While getting your documents or photos printed at your local office supplies center such as Staples is pretty common, we’re not sure if going to Staples to get objects printed in 3D is. Perhaps it could be in the future and Staples appears to be interested in being part of that future with a newly launched service called Staples Easy 3D. Unfortunately this service is launching in 2013 and appears to be limited to the Netherlands and Belgium, but we expect that if it were to take off the way Staples has in mind, we could see it stateside in the future.
So how does this service work? Well, all a customer would have to do is upload their file to the Staples Office Center where the object will be printed in 3D. The object can then either be picked up at a nearby store or have it sent to the customer’s home. This is possible thanks to the partnership with 3D printer manufacturer, Mcor Technologies. We’re not sure how much these prints will cost, but we expect the more complex and detailed it is, the more expensive it will get. We’re not sure what sort of customers Staples is hoping to attract, but off the top of our head perhaps design students who might need to print 3D models for class projects.
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