3D Printers - an Overview

There are a number of 3D printers now available in Australia, and before we examine each model in detail, we'll provide a quick overview.

While 3D printing has existed for quite some time (it's origins stretch back as far as the eighties), the technology is still in it's infancy, at least on a consumer level. Brands like MakerBot, XYZ Printing and 3D Systems are making a big push here in Australia, with solutions aimed at construction and engineering applications, medical, design, architecture, education and even hobby use.


What is 3D printing?
3D printing, also referred to as additive manufacturing, is essentially the process of creating a three dimensional physical object from your computer. In much the same way a regular printer takes digital information (such as a photo or text document) and creates a physical copy on paper - 3D printing creates a physical object from a digital file.


In simple terms, a typical 3D printer is loaded with a reel of plastic in the same way a regular printer is loaded with ink (although 3D printers can use different types of materials in different forms, depending on the printer). The 3D printer melts this plastic, and extrudes the melted plastic from a nozzle that moves around a print bed. By laying down multiple layers of melted plastic on top of each other, the nozzle gradually builds an object.


Who uses 3D printers?
3D printing has a wide variety of applications, from industrial and commercial, to home and hobby use. 3D printers are widely used in engineering as a relatively cheap, fast and convenient way to create a prototype component. In the past, an engineer would design an object on their computer, then send this file away for manufacturing. Perhaps a week or two later, the engineer may receive their part from the manufacturing plant and begin testing. If they found the part was too big, too small or didn't perform as expected, they'd have to repeat this process - which could be costly in terms of both time and money.

By bringing a 3D printer in-house, the engineer can now design a prototype and print it straight away. Depending on the size and complexity of the object, the engineer would have a physical print in their hand in a matter of hours. A design can be modified and re-printed several times in a day, where the same process could take weeks or even months if outsourced to a manufacturing company.

3D printers are also used for a range of medical applications. Doctors can create a three dimensional file from a patient's scans, and use a 3D printer to replicate a bone or organ. This can allow surgeons to visualize and practice with a precise mock-up before attempting a live surgery, or can even be used to create replacement bones and limbs for a patient.

Architects can use 3D printers as a fast and efficient way to create models of homes and buildings, testing form an function and providing a tangible mock up for their clients.

3D printing is also great for the class room, allowing students to create objects that may not be readily available in classrooms (a dinosaur skull for example!) Whether it's design, fashion, biology or engineering class, 3D printing can be extremely useful in allowing students to understand and create objects in the classroom.

3D printer manufacturers
We now have a number of 3D printer brands available in Australia. We'll examine each brand in detail in future posts, but I'll provide a quick overview of the more popular brands here:

• XYZ Printing, with their Da Vinci and Nobel series printers, have some great options for home and hobby use, or entry-level professional use. The XYZ Printing Da Vinci range are among the most affordable 3D printers available, which opens the door to a new client base who may be using 3D printers for the first time. 
  
• 3D Systems offer a range of options from the 3DSys Cube3 up to the CubePRO and beyond. The Cube3 is aimed at home use, designed to become a part of your home with it's slick design and ease of use. The CubePRO is a powerful solution for professional use.
  
• MakerBot are the leaders in 3D printing technology, and with good cause. With their range of MakerBot Replicators, including the Replicator Mini, the 5th Generation MakerBot Replicator, the huge Z18 for industrial use and the experimental Replicator 2X, MakerBot have all the bases covered.
  
  The MakerBot Replicator Mini covers the home and education markets nicely, with it's ease of use, reliability and powerful software.
  
  The 5th Gen Replicator is the flagship model, great for education and professional applications. A tough, reliable unit with great support and backed by the MakerBot eco-system - including easy to use, powerful software, mobile apps and the world's largest library of three 3D models for download on Thingiverse - the MakerBot Replicator is the perfect solution for a wide range of applications.
  
  The Replicator 2X (dual colour) and Z18 (large build volume) complete the MakerBot lineup, offering advanced solutions for professional and industrial markets.

It's also worth checking out MakerBotShop - an Australian online store featuring prices and information on MakerBot, XYZ Printing and 3D Systems printers and consumables including ABS and PLA filament reels.

Ilford Galerie Smooth Pearl Photo Paper

Ilford Galerie Prestige Photo Paper
Smooth Pearl 310gsm

Smooth Pearl photo paper is the flagship of Ilford's popular Galerie Prestige brand of photo papers. The Galerie Prestige line is made up of Ilford's highest quality photo papers, and is a favourite of both professional and hobby photographers.


Prestige Smooth Pearl paper features a very high dynamic range, optically clear coating. The finish could be described as a lightly textured semi-gloss, that provides a slight sparkle under light. Smooth Pearl produces images with outstanding clarity, sharpness and a wide colour gamut.

The high-density, resin coated heavyweight base and smooth pearl finish help to eliminate glare and provide a natural photographic white tint, producing images with the faithful look and feel of a traditional photograph. 



Ilford Galerie Prestige Smooth Pearl is designed for dye and pigment inkjet printers, and works with popular Epson, HP and Canon among many other ink jet printers.

