accept their Inkjet technology. Kyocera also recognizes the value in having others rebadge its inkjet technology.
My Inkjet Revolution is a mirror image of my A4 Revolution. Both are more about mindsets than products; both revolutions are about changing outdated processes to deliver better experiences in line with evolving realities.
The A4 Revolution was victorious, as more A4 MFPs are being delivered than A3 MFPs. I have zero doubt that the Inkjet Revolution will be victorious, and that one day the industry will see a graph at a trade show showing that more Inkjet MFPs are being delivered to businesses all over the world than Laser MFPs.
Look forward to seeing everyone in Vegas!
Ray Stasieczko, host of YouTube Series, The End Of The Day With Ray!
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