Will 3D Printers Become A Household Item?

3D printing is going to be the next huge technology revolution with everyone from your sister to your granddad being able to print out just about anything they could imagine with the click of a button – fancy a new bike? Print it out! A new three-piece suite? Hit the print button!

Well, at least that’s what you might have been led to believe by the increasingly-excited reports coming from the media. In reality, 3D printing is an incredibly exciting technology, but perhaps not one that will become as widely used as iPhones and laptops.

That’s the opinion expressed in a recent report by Gartner, a technology research company, who suggest that consumers will be disappointed by the realities of 3D printers in comparison to the current hype being built.

The reasons cited by Pete Basiliere, research director of Gartner, include users needing to be able to proficient in CAD design to design their own objects. Even the process of printing out a perfect part without having to design it may be too difficult for beginners to master, leading to a frustrating user experience.

Despite this, Gartner were keen to emphasise that 3D printers could change the way enterprise businesses work, transforming and reducing the cost of the manufacturing process.

Another potential stumbling block for consumer adoption of 3D printing technology is the cost of the hardware itself, which means the technology is likely to remain a luxury gadget for those who can afford it rather than a household essential. The report does state that the cost of a 3D printer is likely to fall to below £2000 by 2016.

That doesn’t mean there’s no hope for 3D printing technology as a consumer product, however. Like 3D printers, inkjet printers would have once set you back over £1000. The necessity of an inkjet printer for the average consumer was also hotly debated, with many declaring it a luxury.

Fast forward 20 years and you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who hasn’t owned an inkjet printer at some point. From the heights of costing over £1000, you can now buy an inkjet printer for under £30. While ink cartridges may still cost quite a lot if you buy OEM, there are plenty of options, such as our refillable ink cartridges, that make the cost of printing very low indeed.

So what was the key to inkjet technology becoming so widespread? We’d argue it was its simplicity. Although many users are keen to gripe about paper jams, faint prints and error messages, the fundamentals of using an inkjet are incredibly simple – load up the paper, press ‘print’ on your computer and watch the document magically transfer from screen to page.

Even remedying the problems with inkjet printers are simple. Paper jams are often caused by something as simple as overloading the paper tray, while faint prints can suggest a cartridge that is running out of ink or a faulty cartridge that needs replacing. In short, inkjet printers are incredibly easy to use and incredibly cheap to manufacture – the two key attributes of any home technology.

3D printer manufacturers, therefore, need to get these two aspects down before 3D printers are likely to take off in the same way as inkjet and laser printers. It could be argued that the necessity to print out your 3D products isn’t as pressing as printing your own 2D documents, but then it could also be argued that no-one needs to access the internet or play games using a mobile phone – it’s just fun to do so.

For the time being, however, you’ll have to make do with your trusty old inkjet printer. To keep that printer running cheaply, visit your local Cartridge World. store or browse our range of printer cartridges online.

Image credit: NeONBRAND