2013 may be the year of exciting new developments in 3D printing and I've today had a really interesting meeting with a UK company developing 3D vacuum printing machines for sublimation (with over 10 years of experience already in the market). The range of printables explodes - imagine not being restricted to printing in a mug press or a flat bed press or any other type of press. One press, all products.
Imagine printing a cat/ dog bowl but full internal printing at the same time as external printing (no white spaces!).
Imagine printing a mug including the handle, imagine printing money boxes - the top in full colour and all down the side in full colour with no white spaces. Image plates, imagine...well anything! Anything that can be moulded can be printed - the shape, contours etc don't matter as the special film used for holding the sublimation inks forms over the shape of the product as it is heated and moulds into the shape. Inks transfer and the carrier film is removed. End result = full colour, customised coverage of any shaped sublimation blank.
It may well be that in time we look back at "flat bed' presses with a wry smile at what 2D printing used to restricted us to....
Roll on 2013...