The industry lobby said the overall printer sales in 2009-10 would likely cross 1.74 million units, registering an 8 percent growth. However, sales of UPS are expected to remain flat.

'Consumer sentiment was subdued due to uncertainty in the economy in 2008-09 which impacted the consumption of IT in the country,' said MAIT executive director Vinnie Mehta.

'While consumption in the first half of the fiscal was satisfactory, less than expected offtake in sales in the second half pulled down the overall growth into the negative quadrant.'