Early 3D Adopters: Who's Doing 3D Printing?

For this reason, Corliss believes, the hobbyist and novelty market isn't the future for commercial printers. "There is a limit to what you can do in that marketplace and limits to what those customers are willing to pay," he says.

When asked about using the device to move into markets like advertising specialties, Corliss raises the issue of speed. "[Even at the lower resolutions,] the technology by its nature is slow," he says. "Think of a poster printer, where the print head goes back and forth over a two-by-three-foot substrate. This is similar. The head goes back and forth many, many times. If the build resolution is .01 inch, the head has to go back and forth 100 times. If it's six inches high, that's 600 times."