Research Updates

London, 29 October 2021 – European sales through distribution for tablets and notebooks trended significantly higher than 2019 figures in Q3, but desktops continued to struggle to recover to 2019 levels, according to the latest data from CONTEXT, the IT market intelligence company.

CONTEXT’s Index Revenue Trend shows mobile PCs trending significantly higher than 2019 figures for the whole of 2021 year-to-date, and ticking up at the end of the third quarter. However, they recorded a year-on-year drop in revenue sales of 4% (notebooks) and 7% (tablets) due to strong 2020 comparatives. The exceptional performance last year was driven by rapid growth in remote working and studying, and government investment in the education sector.

Desktop revenue sales recorded a small improvement at the end of Q3 but overall have trended below 2019 figures all year so far. However, recent year-on-year recovery has come in some countries such as Italy, the UK and France on the back of strong declines in 2020.

Education ups and downs

“Government spending on school notebooks and tablets increased across Europe in 2020 as the pandemic struck and pupils were forced to take lessons at home”, said Marie-Christine Pygott, senior analyst at CONTEXT. “However, performance and education mix was quite varied across the region. Very often, sales growth depended on individual deals, levels of funding and whether distribution was the main go-to-market route for education sales.”

In the UK and Italy, current performance in the sector is below 2020 levels because of generous government investment last year. In the UK, centralised government funding promised to supply 1.4 million devices to schools, with a large proportion fulfilled through distribution and more still to come. Germany is trending in line with last year but the mix for the education sector is very low and there has been no significant rise in sales despite government funding.

Spain is also unusual in that it is trending strongly above 2020 despite last year also seeing strong performance. Whilst 2020 was dominated by larger education projects, we’re now seeing a raft of smaller deals. In Q3, revenue sales growth was driven by a vendor deal with a government agency.

London, 30 September 2021 – Revenue sales for notebooks and tablets continued to beat 2019 levels over the summer, with Wi-Fi 6-equipped notebooks performing particularly well, according to the latest data from CONTEXT, the IT market intelligence company.

CONTEXT’s Revenue Trend Index plots current performance against a value of 100 for each category, which is equivalent to the 2019 average. We found that mobile PCs performed best, with notebooks hovering at around 120 on the index from week 25-36, while tablets are now at around 105.

Desktop sales through distribution remain well below the category’s 2019 average, at around 75. But while year-on-year revenue for notebooks (-2%) and tablets (-17%) fell in August, desktop sales recovered slightly to growth of +10%.

A European outlier

Most European countries followed these same trends, with some recording significantly higher notebook sales revenues than 2019 and some near or in line with 2020 figures. However, one outlier is Italy.

The country had one of the highest notebook growth rates last year thanks to a slew of education deals, which drove year-on-year sales to 116% in August 2020. That made for some tough comparatives this summer, exacerbated by the fact that 2021 has seen a return to the seasonal drop in activity in August, as workers and students went on holiday. The country has also been hit hard by supply chain issues, especially in the consumer space where retailers are dealing with a great deal of uncertainty with delivery times and product quantities.

Speccing up

CONTEXT data also shows a surge in revenue through distribution thanks to sales of products with higher specs. Our analysis of notebooks equipped with Wi-Fi 6, the latest version of the wireless communication protocol, showed revenue sales account for just 16% of the total for the business category in May 2020. However, by early September 2021, that figure had soared to 70%. In the consumer market, adoption was slower but increased steadily in the course of 2020 and stood at 57% of revenue sales by September.

This can be explained by several factors. Of course, the figures are driven by more products with Wi-Fi 6 enabled by default coming onto the market. Supply also plays a role. But we can’t rule out the fact that commercial organizations and home users are demanding better connectivity for remote working, management and learning. Wi-Fi 6 not only boosts connection speeds but also improves networks when handling multiple devices—as many have in homes during the pandemic. 

London, 5 February 2021 – Sales of desktop monitors achieved record growth of 33% in Q4 2020 driven by demand in consumer channels and from small and medium business (SMB) resellers according to the latest data published by CONTEXT, the IT market intelligence company.

Sales of desktop monitors began to accelerate at the start of the pandemic. They slowed briefly in the summer but picked up in September and kept growing throughout Q4, showing that demand was much higher than expected and has not yet been met. Investments in homeworking equipment seem to have continued and, given fourth-quarter holiday sales, gaming monitors saw even more interest than earlier in the year.

