This article reviews the major suppliers of laser printers available in the Japanese market and compares the involvement of Japanese and overseas companies. It also explains domestic procurement considerations and requirements by application.
The Japanese suppliers of laser printers include Brother, Canon, Kyocera, Ricoh, Konica Minolta, FUJIFILM and OKI, all of which have manufacturing facilities or sales networks in Japan. Xerox, meanwhile, maintains a supply structure deeply rooted in the Japanese market through its joint venture with FUJIFILM. Among overseas players, HP, Lenovo and Lexmark supply the market through Japanese subsidiaries and dealer networks.
When procuring equipment, it is considered important to confirm lead times and certificates of conformity, avoid customs-clearance risks when importing, ensure the long-term availability of consumable parts, check whether domestic support centers are available, review the terms of maintenance contracts, secure a stable supply in light of exchange-rate fluctuations and component procurement conditions, and compare quotations from multiple suppliers.
Requirements by application include high-speed printing and high-capacity paper feeding for commercial use, quiet operation and low running costs for household use, information security for government agencies, anti-counterfeiting features and support for specialty media for banks, durability and cost performance for educational institutions, and environmental resistance and continuous operating capability for the telecommunications and power industries. No single model meets all of these requirements, so a model suited to each application must be selected.