Formerly a 290gsm paper, the new Prestige Smooth Pearl is now a heavier 310 grams, providing a professional quality feel and appearance. With competitive pricing that rivals or even beats the pricing of the printer manufacturer's such as Epson and Canon, Ilford is popular amongs amateur and hobby photographers as well as professionals.

Ilford Smooth Pearl photographic media is available in a range of cut sheet and roll sizes, including 6x4", 5x7", A4, A3, A3+ and A2, as well as wider rolls for wide format printers. Sheet quantites range from 25 per pack, up to 100 or even 250 sheets per pack - providing an economical choice for professional photographers to print their images in-house.

With 135 years of history behind them, Ilford are firmly placed as one of the world's premiere photo paper manufacturers.

Ilford Galerie Prestige Smooth Pearl 310gsm:

• Professional pearl semi-gloss finish 
• Instant touch-dry surface
• Superb photographic image quality and consistency
• Wide colour gamut
• 310gsm heavy weight look and feel of a true photo
• Compatible with high quality pigment and dye based inkjet printers, including Epson, Canon, HP, Lexmark and more. 

More information including varieties, stock levels and pricing can be found at Ausmedia's Ilford Photo Paper page.

Solid Ink Printing

Solid Ink Printing, also known as Solid Wax, Ink Stix or Colour Cube printing, is a print technology used by Fuji Xerox Printers in their Phaser and ColorQube range of printers. Solid Ink is a fast, high quality printing method, similar to laser printing but with many benefits. Solid Ink printing generally offers a lower cost per print than laser printers, produces more vibrant colours, while being safe and environmentally friendly.

 

Advantages of solid ink printing:

Low running costs:
Depending on the model is question, solid ink cube printers generally have a cost per print of approx $0.06 to $0.09 (AUD) per colour A4 page. As a comparison, a typical laser printer may have running costs of approx $0.12 to $0.15 Australian Dollars per colour print. Comparing these figures, some solid ink printers can cut your cost per print in half.

These running cost figures are based on an A4 print with 20% total page coverage (5% Black coverage, 5% Cyan, 5% Magenta and 5% Yellow, giving a total of 20% coverage). This is rough representation of typical office colour printing that may include graphs, illustrations and colour logos.

Of course when it comes to lower running costs, the more you print the more you save. If you're printing heavy colour, such as brochures and presentations, stationery, wedding invitations or photography, your colour coverage could be as high as 80% or even more. If we apply a cost per page of say $0.08 for 20% coverage and multiply that figure, a print with 80% coverage would cost $0.32 on a Solid Ink Printer.

The same print on a conventional laser printer with a running cost of $0.13 per print, would end up costing around $0.52 based on 80% coverage. Comparing the Solid Ink's 32c print to the laser printer's 52c print, you'd be saving 20c per print - those savings will add up!

Solid Ink Printing does not require expensive drums, fusers or transfer units. All you need are your ink sticks and a relatively inexpensive maintenance kit. Many laser printer owners will appreciate not having to change over costly drum cartridges, fusers, etc which often cost as much as a brand new printer!

Vibrant Colour Output:
Solid ink printers produces beautiful, vivid colour prints on a wide variety of paper types. Because the ink bonds to the surface of the paper, the colour seems to sit on top of the page, rather than soaking into it. The result is rich, vibrant colour that jumps off the page. Solid Ink does not produce banding like many laser printers can, or soggy over-saturated prints like a dye inkjet printer.

Using an enhanced DPI (dots per inch) of 2,400 FinePoint (using the Fuji Xerox 8570 solid ink printer as an example) solid ink printers are also able to produce highly detailed prints.

Low Environmental Impact:
Solid Ink technology produces 90% less waste than a conventional laser printer. Stop paying for large bulky cartridges that more often than not end up in landfill! Solid Ink blocks (also known as Colour Stix) are blocks of pure colour. The printer melts these blocks down into ink, which is completely consumed by the printer, leaving no empty cartridge. Minimal packaging of ink stick boxes conserves storage space compared to bulky toner cartridges, and is better for the environment.



Impressive Media Handling:
Solid ink printers are known for their ability to handle a wide variety of matte media including heavy card stock that many laser printers struggle with. Solid Ink and ColorQube printers are extremely popular with stationery and invitation printers, who like to use thick and textured matte papers. Solid ink also produces rich colourful prints on recycled papers.

Ease of Use:
Cartridge-free design has the added benefit of ease-of-use! Solid Ink sticks allow for simple ink loading - it's as easy as loading a stapler! Colour coded and number coded, as well as each colour block being shaped differently, mean it's actually impossible to load colours in the wrong spot, and with no empty toner cartridge to pull out, it couldn't be any easier.

Built for Business:
Lowering running costs and environmental impact DOES NOT mean you have to sacrifice office efficiency! Solid ink printers rival their laser equivalents in terms of print speeds, warm up times, and added features. The solid ink range of printers include built-in network, duplex printing and powerful software including sleep/power management and Xerox's Colour By Words - which allows you to customise colour output in simple, everyday terms.

 
For further info, videos, pricing and more, check out the current Fuji Xerox ColorQube 8570 model on the Ausmedia website.