Japanese tech company Canon Inc has ceased production and operation of its printer factory in Zhongshan, Guangdong province due to declining local demand and increasingly stiff competition in the laser printer market.

The company attributed the shutdown of the factory, effective Nov 21, to a shrinking global laser printer market, changes in people's working styles, and the accelerated contraction of laser printer use in offices. A Canon statement provided to China Daily added that "it is unlikely to see any significant recovery in the long term".

"The laser printer market in China is also shrinking substantially, resulting in a sharp decline in orders for the company's factory in Zhongshan, which has been the main production base for laser printers in the Chinese market," the statement said.

"We have made multiple efforts to sustain the operation of the factory, but the reasons mentioned above plunged the plant into operational difficulties where continued production was no longer possible."

The company noted that, over the past 24 years, the Zhongshan municipal government, industrial groups, suppliers, business partners, customers and local residents have provided it with tremendous help and support, for which it said it was deeply grateful.

With regard to the workers who have lost their positions in the factory, Canon said it will comply with relevant laws and regulations, give maximum consideration to employees' interests, and listen to the opinions of local government departments of human resources and social security, as well as the labor union.

Canon said: "We will provide economic compensation and reemployment support.

"In terms of employee reemployment, we have also received strong support from local government. We have proactively contacted companies in surrounding areas, and several companies have already offered job recruitment positions."

Established in 2001, Canon (Zhongshan) Office Equipment Co Ltd produces a wide range of laser printers and is one of Canon's major laser printer manufacturing bases. As of April 2022, it had produced a total of 110 million laser printers. In 2022, its total industrial output reached nearly 3.2 billion yuan ($452.5 million), and the industrial facilities it leased covered an area of 125,000 square meters.

"Canon and HP used to dominate China's printer market, but their market share has been heavily eroded by competitors in recent years, putting severe pressure on Canon," said Zhang Yi, CEO and chief analyst at consultancy iiMedia Research.

"Furthermore, the demand for printing has been declining as paperless office solutions grow rapidly," Zhang said, adding that with the widespread adoption of third-party office software platforms such as DingTalk and Feishu, most companies tend to keep approval documents on these platforms, and paperless contracts have also become very common, all of which pose challenges to the printer market.

Zhang noted that as Canon's printers lose their advantages amid fierce market competition, the company may shift parts of production capacity to some emerging markets such as Vietnam. "The adoption rate of paperless offices is relatively low in these markets, so the demand for printed documents in daily workflows remains high, and there are no strong local competitors."

Canon emphasized that its other production bases in China continue to operate normally. "China is one of Canon's most important markets with enormous growth potential. We believe that China's business environment will continue to improve in the long run, and we are confident in the Chinese market's development potential and possibilities."

Therefore, the company will continue to deepen its presence in the Chinese market, striving for long-term development and sustainable growth and contributing to China's development, it added.

Market observers said the closure of the Zhongshan plant is mainly due to the sharply increasing competition in the laser printer market. Some of the orders have been redirected to Southeast Asian countries, such as Vietnam and Thailand, while Canon has shifted its strategic focus to higher-margin businesses such as medical imaging and semiconductor equipment.

Data from market consultancy IDC showed that Canon's market share in China's laser printer market fell from 7.7 percent in 2018 to 3.9 percent in the first three quarters of 2025, while domestic brands' market share has risen to 41.5 percent.

In the first half of the year, shipments of A4 laser printing devices in China reached 3.177 million units, down 5 percent year-on-year, while shipments of A3 laser printing devices were 272,000 units, a decline of 10 percent year-on-year.