With a stand boasting vibrant, eye-catching 3D printed sign & display applications, the visitors at FESPA 2017 discovered well as how 3D printing technology can be utilised to produce unique large format 3D displays. It won’t be wrong to mention that the superfast large format 3D printer, Massivit 1800 is all set to transform the way high-level marketing, advertising & themed projects are created. With output speeds that is said to be incomparable to anything else in the 3D printing industry, Massivit 1800 printer is made capable to produce high quality 3D pieces of up to 1.8m / 6ft high.
As Avner Israeli, Massivit 3D’s chief executive has been quoted as saying, “Following three years of hard work and incredible progress, 3D print has evolved with the needed flexibility, speed and the price point to unlock huge new creative opportunities and drive profitable growth for users, which is no different for the large format printing industry as a whole.” He further added, “For print providers, the Massivit 1800 dramatically enhances the ability to create eye-catching added-value visual communications that better engage target audiences.”
Large format 3D printing offers something different, something new. It enables the creation of vibrant, eye-catching 3D printed sign & display projects beyond those that can be achieved with 2D large format printing solutions. In fact, research shows that 3D printed adverts have five times more stopping-power and four times more staying-power than 2D advertising. It’s no wonder that more and more companies are introducing 3D printing to their projects.
According to the company, Massivit 1800 is ‘the 3D printing solution’ for print providers, developed by people who have dedicated their careers to delivering market leading large format digital printing equipment. At the heart of the solution is the company’s proprietary GDP (Gel Dispensing Printing) technology that enables instant solidification and high-speed printing. The Massivit 1800 printer also utilises techniques that allow it to print non-vertical walls and ceilings, without the need to produce a solid object or intensive support structure.
Massivit 1800 has already demonstrated how the three dimensional printing technology is changing the way high-level advertising, marketing and themed tasks are created. This is further exemplified by one of its Australian customers, Omus that has centred its business around producing high-end displays for the premium retail sector, exhibitions and events for which it produces high end displays. Omus evinces that how the technology can be further stretched to create bespoke retail outlets by producing the ‘world’s first’ 3D printed pop-up store for luxury fashion brand, Louis Vuitton.
Omus – the first Australian company to have a Massivit 1800 3D printer – the design house of which has created a stunning 3D-printed installation at one of its pop-up retail locations in Sydney’s prestigious Westfield shopping complex. The 3D print service provider used the large-scale 3D printer to manufacture and realise the impressive silvery dome with a huge build volume of 180cm (H) x 150cm (W) x 120 cm (D) in a span as short as two weeks. Keeping in view the scale of the project, the schedule was extremely tight and Omus had to pull out all the stops to get the project finished in time.
This included reaching out to Composite Images in Sydney (which also houses a Massivit 3D printer) and bringing in Massivit technicians all the way from Israel. The prestigious project took a great deal of design and 3D printing work. In the end, the chrome-like canopy was made from 900 kilograms of Massivit Dimengel UVcurable material, and consists of 48 separate sections, which were 3D printed, assembled, and finished with an ‘Avery Supreme Silver’ wrapping film. Even within the strict two week timeline window and despite some skepticism, the Omus team was able to pull together to 3D print all of the parts for the structure, got it assembled and installed at the Louis Vuitton store within three days.
At the end of the project, Robert Grosso, Omus Director has been quoted as saying that this was really a take no prisoners job! “Many fabricators had already said it could not be done within the time frame using conventional processes, but oversize 3D printing by Massivit came to the rescue.” Put together, the final touches on the impressive 3D printed installation, the vinyl-cut black lettering reading ‘Louis Vuitton’ and the large elephant floor graphic beneath it created an eye-catching picturesque at the
Westfield complex in Sydney, Australia.
This was not it as a US-based company Carisma used Massivit 1800 to produce a number of visually-striking campaigns for prominent blockbuster movies and popular US shows. Another great example came from E.S Digital, which was approached by a newly launched Israel-based chocolate shop, ‘Little Switzerland’ in a bid to strengthen its brand identity and make its store more appealing to its target market. E.S Digital 3D printed a larger-than-life replica of the company’s mascot that was combined with traditional print graphics to enforce the company’s brand.
With all this and many more in the waiting, 3D printing going to change the fate of large format printing industry. There’s no any doubt that the ‘traditional’ large format printing industry remains very competitive market. As such, 3D printing could potentially unlock the door to new business and provide the all-important competitive advantage. Going in tandem with the trend, the commercial and wide-format print houses are already integrating 3D printing services into their product portfolio, with minimal learning and business disruption. As demonstrated by the Australia-based Omus, US-based Carisma, Israel-based E.S Digital and the like, 3D printing with its unmatched flexibility can be seamlessly integrated into most large format print business models.
Massivit 3D aims to maintain its position as the worldwide 3D print manufacturer of choice, particularly in the sign and display market. The company would keep developing new technology that meets the varied needs of its customers. “As more and more companies look to adopt 3D printing within their traditional manufacturing processes globally, we believe that soon the trend would follow in India, said Prakash Chopra, Business Manager, Arrow Digital Pvt. Ltd. The company is the sole distributor of Massivit 1800 in India. “We are committed to push our business in wide format printing and other associated markets.”
Before going for it, what the new investors of 3D Printing technology need to do?
• Like any other technology purchase, they must first explore the advantages that 3D offers to their business in terms of its positioning and offering as a company, as well as the role it is expected to play in the future of the business. • Meanwhile, they should establish their 3D printing route-to-market, from both their existing and new customers. For example, what do they need to do to generate 3D work? Luckily, for most future customers of 3D printing are also purchasers of traditional signage so it’s often a very easy sell.
• Prior to making a 3D technology purchase, the purchasers should also likely to have analysed the capital expenditure and must instinctively know what to ask a manufacturer, and themselves.
• But one thing is for sure; early 3D printing adopters will reap the rewards of coming to market first simply adding many new revenue streams and profitable applications thereby aiding in transforming the market.