As the printing consumables industry gathers in Zhuhai for RemaxWorld Expo 2026 (15-17 October), fresh market data gives dealers a clearer picture of where replacement demand is heading: away from plain black, towards colour.

Recent industry reports estimate that colour cartridges accounted for roughly 30 per cent of total cartridge shipments in 2025 and could reach about 40 per cent by 2030. The driver is behavioural rather than technological. A monochrome device consumes an average of 0.7 to 1.2 cartridges per year, while a colour machine uses 1.5 to 2.5, because every colour page draws from up to four separate units.

An installed base of 450-550 million laser printers and copiers is estimated to have generated 1.8-2.2 billion cartridge shipments in 2025. Volume growth is modest, around 2 to 4 per cent a year, but value growth is higher because the mix keeps shifting towards colour and high-yield products. Compatible and remanufactured suppliers are estimated to hold 30-40 per cent of unit volume against 25-30 per cent of value, a gap that reflects aggressive pricing rather than weak demand.

What this means for stocking decisions

• Sell sets, not singles. Dealers who only hold black cartridges miss the larger basket. A colour machine needs four cartridges, plus a waste toner container and eventually a drum unit or transfer kit.
• Quote on ISO/IEC 19798. Colour yield has to be measured with the colour standard, not the mono ISO/IEC 19752 method. Fill weights alone - for example 500 g black against 400 g per colour - say little without test pages behind them.
• Manage colour consistency. Buyers notice density drift between batches more than they notice small price differences. Ask for batch-level test records and keep repeat orders on the same batch.
• Check firmware before bulk orders. Chip authentication remains the most common cause of "non-genuine" messages, particularly on newer A3 colour models.

The same reports flag two brakes on growth: page volumes in mature markets still decline by roughly 0.5 to 1.5 per cent a year as documents go digital, and raw-material costs for specialty polymers and precision drum coatings remain volatile. Together they favour suppliers who can document yield, traceability and defect rates over those competing on unit price alone.

ZCV Image supplies compatible colour and black toner cartridges, drum units and toner powder for Kyocera, Canon, Ricoh, Konica Minolta, Sharp, Toshiba, Xerox, Brother and Panasonic devices, including CMYK sets for current A3 colour models. Batch yield data and samples are available at zcv.image@gmail.com or +86-755-28753582.