Can Xerox's Counterattack After Suffering Huge Losses And Joining Forces With Kyocera To Win Back The Inkjet Market Reshape The Industry Landscape?

Xerox Corporation recently announced a major strategic initiative, once again turning its attention to the highly promising single sheet inkjet printing market. According to the latest cooperation agreement, Xerox will join hands with renowned Japanese company Kyocera to enrich its production printing product line and keep up with market trends and opportunities by purchasing Kyocera's single sheet color inkjet printers. This move not only marks Xerox's official return to the single sheet inkjet printing field after many years, but also indicates that a new market pattern is brewing.
For Xerox, this is not just a simple product line supplement, but also a crucial strategic adjustment related to future development. As Terry Antinola, Senior Vice President and Head of Product and Engineering at Xerox, stated, this is a "critical moment" for the company's production-oriented printing business. He emphasized, "Returning to the single sheet inkjet market will enable us to diversify our product portfolio to better meet customers' growing demands for speed and efficiency, while also further consolidating our leadership position in the digital production field

This collaboration is an important component of Xerox CEO Steve Bandrozak's "Reshaping" plan announced in 2023. The plan aims to refocus the company's production-oriented printing business on "higher value growth areas" by streamlining operations and increasing profit margins, thereby expanding market share in the fiercely competitive printing and printing services market. The cooperation with Kyocera undoubtedly injected strong impetus into this grand plan.
Xerox stated that choosing to cooperate with Kyocera is based on its strategic consideration of providing differentiated and ecosystem empowered products. Xerox hopes to provide customers with comprehensive solutions that can achieve profitable scale expansion, simplify operational processes, and effectively reduce costs by integrating the strengths of both parties. This move is also timely and perfectly fits the market trend of expected continued growth in demand for single sheet inkjet printer installation in the coming years.
Although the specific launch information and models of the new printing machines have not yet been announced, it can be confirmed that these products will be marketed under the Xerox brand and seamlessly integrated into Xerox's existing production ecosystem. This means that customers can not only access Kyocera's advanced hardware equipment, but also enjoy Xerox's powerful workflow automation software, professional post press processing solutions, and efficient remote service support. This integrated model of software and hardware will bring users a smoother and more efficient production experience.
Xerox has a deep connection with inkjet printing. As early as 2013, Xerox became a core player in the global inkjet market by acquiring French company Impika. However, in subsequent strategic adjustments, Xerox closed the Impika factory in 2019 and shifted its focus on inkjet technology research and development to the US market. This decision has attracted widespread attention in the industry and also caused Xerox to remain silent in the single sheet inkjet market for a period of time.

It is worth mentioning that the fate of Impika, a former subsidiary of Xerox, is also full of drama. Impika's former employees established a new inkjet printing company, Nixka, in 2020 after the factory closed. Three years later, Nixka was successfully acquired by Kyocera Corporation, further strengthening Kyocera's technological strength and product line in the commercial and industrial inkjet printing fields. Last year, Kyocera showcased its rich portfolio of inkjet products for the first time at the Drupa Printing Exhibition, which included technological advancements from the former Impika team. Nowadays, the cooperation between Xerox and Kyocera can be seen to some extent as Xerox reconnecting with its former technological genes in a completely new way, which undoubtedly has deep market and technological considerations behind it.
Keisuke Koyama, Executive Officer and Senior General Manager of the Marketing Department of Kyocera Corporation, highly praised this cooperation. He believes that this collaboration will help customers compete more effectively in the rapidly developing field of production-oriented printing. Keisuke Koyama pointed out, "By combining Kyocera's mature and reliable inkjet technology with Xerox's profound global influence, strong customer trust, and leading workflow automation capabilities, we provide a truly unique solution for production-oriented printing enterprises that value reliability and return on investment
Before reaching a cooperation agreement with Kyocera, Xerox's path in the field of single sheet inkjet printing was not smooth sailing. Xerox ceased production of its latest single sheet inkjet printer Baltoro in 2019 and actively sought new strategic partners. Prior to this, Xerox had a decades long partnership with Fujifilm. However, after resolving significant differences between the two companies, the joint venture was terminated in 2019. Nevertheless, the technology cooperation agreement between the two parties has been extended until 2023. These historical backgrounds also indirectly reflect Xerox's urgent need to seek new and more stable cooperation models in the single sheet inkjet market.
Of course, all strategic adjustments are inseparable from the operational status of the

Overall, the cooperation between Xerox and Kyocera is a carefully considered strategic choice. It utilizes Kyocera's hard power in inkjet technology, combined with Xerox's soft power in global markets, brand influence, and software services, aiming to create a highly competitive "combination punch". This is not only a necessary path for Xerox to reshape itself and seek profit growth, but also brings new vitality and variables to the entire single sheet inkjet printing market. We will wait and see how the future market will evolve, and whether Xerox can regain its former glory through this cooperation.