Ability to obtain three-dimensional objects using the printing device is no longer something exotic. In particular, this technology is used in the design and manufacture of prototypes and casting models. However, for the mass market the technology is virtually inaccessible because of the high cost of three-dimensional printers and consumables, although prices have been declining.

A kind of solution would be to issue individual components and kits for assembling the printer, but this approach may not satisfy all consumers. By the way, according to some projections, by 2011, prices for 3D-printers should be reduced to $1000. Maybe it’s the crisis, but so far no signs of such a decline are visible.

To some extent, the situation is being changed by the products of Purple Platypus. According to the company, the BFB 3000 Panther model is the first color, three dimensional printer costing less than $4000, shipped fully assembled.

Printign area of the BFB 3000 Panther is describes the volume of 320 x 300 x 200 mm (with a single print head). Dimensions of the printer are 580 x 520 x 520 mm, weight is 31 kg. Maximum print speed is up to 15 mm³/sec. Power consumption does not exceed 90 Watt. Interestingly, the BFB 3000 Panther does not require connection to a computer — it can be used autonomously by loading the task from an SD card.

The manufacturer of the device is a British company Bits from Bytes Ltd. Among the potential customers are printer manufacturing companies, industrial designers and architects, and just amateurs modelists.

On Tuesday, at a press conference the president of HP, Mark Hurd shed light on the prospects of using webOS the mobile operating system, the main asset of the Palm Company recently purchased for 1.2 billion dollars.

According to the head of HP, webOS will find its use in several products, including tablet computers and printers with Internet access. “Printers with access to the Internet require operating system,” – he said.

webOS is a sensory input oriented operating system, so it was not hard to imagine it will serve as the software foundation for HP tablets. But its application in printers was rather difficult to predict.

Meanwhile, printers are one of the main parts of HP business. In the last quarter, digital printing equipment department has brought the company a profit of 6.4 billion dollars, almost 21.5% of the total profit over the same period. Besides, last year the company announced it’s heading for Internet connected printers. As a result, they have released the HP PhotoSmart Premium TouchSmart, an inkjet printer with large touch screen and Internet access.

Samsung Electronics introduces two new models of monochrome laser printers. Samsung ML-1660 and ML-1665 are equipped with a wide range of functions intended to simplify the management of printing. For example, through Print Screen button, users can in one touch print out what is currently displayed on the screen.

Both printers are supplied with special AnyWeb Print software, enabling instant composing and saving any web content prior to printing, simply by moving it to the special work area in your browser.

New models of Samsung ML-1660 and ML-1665 are compact, which is so ideal when working space is scarce. Printers have elegant flowing forms and black glossy finish. Special design of the output tray helps reduce noise that prevents from concentrating at business or home matters.

With print speeds of up to 16 pages per minute first page out time being less than 8.5 seconds, the new laser printers ML-1660 and ML-1665 are reliable and high quality devices for everyday use and are ideal as an assistant in study and work. Thanks to the convenient location of power button on the front panel, you can reduce the cost of electricity by turning off the printer from the power supply, leaving it to the energy-consuming standby mode.

New Printers Samsung ML-1660 and ML-1665 supports high-performance black and white Samsung toner cartridges, capable of printing more than 1,500 pages on a single refueling.

Earlier this year, Hewlett-Packard Company entered the market of 3D-printers by making a cooperation agreement with the Stratasys, and in May the first product of joint work of engineers of the two companies — Printer Designjet 3D — will be available on the markets of France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom. The printer is designed to facilitate prototyping, and in some cases, such a device could significantly reduce production costs.

“Millions of 3D-designers using traditional printers are ready to implement their design in 3D, – said Morire Santiago (Santiago Morera), vice president of HP and general manager of large format printers. — The Stratasys Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) Technology is flawless foundation for HP to enter the market of MCAD 3D printing and begin to benefit from these untapped opportunities.”

To create an object, CAD-file is sent to the Designjet 3D, then the printer using inkjet printing technology heats thermoplastic or other material layer by layer. HP offers two models: Designjet 3D and Designjet Color 3D for $ 13 thousand and $ 17.5 thousand, respectively, with the latter model being able to implement color 3D-printing.

For the first time the concept of 3D-printer was introduced by Stratasys in mid-1990’s, when the company in collaboration with IBM introduced the first compact system. The last 7 years Stratasys holds a leading position in the new market with a share of over 50%. However, the high price of these devices prevents the wide application of various 3D-printing technologies. Released in 2002, the first 3D-printer Stratasys Dimension cost $30,000, in 2009, it broke the price barrier of $15,000.

We can expect that the technology that allows creating objects in single copies will become more accessible, repeating the path of laser printers, whose implementation began with the business sector and has reached the user-level scale. 3D-printers offer broad prospects not only to the work of engineers who require testing of their products at the design stage, but also to some industries with short-run production.

By the way, similar technologies allow creation of metal structures by baking powder material, and with inkjet technology — printing electrical circuits and even growing body organs.