Desktop monitors: Volume sales by target customer, WE distribution

The record growth was due to sales of both consumer and business models. Due to lockdowns and office closures, sales to corporate resellers saw another quarter of decline, falling by -6% year-on-year. By contrast, sales to SMB have been recovering, growing by +18% in the same period, and those to retail have more than doubled. However, the need for homeworking and study devices has done more to drive growth than the special campaigns and sales that usually spur sales this time of the year. In fact, the backlog of orders was so high that there was no real need for vendors to incentivise customers.

When it comes to gaming or premium business models, where competition intensifies, the reasons for increased sales are slightly different. For gamers looking for models with refresh rates higher than 144 Hz, the choice keeps growing while prices keep going down. For homeworkers, it is all about specifications like ethernet input that enables monitors to become display and docking station in one, USB-C ports, good quality cameras or ergonomic features: distributors saw significant increases in sales of models with these features in Q4 2020. The majority of vendors are currently facing supply issues – especially for mainstream screen sizes like 21.5″, 23.8″ and 27″ – and this has changed the portfolio of monitors sold: the growth in sales of larger models, curved-screen devices or even small portable monitors may not necessarily reflect customer preferences but the choices they currently have.

Desktop monitors: Volume share by specification, Q4-20 vs Q4-19,

WE distribution

With sales through Western European distributors growing +23% year on year in 2020, Q4 closed one of the best-ever years for the desktop monitor market. This increase has shown that the importance of good screens for home offices was previously underestimated. Investment in homeworking devices happened at different paces in different countries so, although overall growth will probably slow down, demand should still remain high in those parts of Europe where sales picked up later or more slowly and, as a result, Q1 2021 will show increases compared to the first months of 2020 that may carry on into Q2. However, the extent to which the market grows will really depend on the level of supply as this remains challenging and poses major obstacle for many vendors. 

London, 26 Nov 2020 – Sales of desktop monitors through distributors in Western Europe (WE) grew in early Q4 2020, continuing the trend that began at the start of the pandemic. Over this period, sales have been driven not only by continuous high demand from consumers but also by recovery in the business segment, according to data published by CONTEXT, the IT market intelligence company.

In the first month of the quarter, combined sales of business- and consumer-targeted monitors were up by +21% year-on-year. While most of the growth in Q3 as a whole was due to consumer models, sales were up in both segments in October. As expected, consumer e-tail and retail drove the change, but sales to small and medium business (SMB) resellers and business e-tailers also improved. Sales to corporate resellers continued to fall, declining by -8% year-on-year.

Desktop monitors: Volume share by channel, WE distribution

In the past, November (which includes the weeks leading up to Black Friday) has been a very strong month for consumer monitors. In 2018 and 2019, however, sales began picking up in October, and distributors have seen the same thing happen this year: sales to consumer channels (e-tail and retail) in Germany, the UK, Italy and France were more than 20% higher than in September. In the UK and France, October sales grew by over 50% year-on-year whereas in Spain they fell by -6%. It is interesting to note that sales to SMB and business e-tail resellers during this month also grew, indicating a recovery in the business space. In Germany and Italy, sales to these channels grew by +44% and +35% year-on-year, respectively.

Desktop monitors: Consumer channel volume share by

price band, WE distribution

This year has also seen a change in the prices of models sold. Last year, the number of monitors costing less than €200 that distributors sold to consumer channels grew: this year’s increase has been driven by expensive models. Over 26% of monitors sold in October 2020 had 27" screens, but the largest growth was in sales of those with 23.8", 34" or 49" screens. Sales of portable 15.6" screens also increased significantly.

Gaming monitor sales were already growing before the pandemic, and the new circumstances have only accelerated this well-established trend. Increasing competition between vendors offering more and more exciting, high-spec (165Hz and above) models has not only fuelled interest but also pushed prices down, further spurring demand. In October, almost 20% of monitors sold to consumer channels had a refresh rate of 75Hz (a sales increase of +230% year-on-year), 10% were 144Hz models, over 4% were 165Hz, and 2% had an even higher refresh rate of 240Hz. The average selling price of monitors with the most popular screen sizes and high refresh rates was 10% lower than in the same period last year.

With October and November seeing the greatest demand for monitors, Q4 volume sales are expected to remain strong. However, after quarters of growth, the gradual slowdown in the monitor market, and component shortages, will trigger more aggressive behaviour from vendors – and any increased price competition may affect desktop monitor revenues into next year.

