3D Printing Update, Part 2 |

Yesterday, in part 1 (of this 5+ part update), I reviewed how new software and printers will make 3D printing available at home and in the office. Places like Staples will make it possible for more complicated designs to be produced, as well. Which means it’s time to sit back, grab a glass of wine (or two or three) and consider what all this technology is going to do to our companies.

First, a little history…

Consider what happened with the music industry. In a word- Napster! Now, if you are as young as my son, you will barely recall the threat from the biggies to sue every kid who ever downloaded a music file. Because one kid bought a song, recorded it as an mp3, then uploaded it to Napster, and shared it with the world.

As a result, record (OK, I’m an old fart, CD) sales are way down from what they were a decade or two ago. But, the aftermath has left a new market. Sales of individual songs are thriving- with or without the participation of the big music companies like A&M and Sony- via pay per song sites like iTunes. (Many bands and artists now sell their music directly to the consumer.)

This is not a new phenomenon. It also happened when copying machines (I’m old enough to remember, to have been subject to this problem, and to recall that the singular company involved was Xerox) became ubiquitous. This let college students (as the largest ‘violating’ group) copy every article or book they wanted. Book and journal publishers were livid at the lost revenue. So,legislation was passed and the Copyright Clearance Center was formed. That meant we had to shell out a dime for each page we copied. (I do recall sending a letter to Academic Press, the nemesis of my graduate education, which published specialized textbooks that ran 37 to 48 cents a page. I told them I was thrilled to cut my expenses by 3 or 4- because they were so overpriced. They still are, as I’ve reported recently about the protest against such journal pricing excesses.)

We can expect the same phenomenon to occur for 3D printing. So, tomorrow, we’ll discuss what business needs to consider.