Those are great if you want 5 million of something, all exactly alike. Not so good if you want 5 of them, or even 5,000 of them, or if you want each one to be

Those are great if you want 5 million of something, all exactly alike. Not so good if you want 5 of them, or even 5,000 of them, or if you want each one to be slightly different. Edit to expand slightly: People will, in general, prefer having a (thing) to not having it, even if that means that their (thing) is exactly the same as the one millions of other people have. BUT... they will also prefer a (thing) that is uniquely theirs to one that's the same as everybody else's. In general, people are even willing to pay a premium for this. How much? That depends on the item, but in any case 3D printers lower the cost barrier for a custom item. I am not surprised that hearing aids (cited in the article) are a popular use case. That's exactly the kind of thing that benefits from customization -- everybody's ear shape is somewhat different -- and the small amount of plastic means that one can be printed quickly and relatively cheaply. Shoes and clothing in general are other good examples. It's widely accepted that custom-made shoes and tailored clothing are superior to off-the-rack, but most people can't afford clothes that are cut specifically for them (at most, a guy might have an off-the-rack suit altered by a tailor, but bespoke tailoring is beyond the means of most people). How does the clothing industry change when people can afford custom-made clothes? Quite a lot, I'd imagine.