Staples to Offer Low Cost 3D Printing Service

  • Thread starter Thread starter Guest
  • Start date Start date
Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
Status
Not open for further replies.
Stupid. Why is everything internet-based? They should have these machines at the stores and you could come in the morning with your files and pick it up when it's done.
 
this is the future of 3d printing. i don't see it entering the home in mass for a very long time, if ever. hopefully the costs will be reasonable
 
[citation][nom]ramicio[/nom]Stupid. Why is everything internet-based? They should have these machines at the stores and you could come in the morning with your files and pick it up when it's done.[/citation]

It's not stupid. Having a 3D printing machine in each and every Staples outlet at this stage is more egregious. It's not a proven business model, it requires significant fixed cost, including space/equipment, and it needs skilled manpower to operate such machine - for now. From business perspective, no sane and capable board member will approve such business strategy. Sometime later, maybe sooner than I expected, we maybe able to see those 3D printing machine at Target alongside Kodak photo finish machine we see today. But not now.
 
[citation][nom]ramicio[/nom]Stupid. Why is everything internet-based? They should have these machines at the stores and you could come in the morning with your files and pick it up when it's done.[/citation]

at $15K per machine plus supply cost it doesn't make financial sense to put one in every store - and since the print time can be fairly long you'd still have problems where one location would have a back log of projects while other machines sat unused - plus if a machine malfunctioned you'd have a location unable to process requests for a few days while the machine was repaired causing delays and loss of sales. So makes much more sense to have a central location with several machines so that jobs can be routed to the resources available in a more efficient manner.

 
[citation][nom]spagunk[/nom]"Can you print out this file I have?""Sure, just upload it to our site!"[/citation]
Last part apparently got cut...was supposed to say something about male genitals.
 
[citation][nom]TeraMedia[/nom]Why HomeDepot or Lowes haven't done this yet, I can only guess.[/citation]
I think that is because they are more "hardware" type of stores than tech stores.

When is the last time you went to Home Depot or Lowes to buy a printer?
 
[citation][nom]spagunk[/nom]Last part apparently got cut...was supposed to say something about male genitals.[/citation]

lol, im pretty sure that everyone's first thought was to send in obscene objects, for print; the thought of them printing, then rolling up a penis in bubble wrap, is hilarious.
 
[citation][nom]ramicio[/nom]Stupid. Why is everything internet-based? They should have these machines at the stores and you could come in the morning with your files and pick it up when it's done.[/citation]
As someone who use to work in a Staples Copy and Print center: Are you serious? $15,500 per device is way too expensive to deploy in every Staples center. Plus there is a rather limited footprint allotted to the copy and print center which is typically already rather crammed full of normal print supplies. Having the square footage to add such a huge printer, plus the bulky plastic supplies that it needs, would be monumental compared to the nitch use it will get. And to top it all off: Copy and Print Center employees can't even use photoshop... how do you expect them to know how to run a machine (and the software that goes with it) as complicated as this without having several mistakes along the way? It would be much more practical to have this work done at a central print house, and shipped to your store like they do with most specialty orders.


All that said... I think that the wall above my computer is missing a nice 3D map of skyrim... 😀
 
[citation][nom]xyster[/nom]this is the future of 3d printing. i don't see it entering the home in mass for a very long time, if ever. hopefully the costs will be reasonable[/citation]

you can build your own printer for 500
some newer ones can be built for 1000 and offer insnely good detail
and the best ones for home use are in the 2000$ range

now if you work in 3d and would love to print off what you make, these are a bargain.
we arent there yet for a 3d printer to replace injection molds but when they do... my god, you will see crap come WAY down in price, from either the original manufactures, or from 3d printers. as why would you pay 20-50$ for a part when you can make it for 1$

at some point they will pay for themselves, expecially if you use them much.
custom light switch panels...
custom mice...
toys/action figures
for people who are a bit more ambitious
working mechanical wonders

once these printers work, you will see a whole new era of children being amased by what they can build with little effort.

hell i could build a working plan that you could remote control with a 3d printer...

i cant wait for them to come down in price just a bit more... my buy point is 250$ for something hard to use, and 500$ for something easy to use, but quality needs to be procice, and somewhat sturdy.
 
[citation][nom]Gundam288[/nom]I think that is because they are more "hardware" type of stores than tech stores.When is the last time you went to Home Depot or Lowes to buy a printer?[/citation]
But something should be said. I mean, why wouldn't Lowes or HD want to get into architecture design printing business? I would imagine a lot more hardware store customers would be interested in 3D printing for landscapes and build models than Staples customers.
 
I think I read an article on who knows which site about a company that makes 3D printers that can build a whole house. I can't remember where I read about it. Maybe someone else knows. Something that would make a construction worker feel a bit uneasy about if you know what I mean.
 
Yes, Staples sold me a Staples brand rotary paper cutter, that Staples does not sale replacement blades for!
I am sure their are going to be places in every city, that will have very good 3D printers, that will offer better service tan Staples!
 
Its good to see a big company like Staples get into this. I just did a project this quarter about how the average user can get into 3D printing. Very cool to see people taking this an interest in this technology!

For those who are interested in 3D printing, but don't want to wait for Staples to offer this to their country, you can check out Shapeways.com.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom