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through La Poste, the national postal service. It was recently reported that HP will announce a 3D printing service in June. Different Business Model While consumer 3D printers have become very affordable, professional grade printers are still a considerable investment. There is also a lot of other equipment, materials, and labor that are necessary to offer a professional quality 3D print- ing such as cleaning stations, dye baths, tumblers to smooth the surface, etc. The first challenge for printers is to understand all the different types of 3D printing and what is required in terms of equipment, material, labor, and environment to offer each type, explained Turner. For some, a change in their basic business model may be required. "First of all, it would be important to under- stand that the current customer base could not necessarily start using 3D printing right away," Turner pointed out. "Your customers know how to format their files for paper print produc- tion using tools like InDesign and Quark or 2D graphic software like Photoshop or Illustrator. 3D printing requires 3D files created in 3D soft- ware. So you would need to support a range of 3D software like Maya, ZBrush, SolidWorks, or SketchUp and find customers that know how to use these tools." The second change would probably be the physical environment. Digital printers have their equipment in the open, and customers can usu- ally get their printing done the same day. A pro- fessional 3D printing service would be more akin to offset printing, Turner said, "in the sense that there would be a production site with industrial equipment and longer lead times than digital paper printing." One of the biggest challenges, Byrum said, is the design paradigm shift that comes along with 3D printing. "Designers no longer have to worry about leaving room for tooling, creating a lot of fastening points or designing seams for interlock- ing elements. 3D printing is capable of creating objects without the manufacturing restrictions that designs typically have to face. So the big challenge is rethinking how design process works to take advantage of the limitless possibility and complexity of 3D printing." Byrum expects 3D printing to explode in both the industrial and consumer markets. "It's already being used in ways that people don't even realize: shoe design, medical implants, jewelry, dentistry, toys, aerospace, automotive," he said. "We're going to go even further with metal 3D printing and improve the robustness of 3D printing for end-use parts." The global 3D printing materials market is projected to reach $868 million by 2018, according to research firm MarketsandMarkets. It is difficult to say exactly how the technology will be used. "It really is a vast blank canvas and a new capability that people will utilize in ways we could have never imagined," Byrum contin- ued. "Healthcare 3D printing is going to get even bigger as materials improve; we may even be able to print end-use joint implants or medical devices in the coming years. End-use parts for airplanes and automobiles will be big as well. Personalized, localized consumer goods will also become a big market, as 3D printing allows local craftsmen and women to customize and manufacture like never before." "The great news about moving from 2D print- ing into 3D printing is that the business model is similar," said Ragsdale. "If you run production- grade printers today with a specialist in charge, then you already have the people and technical The challenge for PSPs, said Scuplteo's Kristen Turner (above), "is to understand all the different types of 3D printing...." M a y 2 0 1 4 / Q U I C K P R I N T I N G 15 w w w. M y P R I N T R e s o u r c e . c o m 3D System's ProJet 660 printer is a professional model featuring four-channel CMYK and a net build area of 10x15x8 inches. The pointed sphere (above) is an example of a full-color printed part using color-jet printing. (continued on page 29) QP_14-15_0514_3D.indd 15 4/15/14 4:43 PM