I don’t think I want a 3D printer anymore

Originally published on Tumblr.

Ever since consumer-grade 3D printers made their way to market, I’ve wanted one. Or at least, I thought I wanted one.

Last year I spent 6 months in a co-working space with a 3D printer. I was excited when I first saw it. But I never used it. Come to think of it, I can only remember its being used twice during that entire time.

This year I have access to even more 3D printers, some small, some big, some very big. Until recently I was pretty sure I was going to do something fun with them, but now I’m not so sure anymore.

I’m not so sure because I recently noticed that I no longer use 2D printers. The funny thing is, I didn’t even notice I’d stopped, until just the other day.

We had a guest in the office and he asked if he could use our printer. I told him we didn’t have a printer. One of my co-workers overheard me and said: “Of course we have one. It’s right by the kitchen.” I guess I’d forgotten, or never noticed. We’ve been in that office for over a year. When our guest tried to connect to the printer, it didn’t work. When we looked into the problem, we discovered it was unplugged. Apparently, I’m not the only non-user.

So why are we using our printers so much less? Because our screens are so good. I don’t mind reading massive documents on my Retina display. We’ve apparently gone paperless and not even noticed! All those programs to get us to stop wasting paper weren’t needed after all. We just needed better screens.

So why do I need a 3D printer? I don’t know. I can’t think of anything I’d want to print.

I’m still excited about the idea of ubiquitous 3D printing, but I think I’m happy for it to happen in small local warehouses where goods are printed for pickup by flying drones and self-driving cars.