London, 27 August 2021 – July saw printer sales through European distributors fell sharply by -6.8% year-on-year. Even so, the revenue generated during this month increased by +0.8% driven by business inkjet MFP sales, according to the latest data published by CONTEXT, the IT market intelligence company.

Supply chain disruptions and low inventory levels impacted all categories resulting in sharp declines in sales and revenue for laser and inkjet single-function printers (SFPs). However, in spite of a small fall in the number of units sold (−1.4%), revenues from inkjet MFPs grew by +13.4% thanks to a shortage of laser printers in the > EUR 300 price range leading to increased sales of business models and more expensive consumer devices.

Germany was the only one of the Top 5 Western European economies to see business inkjet MFP sales decline in July (−22.4%). Elsewhere, returns to the workplace and the rebalancing of IT budgets toward office equipment boosted sales of these devices.

Graph 1: Change in inkjet MFP sales volume and revenue – European distribution

Sales of ink-tank MFPs, which have been growing since the beginning of the pandemic, increased by +12.4% and revenue climbed at an even faster rate (+31%) as people purchased more of the reasonably priced business ink-tanks that have been released recently.

Ink-cartridge MFPs saw overall revenue growth of +9.5%, benefiting from restored demand for business printers, sales of which were up by +18.7% year-on-year and revenue by +11.4%.

Graph 2: Inkjet MFP revenue change by ink system – European distribution

Overall inkjet MFP figures were affected by severe shortages of consumer and entry-level business printers at the beginning of Q2. In May, manufacturers began to increase shipments of these products to address the backlog and new orders, leading sales and revenue to pick up in June (by +35.6% and +54.7%, respectively). Demand for these models remained high in July, although the product mix shifted toward more expensive devices – particularly mid-range and high-end business printers which still have reasonably good availability. Higher prices for entry-level business inkjet printers also contributed to solid revenue growth. Ongoing disruption to component production lines and the supply chain, container shortages, and rising shipping costs will lead to continuing shortages and volatile supply in the distribution channel so the prices of mid-range and high-end business inkjet MFPs can be expected to increase in turn.

London, 29 July 2021 – Sales of printers through European distributors were up strongly in June 2021 (by +17.2% in units year-on-year), and revenues grew even more (by +21.8%), according to the latest data published by CONTEXT, the IT market intelligence company.

Consumer printers, which were in very short supply during April and May, saw increased year-on-year sales in June 2021 thanks to deliveries from manufacturers addressing the backlog of orders leading to growth of +21% in terms of units.

June was also a good month for the business printer segment. Growth of +11% was driven by sales of multifunction printers and in line with that seen in May (+12.9%), although there were differences in the product mix between inkjet and laser devices.

Graph 1: Printer sales volume change by target market – European distribution

The business inkjet category saw volume growth of +44.8% and revenue up by +52.8% with increased sales of entry-level and mid-range printers (costing less than €600). The laser category, on the other hand, completely shifted gear at the end of Q2: even though overall business laser sales were down by −17.2% in June (mainly as result of a shortage of entry-level devices), the revenue generated during this month increased by +5.1% year-on-year as companies and individuals purchased more expensive mid-range and high-end business printers (priced above €400) for reopened offices.

Graph 2: Change in laser MFP printer sales volumes and revenue – European distribution

With more people going back to the office and printing there, we expect increased demand for both hardware and toner in the months to come – although it is difficult to differentiate between true demand and potential duplicated orders due to (over-)reaction to low supply. There are still reasonable stock levels for mid-range and high-end laser printers, and numbers are secure for Q3 2021. However, whether there will be further growth in Q4 in this segment depends on the ability of manufacturers to produce these printers and address increased demand.

The distribution channel is facing shortages and volatile supply due to disruption in the supply chain and component production lines. Manufacturers are more likely to allocate and sell components such as microchips to more profitable industries (such as the automotive sector) in times of scarcity. Vendors will try to optimise profits by adjusting their product mix, shifting production between inkjet and laser printers (depending on component availability) when possible. The components shortage will also impact printer production time, stretching the average from the usual four weeks to as much as four months. In addition, a container shortage and increased shipping costs means that price increases are expected across hardware and consumables at all levels. With distributors able to select the deals that generate the best margins, the increased costs will, ultimately, be borne by the final customer.

London, 02 November 2021 – European revenue sales of enterprise networking equipment are on an upward trend in the last 4 weeks after a lower than expected Q3 performance, while Enterprise storage revenues are on par with last year’s results but the server market has continued to slump, according to CONTEXT, the IT market intelligence company.

