Color Laser Paper, Now or Never

by Patricia Lloyd
Print Media Analyst

While photo paper continues to be hot in print media, laser paper's time has come. A number of brands are filling the shelves already; so if other manufacturers plan to compete in this space, now is the time to get products in the channel.

The number of laser papers in the retail channel has increased 21% in the past year, with more new products entering the channel each month. The category has grown beyond the reams and cases designed for cranking out text documents from a laser printer. With color laser printers dropping in price to less than $500 and expected to reach the $399 price point this fall, the rush is on to offer papers suitable for full-color brochures and presentations.

Perennial powerhouse HP is leading the race to place these products on the retail shelves and Office Depot is heading the charge for the store brand products. Over the course of the past three months, HP has added three new laser brochure papers in matte, soft gloss, and glossy finishes. Office Depot is covering its bases with matte and glossy offerings. And in the ream and case segment, Hammermill offers 12 products, four of which are brand new to the market in the past two months.

Nearly two years ago, NCR introduced a line of six color laser specialty products which included brochure and presentation papers. With the price of color laser printers sliding below $1,000 for the first time, NCR believed the market was ripe for color laser papers but the vendor was a bit premature and its laser printer products never found shelf space in retail.

Now, with color laser printer prices sliding below the $500 mark, the installed user base is large enough to support a limited number of color laser papers in retail-- but limited is the key word. With inkjet photo paper continuing to be the industry's darling, shelf space is very restricted for other product categories. Retailers will not stock a full line of laser papers from a large number of manufacturers. Instead, retailers are offering consumers a few reams, cases, and brochure alternatives. As a result, manufacturers who are slow to get a laser product on the shelf are going to be left out of this segment entirely.

Now would be a good time for NCR to revisit its plan for color laser SKUs in retail. Okidata is already bringing color laser offerings to retail on a limited basis. The company's three products include a presentation paper, gloss paper, and a unique banner paper which provides an 8.5"x35" cut sheet for panoramic images. Okidata sells printers at CompUSA, Office Depot, Staples, and Micro Center. With the proper marketing efforts, Okidata can persuade its printer owners to try Okidata laser papers.

Minolta/QMS and Samsung also have color laser printers in the retail channel, though neither seems inclined to offer branded papers. Through the Konica brand, Minolta offers inkjet papers in the retail channel. The company could also take advantage of the opportunity for Minolta/Konica co-branded laser papers, leveraging both companies' names-- Minolta from the printer side and the Konica from the inkjet retail placements. Currently the Minolta/Konica Web site sells the NCR laser papers to use with its printers

There are still opportunities for print media manufacturers to reach laser and color laser printer owners, if they move quickly enough. Latecomers can expect to find the shelf space already occupied.

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