It seems that another 3D printer manufacturer has faded away into the sunset.
Smart International, the Argentina-based company that had licensed the Kodak brand for 3D printing, seems to have ceased operations in the past year.
The company first came to our attention in 2018 at CES, when they revealed their Kodak-branded Portrait 3D printer. This was quite a good 3D printer for its time, offering dual extrusion, an enclosed chamber and the ability to print a wide variety of materials. We performed a hands on test of the Kodak Portrait back in 2019, and still used the machine even last year.
Smart International was not the only company producing Kodak 3D printers, however, as another party also licensed the brand for their device targeted at consumers and specifically children.
Over time Smart International shifted their focus to the development of production 3D printers, as had several manufacturers feeling competitive pressure at the time. They announced the “Macro”, an array-style system targeted at industry. The system had a number of interesting features, such as prototyping and production units that could operate a full development workflow.
However, we haven’t heard much from the company for well over a year. We also haven’t seen them at the last few big trade shows.
Out of curiosity I checked their 3D print website today and discovered it has been taken over by advertising trolls, congratulating me for winning a brand new iPhone 15!
Their company website’s domain is also for sale.
A check of the Internet Archive shows that the site seems to have stopped updating sometime in 2023. There were no announcements of ceasing operations as far as I can see, but they definitely are no longer visible.
We don’t know much more, particularly the reasons for the shutdown. However, the likely cause is simply competition in the 3D printer manufacturing market. There are now several big players that in recent years have grown to a size where they can outrun smaller players like Smart International.
But what about that Kodak Portrait 3D printer I and others have around the world? Unfortunately it seems they are no longer supported. That’s doubly bad because the slicing software for the Portrait was entirely web-based, and the website is now gone. The Smart International service seemed to be based on 3DPrinterOS, so perhaps there’s a way to coax it to work with that service separately.
It may also be possible to use alternative slicers, but I don’t see any pre-made configurations for the Portrait in PrusaSlicer nor Simplify3D. If they’re not there now, they won’t be arriving anytime soon. However, it is certainly possible to work out a custom printer profile for the device to get it working once again, which is what most Portrait users must do.
Either that, or get a new 3D printer. There are many good choices today.
