Lyra Research forecasts ink jet photo paper shipments will double, increasing from 2.6 billion sheets in 2003 to 5.2 billion sheets in 2008, a compound annual growth rate of 15 percent. Growth in the ink jet photo paper market will be driven primarily by worldwide increases in digital camera ownership coupled with the widespread availability of low-cost ink jet photo printers. While many photos printed at home are currently printed on plain paper, use of gloss or semigloss photo paper will increase as snapshot-sized A6 or 4 x 6-inch prints grow in popularity.
"As the ink jet supplies opportunity continues to grow, paper vendors need to stay in touch with where people are purchasing their supplies. In the United States, office superstores such as Staples, OfficeMax, and Office Depot dominated the ink jet supplies landscape throughout the 1990s. In the last five years, however, mass-market retailers such as Wal-Mart, Kmart, and Target and warehouse clubs such as Costco, Sam's Club, and BJ's Wholesale Club have emerged as formidable competitors," commented Lloyd "Grey" Held, director of Lyra's Hard Copy Supplies Advisory Service.
