Printing photos at home will remain a popular practice for at least the rest of the decade, according to InfoTrends, a trend watcher of the digital imaging market. The Weymouth, Mass., market researcher notes in a recent report that "The home photo printer will remain an important product in the digital photography market, even though the years of significant growth that have accompanied the success of the digital camera market may have come to an end."



Although the digital camera market may be maturing, the consulting firm maintains that multi-function printers (MFPs) will be a bright spot in a fading picture, with shipments reaching 9.4 million by 2011. "Photo-enabled MFPs are not as trendy as the photo-centric units, but they have been able to maintain their sales volume better than photo-centric models," InfoTrends notes in a statement. "Multifunctional products accounted for 55% of the total photo-enabled inkjet market in 2006, and single-function printers made up the remaining 45%."