Christopher Barnatt argues that ‘the 3D Printing Revolution really is just about to happen’ (Barnatt, p.xiii). It is fact that 3D printing has been used in multiple industries such as manufacturing for around three decades, mostly for purposes such as creating concept models or moulds for designs (Barnatt, p.xi). However, in recent years there has been a growing market for commercial 3D printers designed for personal use. In 2013 Barack Obama stated that 3D printing is going to ‘revolutionize the way we make almost everything’ (Obama, 2013), but is this really the case and will it be true in the case of book publishing?
Over a dozen 3D printing technologies exist. Photopolymerization uses light to move liquid materials into shapes to be set into solids, molten polymer deposition (or MPD) melts chosen materials into layers that are structures into their desired shape and granular materials binding uses a combination of hot air and lasers to fuse layers of powder together into a specified shape (France, pp.31-33). MDP is currently the most commonly-used method of 3D printing (Frauenfelder, p.25). Barnatt predicts that as technologies and final-products improve using this method, 3D printing will be used increasingly in the manufacturing industry to produce parts of products (Barnatt, p.xi).
Printed texts are traditionally two-dimensional in design, as text is printed onto paper or another flat surface to be bound into a publication such as a book. 3D printing now offers publishers the opportunity to enhance their texts by incorporating 3D designs that would be too difficult to replicate using 2D drawn models. For example, alongside educational texts publishers could provide small models (for example of body parts in human biology books) which could significantly enhance the reading experience. Similarly, in certain cases publishers may see fit to include 3D printed models either to be either attached to their texts, or separately incorporated into design simply to enhance the visual appeal of the finished product. This means that 3D printing could provide the benefit of ‘possible artistic connotations’ (Taylor, 2014) to printed products.
As for how difficult it could be for publishers to move towards 3D printing. Microsoft’s announcement that one of the updates for their Windows 8.1 is that they have built in support for 3D printers (Kolawole, 2013), in theory means that 3D printing using Microsoft hardware should be as simple as 2D printing.
Despite the impressive expectations for 3D printed publishing, there are many counter-arguments for using 3D printing. Vivek Wadhwa is keen to stress that ‘we won’t—for a long time—see this large-scale manufacturing revolution’ that many such as Obama expect (Wadhwa, 2013). Publishers can expect to pay in excess of £1,000 for a professional 3D printer without materials and so some companies may not view them as economically viable. An additional argument is that the quality of products printed in 3D is yet to match alternative production methods, leading some industry experts to argue that 3D printing still requires ‘a decade or so’ (Barnatt, p.xi) to be ready for the mass market.
Much discussion lies on how 3D printing will improve and be used in the future. It may seem difficult for some publishers to imagine how text products incorporated with 3D print will appear in years to come, however there certainly appears to be great appeal for 3D printing.
Word Count: 547
Bibliography
Barnatt, C., 2013. 3D Printing: The Next Industrial Revolution. Nottingham: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
France, A., 2013. Make: 3D Printing: The Essential Guide to 3D Printers. California: Maker Media Inc.
Frauenfelder, M., 2013. Make: Ultimate Guide to 3D Printing 2014. California: Maker Media Inc.
Kolawole, E., 2013. Microsoft does for 3D printing what it did for 2D printing — makes it mainstream. The Washington Post [online] Available at: <http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/innovations/wp/2013/06/26/microsoft-does-for-3d-printing-what-it-did-for-2d-printing-makes-it-mainstream/> [Accessed: 10th November 2014].
Obama, B. 2013. 90 - Address Before a Joint Session of Congress on the State of the Union. The American Presidency Project [online] Available at: <http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=102826> [Accessed: 10th November 2014].
Taylor, S. 2014. Print Impressive: 3D Printing 2D Printing. 3D Printing Industry [online] Available at: <http://3dprintingindustry.com/2014/05/29/print-impressive-3d-printing-2d-printing/> [Accessed: 10th November 2014].
