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Print.ITReseller
30
3D
This is no longer the case.The last
18months have seen amassive
increase in interest in 3Dprinting
as costs have come down and new
markets have opened up; industry
heavyweights have thrown their
weight behind the technology –HP is
due tomake an announcement about
its plans in June; andmainstream IT
distributors have added3Dprinters
to their portfolios.
Naturally, resellers have started to
investigate how they canmakemoney from
a sector that is projected to grow by 75%
in 2014, among themBalreedDigitec.
GroupMarketingDirector Gary Downey
said:“There’s been an incredible price drop
across both the purchase price and the
cost of materials.The earlymodelswere
expensive to run, therewas a lot of waste
and the finished product was often brittle
and fragile.Now, new substrates such as
resin, plastics and rubbermean that the
finishedmodel ismuchmore durable than
of old; there’smuch lesswaste and as a
result themarket has opened up.”
Balreed has a dedicated production
print specialist team and it’swithin this
part of the business that Downey believes
the potential lies.“3D printing is a
specialist sale, a bit like expanding your
offering to includewide format.Wework
with a vendor specialist calledArt Systems
which operateswithin thewide format and
3D print spaces.There isn’tmuch volume
yet but as the price continues to come
down,wewill sell more.”
For Downey, 3D printing can also
help open up a dialoguewith education
customers,marketing and design agencies
and architects practices.“It’s low volume
and there’s not a lot of margin, but
the benefit for us is that by including it
in our portfolio,we can open up new
conversationswith customers, offering
them the same level of specialist support
beyond the office environment,”he said.
Distributiondeal
3D Systems, a provider of 3D printers, print
materials and on-demand custom parts
services for professionals and consumers,
has joined forceswithMidwich,which is
now the largest distributor of its products
in theUK.
Midwich plans to solidify 3D Systems’
position as the 3D print leader in theUK,
beginningwith an aggressive pursuit of the
educationmarket with the classroom-safe
Cube 3D printer andCubify’s accompanying
easy-to-learn design software.
BusinessManager Jonathon Francis
said:“Costs nowmean that it is possible
for every school in the country to have
some form of 3D print equipment in the
classroom andwith the government’s
recommendations for technology in
schools,we expect demand to be high.
Wewill also be distributing consumables,
makingMidwich a single source solution
3Dprinting–
one towatch?
Whilst 3Dprinters aren’t new– they’vebeenaround for adecadeormore
– theyhave traditionallyhadahigh cost of entry, around£20k, andhave
mainlybeenof interest tohigh-endengineeringanddesign industries.
for 3D printing requirements.”
Another keymarket forMidwich and
3D Systems is the healthcare sector where
3D printers can be used to create bespoke
hip replacements and skeletal parts.
Significant opportunities
Meanwhile,wholesalerVOW has become
the exclusiveUK business supplies
wholesaler for iMakr 3D printers.Around
100,000 iMakr 3D printer units have been
soldworldwide since their launch,with
sales up 50% in 2013.
As the only company in theUK
dedicated exclusively to 3D printing
and offering one of thewidest ranges,
iMakr wasVOW’s first choice as
manufacturing partner, givingVOW
resellers the assurance of a specialised
offering and high after sales service and
customer support.
ManagingDirectorAdrianButler said:
“With consumption patterns continuing
to change and end users seeking an ever
more personalised experience, 3D print
presents a substantial opportunity to
resellers. Staying ahead of the curve is not
always easy, but it will be key to success.
By evolving their offering to embrace
technology like 3D print, resellers have
every chance of winning in the coming
months and years.”
Technology ProductManager Ben
Appleby said:“VOW is committed to
growing resellers’ businesses andwith
eight iMakrmodels on offer, starting at
the consumer friendly Solidoodle 4 priced
to the consumer at £708, and going up to
the user intensiveMakerbot Replicator 2X
at £1,908, plus 40 different consumables,
there are significant opportunities here for
the reseller across awide spectrum of new
and existing customers.”
VOW launched the iMakr range to
VOW+ partners at its annual Partner Event
inMarch and is nowworking on a range
of complementary 3D printing tools and
services to engagewith resellers and their
customers.These are likely to include end
user-friendly resources, exclusive toVOW,
that will enable people to download and
create a diverse range of 3D products.
in 2014
75%
The sector is
projected to
growby
