

Staples Announces In-Store 3D Printing Service - swohns
http://www.wired.com/design/2012/11/staples-goes-3-d/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wired%2Findex+%28Wired%3A+Top+Stories%29

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sawyer
Minor nitpick with the title - the 3D printing will not be done in store
(yet), it will be done offsite and shipped for pick up in store.

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MichaelApproved
I think it's more than a minor nitpick. The appeal of 3D printing is that you
get the end result quickly.

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njharman
Yeah, totally. I can already order 3D printing and get it shipped to my
doorstep. No drive to staples required.

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hosh
You don't have to drive to Staples. Apparently, they will deliver, much like
their existing print services.

They are using a 3D printer that uses glued paper, rather than plastic. I
don't know if Shapeway offers that. It'll be interesting to see what the
pricing is, and what you can do with layered paper vs. plastic.

The important thing isn't whether you can get stuff 3D printed at Staples. The
important thing is that we're nearing an inflection point for 3D printing the
way mobile was when the iphone came out in 2007. Meaning, if you missed the
elevator ride up with the smart phone, there's another ride coming around the
corner.

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bdickason
We don't currently offer the Mcor iris line at Shapeways. It actually just
launched so I'm not sure if anyone does yet.

Our CEO was just at Euromold so he may have some insight as to whether or not
we should look into the paper-based tech.

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ChuckMcM
This is a fascinating announcement on two levels, the first is that these guys
believe there is enough of a market to support the service, and two that the
printers themselves are nominally turning cellulose back into wood carvings.

Has anyone seen a demo print from these guys? Something you could hold? I'm
curious about three things: 1) relative density, 2) durability over time, 3)
relative strengths in compression and tension.

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bradleysmith
I have some demo units sitting on my desk; one 'brake caliper' type bracket we
received can be tossed 15ft. in the air without structural damage, and hardly
a dent.

to answer your questions: 1)The parts feel equally dense to an Objet polyjet
print, more dense and rigid then most SLA process parts I've seen. On par w/
ABS from a FDM, but definitely less brittle. One thing worth mentioning is the
part does have "twist" as in, the layers will move the slightest bit allowing
you to effectively twist a part. Think phonebook.

2)I've broken one part (a chainlink) now, from two layers spreading apart.
This was after me and several people I know had loaded it up w/ 20-30lbs
force, twisting and pulling on the chainlink.

3)If I put the same load on a VeroWhitePlus Objet chainlink, I would have
broken it quicker. I cannot speak to many other technologies, but I know that
much is true.

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ChuckMcM
Awesome, so it sounds reasonably credible for a number of tasks. The twist is
an interesting 'feature' in terms of using it structurally. Depending on
feature size a killer app with 'true color' is to create a prototype consumer
device at scale with the appearance of the actual device. That can certainly
inform things like pocket usability, grip flexibility, finger kinematics, etc.

The demo video made it also look like it would be awesome for architectural
visualization (buildings) and city planning.

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nileshtrivedi
I was curious about the price of MCOR IRIS printer mentioned and found this:

The Mcor IRIS can be ordered today through Mcor’s worldwide reseller network
for December delivery at €11,300 (£10,200 or $15,866 USD), the manufacturer’s
suggested retail price per year for the three- year Free D plan. The unique
Free D plan includes machine use, free materials and service, and reflects
Mcor’s commitment to unfettered innovation – encouraging access to and use of
powerful 3D printing technology. Instead of discouraging use through expensive
consumables, the company rewards use with a flat price.

[http://www.mcortechnologies.com/mcor-technologies-
announces-...](http://www.mcortechnologies.com/mcor-technologies-announces-
availability-of-the-iris-the-worlds-first-true-colour-3d-printer/)

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hansy
This is a brilliant move by Staples.

\- Get people through their doors (to ultimately browse and purchase stuff)

\- Associate 3D printing with the Staples brand so that when personal units
hit the market, people will "know" where to buy them

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johnmurch
This is a great step imho.

I wish other large box stores would step up to the plate aka BestBuy. BestBuy
should be reaching out to successful Kickstarter projects and start selling
them in stores. e.g. [http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/flomio/flojack-nfc-
for-i...](http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/flomio/flojack-nfc-for-ipad-and-
iphone) or [http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thingm/blink1-the-usb-
rg...](http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thingm/blink1-the-usb-rgb-led) or
even [http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pimoroni/picade-the-
arca...](http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pimoroni/picade-the-arcade-
cabinet-kit-for-your-raspberry-p)

As for Staples other services - they still need to make it "easy". Focus on
deals for startups like creating notepads, stamps, etc. monthly subscription
and/or better design/offers. SXSW deals, etc. Stuff they already do but don't
market as aggressive.

Just my $0.02

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nickpinkston
What's neat is that the MCOR printer uses A4 printer paper & PVA (Elmer's
Glue) - so it's cheap and very-human safe (even more than the FDM type).

