P is for Printers

We have several printers in our office. We have a huge all-in-one that stopped working, but does terrific scans, a newer and smaller all-in-one that prints perfectly (even from our phones!), and a small portable printer that we've had for over 10 years and still works perfectly.

What I'm really excited about, however, is the 3D printer I backed on Kickstarter. I had wanted a 3D printer for awhile, so I waited and searched until I found the perfect one. It's called the FLUX. Unfortunately, I have to wait awhile before I will actually receive it, because the whole point of Kickstarter is to pledge money for something that can't be produced until enough money is produced.

In case you don't know what a 3D printer is, it takes strands of plastic (rather than ink), heats it so it's pliable, and layers it into a shape that you design in 3D software such as SketchUp. Some 3D printers will even print with metal, chocolate, or a number of other filaments. Some can even print human organs! The FLUX printer actually engraves and scans 3D objects as well, with the option to build your own modules for additional features.

Since I don't yet have my printer, I can only do a gif of our regular printers. The middle one is actually a dedicated scanner called a ScanSnap. I didn't include the large broken printer.

Here are some tweets about other types of printers:

Brady BMP21-PLUS Handheld #Label #Printer with Rubber Bumpers http://t.co/zQKNHcGpfO #business #office #sale pic.twitter.com/TkB0FL8I45
— HOLIDAY HEADQUARTERS (@sportparadise) April 18, 2015

Disney’s New #3D #Printer Prototype Makes Huggable Things Out Of Fabric Instead Of Hard Plastic http://t.co/lD2Dy3ykcy via @techcrunch
— Julia Ivo (@Julia_3D_World) April 18, 2015

Sebastian Chavarria, 6, picks #prosthetic #hand in #3D #printer #challenge #UofO http://t.co/Xyivc0oREj #BIO #TECH pic.twitter.com/bBECxDwqy8
— Paulo Lobo (@djpaulolobo) March 20, 2015

http://t.co/EYUiuesl #Organ #printer: how it works
— Sergio Sionis (@SSionis) April 2, 2012