The latest data on sales through European distribution show something of a turnaround for parts of the infrastructure market over the past four weeks. A month ago, networking sales were slowing after an impressive run starting at the beginning of 2021 and storage and server performance was lower than 2020 levels. However, since then, networking sales have matched 2019 levels despite the chip supply issues which have severely impacted this category. These are forecast to last another year, raising prices and, in turn, positively impacting channel revenues.

Storage and servers lag behind

Impressive performance in the backup and flash array segments enabled the storage sector to end Q3 positively. However, HCI sales continue to slow, despite a small positive year-on-year growth in Q3 21. Q4 has started soft and this could be the story of the quarter for storage, but as supply problems dissipate in Q1 2022 we could see some improvements.

Unfortunately, the server market is not showing many signs of improvement. We were expecting a small bounce in the final two quarters of 2021, but recent discussions with CONTEXT partners and clients have not provided cause for optimism. Underlying trends affecting the sector—including the move from on-premise to cloud solutions and the increasingly software-centric nature of the datacentre—are negatively impacting sales, and this won’t improve much in coming quarters.

We have also observed a decline in units sold, with Q3 2021 being the lowest volume in four years, at 91,021 units. Both rack and tower form factors have been impacted, although the former increased slightly year-on-year in the last quarter. Shortages of components aren’t helping either and have had an impact on sales configurations: “stock and sell” products are the main revenue driver for the market now rather than build-to-order systems.

Germany and the UK are the main factors of soft demand in the server market. This could be explained in part by uncertainty created by the recent German elections, and the UK’s HGV driver shortages and Brexit-related port congestion. The latter continue to exaggerate global supply problems and increase backlogs.

Positive news

More positively, total server RAM capacity consumption continues to increase with 11.1% growth in Q3 versus a year ago. This is confirmed by market share gains for both 64GB and 128GB capacity units, especially in Q3 2021, where the latter increased its market share to 5.4%, from just 1.8% the previous quarter.

London, 01 October 2021 – The European infrastructure market, which includes revenues from sales of servers, storage and networking, is not growing as quickly as expected in Q3 2021 due to component shortages and supply delays, according to the latest data published by CONTEXT, the IT market intelligence company.

Enterprise Infrastructure – 4-week rolling revenue index: Europe

In Q2 2021, infrastructure spending returned to 2019 levels and we were expecting this positive trend to continue in to Q3. Whilst the quarter got off to a promising start in July, August did not meet expectations – revenues were lower than in the previous year – and the market’s performance in September is just on a par with that of 2020.

Enterprise Storage – 4-week rolling revenue index: Europe

Servers – 4-week rolling revenue index: Europe

The main culprits are servers and enterprise storage. Revenues in both these market segments were at their lowest point in the last three years at the end of August and have just matched 2020 levels in recent weeks. With the positive impact of the return to offices on sales of switching equipment, the Enterprise networking segment is faring better, as expected.

Feedback from the industry is clear: component shortages and supply issues driving this below-average performance.

This is illustrated by the news from several industry players that stock-and-sell products in the server segment are doing well because customers are not hesitating to adapt their orders and buy components that are currently in stock rather than wait for delivery of their preferred component on a date that cannot be guaranteed. In addition, pre-configured servers – those with an almost complete configuration that are often in stock within the channel – have lately had a solid volume share of the European market, matching their performance at the beginning of the pandemic when factory-integrated custom configurations first felt the negative impact of reduced availability of components.

Servers – 4-week rolling revenue index: UK

Servers – 4-week rolling revenue index: Germany

When we look at country-level data, we see that reduced server sales in the UK and Germany are part of the reason for the poor performance of the overall European infrastructure market.

Despite what seemed like a solid UK recovery in July, there is no doubt that recent HGV driver shortages and Brexit red tape have since accentuated the global supply issues in this country.

While Germany has sailed through the pandemic rather more solidly than many other parts of Europe, the summer has not been kind to the server market there. Indeed, since July, revenues have been well under those of both 2020 and 2019. The latest dip would be more worrying were it not for last week’s election: the potential change in government can be blamed for a slowing down of public investment and the creation of an uncertain environment for business-infrastructure spending. German companies are still waiting to see what kind of coalition will come out of the current negotiation: both the Greens and the FDP would want some government policy to reflect their principles and any such moves could impact investments made in the next year or so.

