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iPad Printing—It Really Does Matter (FREE premium content, click here)
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Rating: 2 user(s) have rated this article
Released: On 7/12/2010
iPad Printing—It Really Does Matter
[July 12, 2010] As the first half of 2010 ends, the rollout of Apple’s groundbreaking iPad has clearly been one of the biggest technology events so far this year. With 3 million units sold in the first 80 days (as announced by Apple on June 22), the category-creating iPad has set records and (mostly) wowed the pundits.
The iPad’s lack of native printing capabilities is one of the device’s few black marks. We highlighted the existence of printing solutions based on third-party iPhone apps (see “iPad Printing—Yes it Can”) following the iPad’s April 3 release date, and more printing solutions have come to the fore since, perhaps most notably from printer industry leader HP and the firm’s “mobile printing” announcement on June 7 (see “HP Adds E-Mail Address to New Photosmart ‘e-All-in-Ones’ in Effort to Capture Web Prints”). HP’s demonstrations at its launch event prominently included printing from Apple’s iPad.
However, customers seem to be rather vocal regarding the lack of “official” native iPad printing, as seen in a recent survey of 6,000 existing iPad users that was fielded by technology blog Technologizer. In “The State of iPad Satisfcation,” long-time tech journalist Harry McCracken summarizes the results that find iPad users are overall very satisfied, with a stunning 98 percent positive rating.
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Technologizer surveyed 6000 iPad users and published the results in late June 2010
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Nonetheless, McCracken reports, “More than half also wish Apple had given the tablet printing capabilities, a memory-card slot, and a front-facing camera.” A more detailed look at the data (see image below) shows that the lack of printing actually ranks as the most selected feature by far in the “major omission” category when respondents were asked to “rate the importance of the following features which are not present in the iPad.” A full 40 percent selected lack of printing, compared to slightly more than 20 percent for the next highest major omission—the front-facing camera. When combined with those responses that marked lack of printing capability as a “minor omission”, this feature (or lack thereof) again dominates the field, with more than half of the respondents weighing in. A trifling 5 percent of respondents indicated that the iPad was “better off without it” with respect to printing capabilities.
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The red bar indicates that 30 percent of the 6,000 iPad users surveyd by Technologizer think that the lack of printing capabilities is a major omission by Apple in the firm's first iPad
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Our View
So, what does this mean for printing and imaging industry players? Is the perceived void in iPad printing prowess a case of the glass being half-full or half-empty? Optimistically, filling the customer need for better iPad printing is clearly a big opportunity. The kind of data and direction this survey yields is wonderful ammunition as a project- or company-launching business case.
From Apple’s perspective, the 6,000 respondents to the Technologizer’s survey weighed in heavily on the lack of native printing, although the 98 percent satisfaction rate would suggest this omission is not a sales inhibitor, at least among those iPad customers who already bought the product. Arguably the 6,000 users surveyed come from the ranks of early adopters, but as Apple grows the market, will mainstream buyers join the customer fold en masse only when a native printing solution is available?
Apple is taking notice. While CEO Steve Jobs responded via e-mail to a customer’s inquiry about iPad printing with a simple “it will come” in early June (see Mashable link), the company has otherwise been mostly quiet, with cryptic recommendations such as first e-mailing content intended for printing to another platform, i.e. conventional desktop or laptop and let the PC do the job. However, the firm’s stealth approach seemingly cannot last forever, and Apple, no longer among our market’s printer suppliers, will need to field a robust solution that works with industry-leading models from a variety of vendors.
With respect to third-party solutions, including small app vendors and giant printer manufacturers attempting to solve the iPad printing problem, is the news here good or bad? Though the 6,000 respondents are not app-averse (the data indicate 91 percent have 10 or more apps installed on their iPads), their comments reflect a strong distinction between native printing and that available via an add-on solution, whether app- or hardware-based, which may lead to a different view of the opportunity given more than 50 percent of iPad owners having unmet printing needs.
Clearly as new categories and business trends develop, printing will have chances to prosper. Understanding customer needs and being the first to fill them (and communicate them as well) will be a key to success, just like always.