Mimaki recently launched its new 3D printer (see Cary Sherburne’s report on the company’s virtual event back in April), which brings its 3D printing offerings up to three models targeted at three different kinds of end users.

The first is the 3DFF-222, an entry-level 3D printer designed to allow print service providers to get their feet wet in 3D printing.

“We see it as a great way for printing companies to have a kind of accessible entry point into 3D printing,” said Josh Hope, senior manager, 3D Printing & Engineering Projects, Mimaki USA. “At this point, anybody in the printing and signage industry looks at 3D printing and says, ‘I know this is going to impact me somehow and at some point, but I’m not really clear on when or how that’s going to happen.’ I think that small machine is a great way for a printing company to say, ‘I can start to get familiar with the technology, the terminology, learn about prepping files for 3D printing, and I can do it in a way that I can make something that’s usable, whether it’s a jig for my flatbed printer or a small mold for thermoforming.”