Staples first announced a 3D print service in Europe in 2012, which later launched in 2013. Now they have a USA-based service.
But now they’ve launched onsite 3D print services in two locations: Fifth Avenue in NYC and Studio City in California. Staples isn’t a 3D print company and so they must partner with a company that can provide the necessary equipment and services. In this case it is 3D Systems, who, from what we can gather, are providing Staples with the full line of 3D Systems’ consumer products. That includes not only 3D printers to sell, as they’ve done previously, but also 3D printers to print objects for Staples customers. They’re also providing content sources, such as the Cubify library, 3D scanning services and Cubify’s ever-expanding suite of custom figurines.
There’s one curious aspect to this otherwise normal announcement. In 2012, Staples partnered with MCOR Technologies, not 3D Systems for their European launch. There is no mention of MCOR in the USA service announcement. Meanwhile, the European “Staples My Easy 3D” site appears to be still operating. This could be a case of Staples experimenting with different solutions to see which one works best for them. It’s also possible they use both.
Via 3D Systems and Fast Company