PMA Reports Big Year for Digital Printing at Retail

JACKSON, Mich. -- The year-end printing trends report from Photo Marketing Association International here showed that the volume of prints made from digital camera images increased by 48% in 2006. Overall, the retail channel accounted for 46.4% of prints made last year, an increase of 41.9% over the prior year, PMA reported. Prints made at stores (excluding kiosks) rose 51%; prints made at self-service kiosks went up 41%; prints ordered online increased 129%; and prints made with a home printer grew 25%. Home printing remains the biggest part of the market, with 40.3% of prints, followed by orders at mini-labs at 23.7%; instant prints from kiosks were at 13.8%; prints ordered online and received by mail were at 11.7%; and prints ordered online and picked up from a retail store were at 8.8%.