LED and laser printing technologies meet on a narrow road

LED, also known as light-emitting diode technology, is one of the earliest and most advanced imaging technologies in the world. Printer manufacturers led by OKI have promoted the maturity of LED technology in printing and imaging applications, and it is called the two cornerstones of digital printing and imaging together with laser printing technology. At present, the color printing imaging mode is monopolized by LED and laser printing technology (Laser). In the global color printer market, the two core technologies divide the mainstream manufacturers into two camps: one is the LED imaging printing technology advocated by OKI, and the other is the laser printing technology advocated by HP. At the end of 2006, according to IDC statistics, OKI's color LED printer market share ranked second in the world.

LED printers and laser printers are collectively called page printers. From the perspective of the market, the current market share ratio is 1:9. The laser technology camp led by HP and Canon controls most of the mainstream market, resulting in the LED technology camp led by OKI being reluctant to publicly promote its LED technology, which is obviously more advantageous than laser.

This situation changed completely in 2007. On November 23, OKI held the "Highlight Printing Future - LED Technology Appreciation Conference" in Beijing with great fanfare. OKI Senior Executive Director and Director of the Image Research Institute, Mikio Yamamoto, who is known as the "Father of Global LED Printing", visited China and personally explained LED technology to the media. At the same time, OKI publicly announced in all its media promotional materials that its products use LED technology.

The low-key and steady OKI obviously did not act on impulse. Industry analysts interpreted OKI's openness to LED from three aspects: First, like two long-distance rivals, LED's stamina is indeed far greater than laser. For example, at 600dpi, there is no difference between LED and laser, but at 1200dpi, laser completely loses its competitiveness, while LED has no problem; second, more and more industry professionals and users realize that color printing is not equal to laser printing, and there is also more advanced LED printing as an option. In the past, users generally believed that color printing is equivalent to laser printing; third, more and more manufacturers realize the future of LED technology. At the end of 2007, Fuji Xerox, a staunch supporter of the laser camp, took the lead in Japan to announce the launch of a number of LED products. It is understood that many printing manufacturers have already begun to secretly research LED technology.

Among them, the most prominent event is that OKI launched the so-called "all-round and excellent" color all-in-one product C3530MFP. Any of the functions of this product, such as printing, copying, scanning, faxing, etc., can be comparable to or surpass single-function machines, while the price can be mainstream. Analysts believe that this is a new all-in-one machine that subverts history and original intentions, and has the ability to bring all-in-one machines to a new height in the rapidly growing market. It is worth noting that this color all-in-one machine uses LED one-time imaging technology, so it is alternatively called a color LED all-in-one machine.

In terms of technical routes, there is no doubt that LED technology will compete with laser technology. Although there were remarks that "it is still dull" on the eve of the arrival of 2008, people who have long seen the above changes firmly believe that 2008 will be quite restless.