Wadhwa, V., 2013. Let’s curb our 3D-printer enthusiasm, folks. The Washington Post [online] Available at: <http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/innovations/wp/2013/08/02/lets-curb-our-3d-printer-enthusiasm-folks/> [Accessed: 10th November 2014].
Over a dozen 3D printing technologies exist. Photopolymerization uses light to move liquid materials into shapes to be set into solids, molten polymer deposition (or MPD) melts chosen materials into layers that are structures into their desired shape and granular materials binding uses a combination of hot air and lasers to fuse layers of powder together into a specified shape (France, pp.31-33). MDP is currently the most commonly-used method of 3D printing (Frauenfelder, p.25). Barnatt predicts that as technologies and final-products improve using this method, 3D printing will be used increasingly in the manufacturing industry to produce parts of products (Barnatt, p.xi).
Printed texts are traditionally two-dimensional in design, as text is printed onto paper or another flat surface to be bound into a publication such as a book. 3D printing now offers publishers the opportunity to enhance their texts by incorporating 3D designs that would be too difficult to replicate using 2D drawn models. For example, alongside educational texts publishers could provide small models (for example of body parts in human biology books) which could significantly enhance the reading experience. Similarly, in certain cases publishers may see fit to include 3D printed models either to be either attached to their texts, or separately incorporated into design simply to enhance the visual appeal of the finished product. This means that 3D printing could provide the benefit of ‘possible artistic connotations’ (Taylor, 2014) to printed products.
As for how difficult it could be for publishers to move towards 3D printing. Microsoft’s announcement that one of the updates for their Windows 8.1 is that they have built in support for 3D printers (Kolawole, 2013), in theory means that 3D printing using Microsoft hardware should be as simple as 2D printing.
Despite the impressive expectations for 3D printed publishing, there are many counter-arguments for using 3D printing. Vivek Wadhwa is keen to stress that ‘we won’t—for a long time—see this large-scale manufacturing revolution’ that many such as Obama expect (Wadhwa, 2013). Publishers can expect to pay in excess of £1,000 for a professional 3D printer without materials and so some companies may not view them as economically viable. An additional argument is that the quality of products printed in 3D is yet to match alternative production methods, leading some industry experts to argue that 3D printing still requires ‘a decade or so’ (Barnatt, p.xi) to be ready for the mass market.
Much discussion lies on how 3D printing will improve and be used in the future. It may seem difficult for some publishers to imagine how text products incorporated with 3D print will appear in years to come, however there certainly appears to be great appeal for 3D printing.
Word Count: 547
Bibliography
Barnatt, C., 2013. 3D Printing: The Next Industrial Revolution. Nottingham: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
France, A., 2013. Make: 3D Printing: The Essential Guide to 3D Printers. California: Maker Media Inc.
Frauenfelder, M., 2013. Make: Ultimate Guide to 3D Printing 2014. California: Maker Media Inc.
Kolawole, E., 2013. Microsoft does for 3D printing what it did for 2D printing — makes it mainstream. The Washington Post [online] Available at: <http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/innovations/wp/2013/06/26/microsoft-does-for-3d-printing-what-it-did-for-2d-printing-makes-it-mainstream/> [Accessed: 10th November 2014].
Obama, B. 2013. 90 - Address Before a Joint Session of Congress on the State of the Union. The American Presidency Project [online] Available at: <http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=102826> [Accessed: 10th November 2014].
Taylor, S. 2014. Print Impressive: 3D Printing 2D Printing. 3D Printing Industry [online] Available at: <http://3dprintingindustry.com/2014/05/29/print-impressive-3d-printing-2d-printing/> [Accessed: 10th November 2014].
Wadhwa, V., 2013. Let’s curb our 3D-printer enthusiasm, folks. The Washington Post [online] Available at: <http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/innovations/wp/2013/08/02/lets-curb-our-3d-printer-enthusiasm-folks/> [Accessed: 10th November 2014].