Although the German political situation will be resolved in the next few months, the component shortage is, we hear, likely to last into 2022 and this will have a negative effect on the infrastructure market for at least the two next quarters.

LONDON, 13 July 2021 –  shipments of high-end Industrial and Design 3D printers continued to recover in Q1 2021 as deliveries into the US and Europe began to mirror the recovery previously seen in China. In the Industrial price class – which accounted for 52% of global 3D printer system hardware revenues over the period – unit shipments rose +43% year-on-year. The comparison is against the Covid-impacted Q1 2020 and, although strong, shipments were not back to pre-pandemic levels, trailing behind Q1 2019 by −3%. Design class printer shipments were up +11% but also remained down on pre-Covid levels, −15% below Q1 2019. The year-on-year rise for Professional printers was less impressive in the period (+7%) but the pandemic had less of an impact on this class – there was even a boost in shipments in the first half of last year. Additionally, with sales of Professional printers generally on the rise pre-pandemic, shipments were up +22% from Q1 2019 to Q1 2021. Growth rates for Personal and Kit & Hobby printers appeared to be phenomenal – at +38% and +459% respectively – but year-on-year comparisons are strange given that in Q1 2020 the factories in China producing these printers (or their key components) were shut down. Even though these two classes have performed well as-of-late, it remains to be seen how much of the recent quarter’s shipments-boon was by way of Covid-related factors and what new normal run-rates may be.

INDUSTRIAL PRINTERS ($100K+*)

Shipments of Industrial 3D printer systems struggled during lockdowns in H1 2020 with capital expenditures from key end-markets including aerospace, automotive, healthcare and general manufacturing largely on hold. Shipment rates increased sequentially in Q3 2020 and Q4 2020 as China came back online and then as the US and Europe gained control of the pandemic. Q1 2021 shipments, while generally on the rise and up year-on-year on a strange compare, were down a little on Q4 2020 and still recessed from Q1 2019, the date which is now being used as a near-term benchmark. Shipments of metal-focused Additive Manufacturing machines were up +4% year-on-year in Q1 2021 but considerably down (−27%) on Q1 2019. On the other hand, Industrial polymer AM machine shipments for the quarter were up +74% from their Q1 2020 low point and, more importantly, +12% higher than in Q1 2019 thanks to growth from China’s UnionTech (the global leader in this price class) and a strong rebound from key Western vendors like Stratasys, Carbon, HP, 3D Systems and EOS. Having overtaken the West in H2 2020, and with the US and Europe still in recovery as vaccine rollout ramped up slowly and new Covid variants caused upsurges in many countries, China remained the largest market for new Industrial printer shipments in Q1 2021 with reportedly strong demand from its surging domestic manufacturing industry.

Chart 1: Industrial 3D Printer System Shipments and

Year-on-Year Growth by Region

DESIGN ($20K–$100K)

Industry stalwarts Stratasys, 3D Systems and EnvisionTEC (now part of Desktop Metal) collectively shipped 62% of machines in this category in Q1 2021, with most of the quarter’s Y/Y 11% growth coming by way of rising shipments from Stratasys. Western companies are the main drivers in this price class, with companies outside of Asia responsible for 81% of total shipments. However, there are reports of strong demand in China, as its manufacturing segment continues to grow, and domestic shipments there are up +66% year-on-year.

PROFESSIONAL ($2.5K–$20K)

There was a ‘Covid bump’ in Professional printer shipments during H1 2020 as workers needed to mirror equipment available in their office buildings at home. Demand waned a little in 2H 2020 but accelerated again in Q1 2021 with the year-on-year increase in shipments thanks mostly to the success of products from the industry’s newest $2B company, Formlabs. Between Q1 2019 and Q1 2021, unit-volume shipments grew by +22% but the rise in system revenues has been even more impressive: key players have introduced more feature-rich products generating revenue growth of +45% over the two years.

