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I think you could have made the same argument for laser printers. Who ever said, "Boy I wish I could have my printouts look like they came from a professional
by prewett 13y ago
I think you could have made the same argument for laser printers. Who ever said, "Boy I wish I could have my printouts look like they came from a professional printer"? Yet, now they cost $400 and many people have them in their homes. And even those that do not have ink jets with output quality almost as good.
Increased functionality: I can have exactly what I want. It can look exactly like it was professionally created.
Decreased costs: It saves the cost of shipping it from China, then driving it on the freeway. This might be worth it for heavier items. If 3D printing can be scaled to a factory level, this might be very attractive, since you wouldn't have to hire expensive American workers to produce in the US. It might make things with high capital cost much more affordable: imagine being able to 3D print out custom car body parts and have them assembled for the price of a high-end car. Impossible now.
- interpol_p 13y agoI think that's a poor argument. Personal printers are on the way out. I recently got rid of my laser printer. It's large, clunky, I almost never used it (who needs things on paper anyway?). Every time I need something printed (once every two years, maybe) I would much rather go to OfficeWorks and get it done. So much more convenient than plugging the printer in just to use it. I think 3D printing is a cool niche, but I don't see it becoming a mainstream thing. People simply don't need to have physical objects produced often enough in their homes — there are odd times where it's useful, but they are rare enough that a trip to a store, or online order outweighs the inconvenience of having a large machine dedicated to a single task in your home.
- Taylorious 13y agoI'm in my early twenties and I have never owned a printer and likely never will. I have always had access to them at libraries, my university (which is when I actually printed a lot of stuff), work, etc. I can't imagine ever needing to get one, let alone spending a large amount of money on a high quality laser printer. Printers just always seem to be around me. Anytime I need to print something I am giving what a printed to someone or mailing it etc. Which means that I am going somewhere. So, on the way there, I just stop somewhere and do my printing there.