New Delhi, Feb 28 (IANS): As the overall printer market slid by 17.5 per cent in 50 major cities in India, HP Inc maintained overall leadership in the A4 printer market with 45.9 per cent market share in the fourth quarter of 2017, the International Data Corporation said on Wednesday.

According to IDC's latest "India Monthly City-Level A4 printer Tracker," the printer market in major 50 cities witnessed a decline following a strong Q3 results.

In the inkjet printer market, Epson is the leader with 46.3 per cent market share (24.2 per cent overall).

Inkjet printers led the overall market with 52.2 per cent share. Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai were top three cities in terms of sales while Pune, Vadodara and Bengaluru were the major growth markets in Q4 2017 with an average growth of 19.1 per cent.

"Low cost of ownership and printing compared to Laser printers account for the increasing uptake of Inkjet printer category," Abhishek Mukherjee, Senior Market Analyst, IDC India, said in a statement.

Canon secured third spot in the overall A4 printer market with 22.5 per cent market share.

"Wide reach and depth of the distribution network are the key to catering to the demand coming from Tier 3 and 4 cities. Almost all the brands have increased channel presence in smaller cities to fulfil the demand," Mukherjee added.

HP focused on sales of entry-level laser printers, with demand originating mainly from SMEs and state government customers in tier 3 and 4 cities.