PERSONAL (<$2.5K FULLY ASSEMBLED) AND KIT & HOBBY (SELF-ASSEMBLY)

Many vendors at this low-end of the market took the period to take stock of, and to pare down, their exploding model-count driven by the 2020 pandemic boom that resulted from consumers in lockdown taking up a new hobby or helping with their local PPE effort. Even in a seasonal lull period, Y/Y shipment growth looks phenomenal but was particularly skewed by pandemic comparisons as a year ago China was in hard lockdown. While shipments surged in 2020, supply shortages in the face of strong demand led to significant double-ordering (and double shipments) so it is not yet clear how much of this growth is sustainable and how much a result of the pandemic. Finished-good Personal printers continued to lose ground to self-assembly models with Personal shipments down -24% sequentially while Kit & Hobby shipments rose +14% Q/Q. In spite of the natural seasonal sequential shipment decline for Personal printers, the segment continued to see the increasing popularity of new, low-cost, resin-based LCD printers. Shipments of Personal LCD printers were up +20% Y/Y and accounted for 36% of all shipments in a category that had previously been dominated by models using FDM/material extrusion technology. Nearly all Kit & Hobby printers use FDM so it seems that demand for this technology has shifted into the self-assembly segment.

2021 and beyond

With new industries looking to adopt additive manufacturing to help mitigate potential supply-chain disruptions of the sort they saw in 2020, the long-term outlook for this sector is exceedingly positive. However, many vendors report an increasingly bullish outlook even for the near-term. They point to rising order rates – especially for metals 3D printing – and interest from new markets, such as the oil and gas industries. Economies are surging as they reopen, even though this process is slower in some Western nations than in the East because of ‘delta caution’ (concern about Covid variants) as Q3 begins. Global business travel has not yet resumed in earnest, so the reach of in-person multinational trade events like RAPID (Chicago) and Formnext (Germany) that are scheduled for H2 2021 is still unclear. Even so, shipments of new products continue to be a main driver of growth in the 3D printer industry indicating that markets remain eager to try new technologies in an effort to find the ever-elusive silver bullet that will meet all their needs and/or fill known holes in production capabilities. With more new products on the horizon this year than seen in recent periods, the projection for 2021 is now one of solid shipment growth compared to both 2020 and 2019 for all types of printers. Combined revenues from institutionally-focused Industrial, Design and Professional systems are forecasted to see not only an increase of +23% from 2020 but also to see a rise of +5% from 2019, showing increased optimism for a quicker bounce-back.

Chart 2: System Revenues and Forecasts by Material and Process

(Industrial, Professional and Design Printers Combined)

Industry leader Stratasys has doubled down on polymer 3D printing, adding new modalities to its portfolio, and is expected to ship powder bed fusion and vat photopolymerization solutions this year. HP’s Jet Fusion metal binder-jetting technology is expected to begin to be readily available globally, and newcomer Xerox looks set to bring their metal technology to the market. Composites leader Markforged is now teasing larger-format solutions while Desktop Metal is not only continuing the roll-out of new composite and metal binder-jetting systems but also looking to bolster their new EnvisionTEC acquisition with more production-centric polymer systems. Rising start-ups, such as Nexa3D and Essentium, and long-time industrial stalwarts, such as SLM Solutions and ExOne, have recently introduced new models or technologies, or are on the cusp of delivering previously announced solutions. All this activity bodes well for growth in 2021 – as long as global Covid recovery is not halted. The longer-term outlook remains bullish for the AM technologies most focused on volume serial production (including powder bed fusion and vat photopolymerization of polymers, and binder-jetting of metals) as the move of 3D printing into serial production, rather than merely prototyping, accelerates.

*Price-class categorisation is based on fully assembled finished goods for Personal, Professional, Design and Industrial systems; Kit & Hobby models require DIY assembly.

30 years of 3D Printer Shipments in 30 seconds

3D Printer Shipments by System Revenues

Top 15 Process & Materials by Quarter

The 3D printer market* is often thought of as a single cohesive entity. Yet the reality is much different as you’ll see from this unique high-level view of industry trends over the past three decades. [Full animated graph available here]

ASTM International defines seven core types of additive manufacturing machines (aka 3D printers). Even within these types there are various vendor-specific variants, some of which can process a range of materials. By revenue sales, machines printing polymers (plastics) are most popular, followed by those printing metals.

Printer hardware prices range from a few hundred to millions of dollars. And you’ll also find a huge variety of sizes – with some as small as a PC inkjet printer and others as large as a warehouse.

The aggregate analysis shown here encompasses all of these printer types sorted by new units shipped per quarter multiplied by their system price (aka System Revenues). Using this measure, the rise in revenues of metal 3D printers over the past decade is immediately noticeable.

*Includes period-by-period, non-cumulative, global shipments of new, finished-good printers in all four CONTEXT price-class groupings; PERSONAL (<$2.5K), PROFESSIONAL ($2.5K-$20K), DESIGN ($20K-$100K) and INDUSTRIAL ($100K+). Personal DIY Kits not included.