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replicatorblog
I think this is a Dunder-Mifflin move though. "3-D printers are great. We sell
paper! Success" I love the MCOR concept, their models are just such a bizarre
fit in the market. All the drawbacks of paper, all the cost of 3-D printing.

Have you had good success with them?

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randomdata
I'm not real familiar with Mcor's technology, but they claim the results are
like wood, which seems like it would be good enough for a lot of the use-cases
people are using PLA and the like for.

But more than that, sometimes you just want to bring your 2D printed page to
life for presentations and things of that nature. Paper-printed 3D models
would be perfect for that. Given Staples' primary audience, I would assume
this it he market they are really going after.

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ShawnBird
Especially for things that you kind of need to touch. If you are designing
something physical it could be a cheap alternative to whatever the current
mockup methods are.

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qq66
This is the way that 3D printing will take off before in-home 3D printing --
instead of having to get a small part or prototype shipped 2,000 miles, you'll
drive 5 miles to your nearest Staples.

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randomdata
It sounds like it is still shipped 2,000 miles. You just receive it at your
local Staples instead of your mailbox. Though I'm inclined to agree that the
next step will be in-house 3D printing businesses.

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noonespecial
How well it works, or even how well it competes with other online offerings
isn't important. The most important thing about this development is that
there's going to be a sign in the store advertising this service.

Regular people asking "What is this '3d printing' thing" is a huge step
towards mainstreaming it.

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startupfounder
Does anyone have an idea of what their cost structure will be and time frame
for coming to the USA? Are there any other business that offer a service like
this in the US?

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jtchang
Wow. Staples would be the last place I'd guess disruption coming from for the
3d printing industry.

Now when can I download a pirated schematic of an iphone and send it off to
staples to get a fully working product.

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TSR830-10Q
Random comment: Great to see this, Mcor technologies started in a little
village in Ireland (the next village over from me). I called them once and
asked if they had a bureau service. They put me directly on to one of the
founders who was really friendly and knowledgeable (we started chatting about
C++, OpenGL & slicing algorithms). I tried to get some of my best graduates (I
lecture on OpenGL) to apply for their C++ jobs but most of my graduates have a
Dublin/City-only view of the world and I never could convince them to
interview for it.

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klinquist
I wonder if they would allow me to 3D print something they already sell in the
store - for a cheaper price.

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NegativeK
I guarantee they'll have "no printing things that fall under IP law" policies.

Besides that, what objects in a Staples store could you 3d print with paper? I
can't imagine any of their products (that isn't trivially cheap) being simple
enough.

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Evbn
Furniture. Not cheaper, though.

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biturd
I wonder how long this company has been around and how visible they are. From
days ago Iris used to be the name in pre-press digital proofing. Before you
went to press, you better get an Iris or a ChromaPress to be certain
everything was ok.

Even now, their printers are pretty heavily saturated within google image
search. If not the sane company, I'm smelling a name change or a trademark
issue.

[https://www.google.com/search?q=iris+printer&hl=en&c...](https://www.google.com/search?q=iris+printer&hl=en&client=safari&tbo=u&tbm=isch&source=univ&sa=X&ei=dO23ULDkLcTniwLJ3IFY&ved=0CDgQsAQ&biw=320&bih=416#p=0)

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andyjohnson0
This made me think of William Gibson's book Idoru [1]. A entertainment
celebrity AI takes advantage of a worldwide convenience stores' installation
of nanotech object printers to enter the physical world by creating thousands
of bodies running its personality. Written in 1996.

[1] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idoru>

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anigbrowl
_Staples Easy 3D will launch in the Netherlands and Belgium_

This partly because Mcor, the printer manufacturer, is European, but I suspect
also because there's more demand in Europe thanks to the ubiquity of fast
cheap broadband. It disturbs me that the US is falling behind in the digital
infrastructure stakes.

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MichaelGG
Are 3D printer files amazingly huge or something? Why would broadband matter
so much?

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anigbrowl
No, but I think for casual users print providers will want to host 3d models
in a browser app.

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jcfrei
interesting to see that what apperently matters most to prospective 3d
printing users is the availability of a large color palette. I'm sure staples
did extensive research and I believe future 3d printers will not spread into
every household until the pieces can be colored in every way imaginable (even
if it's just a last step surface paint).

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thenomad
Full-colour is huge. Not for practical stuff, but for anything decorative,
it's massive.

For example, MMORPG players wanting to print their characters will cheerfully
provide a six-figure market on their own, I'd think!

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bdickason
Agreed. If someone can nail full color printing that feels like injection
molded plastic, it will be huge.

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rmrfrmrf
Seems like that would be a waste of paper/natural resources.

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jordanthoms
Paper is a renewable resource.

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lwat
Every tonne of paper is a tonne of carbon that's not in the atmosphere right
now.

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ShawnBird
Cellulose is only 40% carbon.

