6 Retail 3D Printing Shops

MakerBot Retail Store in Manhattan

Recently Amazon added a whole section of 3D printing and additive manufacturing . Many sites picked this up as a sign of the increased popularity and potential market for 3D printing. Though that is one sign of the growing industry another is the increasing number of “retail” 3d printing stores.  Some of these are more of a true retail store thatchers but each offers their own unique take on bringing 3d printers to new customers.

1. IMAKR- London UK

Similar the the Amazon offering, iMakr has a selection of various 3D printers as well as materials and parts in stock. The store is an extension of the online marketplace that they have built and serves to both provide access to the physicla items as well as instruct consumers on the process of 3D printing. Many printing machines are still not “turnkey” so it is very useful to have brick and mortar locations staffed with experts that can walk a new comer through the various details.

2. Makerbot- NYC

Originally founded on open source software, and recently acquired by a leading internationally owned 3d printing company, Makerbot was the first machine manufacturer to open their own store. I the heart of Manhattan the shop serves as a bit of a showroom for some of the more glamorous printed parts the Replicator 2 has produced. Customers are free to browse the shop, which sells costly trinkets, provides access to a 3d scanner, and constantly has at least one mid print machine on display. The actual printed parts available are not really unique but being able to walk out of the store with one sure beats the turnaround time of ordering through Shapeways. Of course there are also a handful of printers in stock and its possible to walk out the new owner of an additive manufacturing machine.

3. BluBin- Poultney Vermont

Part experienctial and part functional, BluBin serves to bring 3D printing to a wider market while also offering fun ways to interact with this new technology. Even though they are located in a smaller market (read: not Manhattan), founder Daniel Riley notes that their Poultney Vermont proximity to Green Mountain College has helped BluBin to gain traction and secure a small but growing customers base. BluBin’s focus is less on the sales of physical printers and more on the physcial product that is output. By using in house designers and a network of modelers who are on call they can turn a hand sketch by a child into a physical toy literally overnight.

4. The 3D Printing Experience – Chicago

Here is one location that is sure to see some increased foot traffic in the next few weeks. MediaBistro’s “Inside 3D Printing Chicago” will be in the same town and many industry enthusiasts will be able to find an excuse to get over to the 3D Printing Experience. The Printing Experience only just open in April of 2013 and is similar to the UK’s iMakr store in it’s offering and positioning. This Midwest location boasts a number of different 3D printers as well as educational sessions, a 3D scanning booth, and what looks to be a whole team of experts who are ready to help eager designers get up to speed on 3D printing.

5. Deezmaker – Pasadena California

Though it started out as a hacker space and retail shop the recent Kickstarter campaign for the Bukobot 3D Printer means that Deezmaker is also now a manufacturer of sorts. This retail location seems to be mostly a passion project for the founders who clearly take the hacker culture to heart. As a rental space that hosts various meetups the Deezmaker store is the perfect place for a true enthusiast to spend some time making their new creation. Of course they sell a handful of products but an unconnected stepper motor is not something an off the street window shopper is going to snatch up, this retail store is clearly meant for the serious 3D printer.

6. Staples – Cube by 3D Systems

Someone on the Staples executive team has been bitten by the 3D printing bug. First they announced a new service offering in Europe, a partnership with MCor Technologies helped them place a full color 3D printer in a number of their locations as a part of a pilot program. They then followed that up in the US by annoucning that Staples will be the first major retailer to stock a 3D Printer, the $1300 Cube by 3D Systems. Of course consumers will still have to know a bit of the technical details, but the plug and play nature of the Cube combined with the supporting Cubify.com library is a step in the right direction. Someday the conversation will move away from the physical prints and start to focus on what really matters, the designs that these machines can help to create.