BEHIND THE PRINT

Why a little personalization can mean a lot more printing.

A name may be only a few letters. The printer may have to return to those letters again and again as it builds the object.

One of the things we’ve been learning is that “a small change” on a design doesn’t always mean a small change at the printer. A name, a logo or a picture can look like a finishing touch. Depending on where it goes, it can change a surprising amount of the work.

If you’ve wondered why personalization sometimes changes the price or timing, it helps to picture how the object is made.

The printer builds from the bottom up.

Our filament printers melt plastic and lay it down in thin paths, one layer on top of another. Imagine making an object from hundreds of very thin slices. The printer finishes a slice, moves up a little, and starts the next one.

A single-color piece can often continue with the same material through those layers. A multicolor design may need the printer to change material within a layer, then do it again in the next layer.

It is about changes, not just colors.

On our single-nozzle multicolor setup, the printer has to unload one filament, load another and clear the previous material from the nozzle so the next color comes through cleanly. That clearing process uses plastic that does not become part of the finished gift.

Two colors separated into different sections of a print can behave very differently from two colors repeated across many layers. A small contrasting name on the side of an upright object may require repeated changes as the printer climbs through every layer that contains those letters.

Which way is up can change the answer.

Text on a top surface may occupy only a few final layers. Similar text down a side can span many more layers. Rotating a model can change that, but orientation also affects fit, strength, finish and whether the printer needs supports.

That is why we check the actual design before confirming a customization price. Some changes are straightforward. Others can make the job take several times as long and create substantially more waste. There isn’t one multiplier that applies to every name or image.

Not every extra has the same reason behind it.

Artwork can need preparation before it is printable. Fine text can require a different approach to detail. A texture may add design work or printer time without any color swaps at all. We want the quote to reflect the piece you’re asking us to make.

For example, the Duel Deck Box can carry different kinds of personalization. We’ll discuss the area available and the detail that matters most before settling on a design.

What we hope to improve next.

When another printer is in the cards for us, we’re interested in a toolchanger. Using separate tools for different materials can greatly reduce the repeated flushing needed by a shared nozzle. We hope that will give us more options, less waste and opportunities to make some custom work more economical.

For now, we check the print rather than assume every customization is the same. If a detail will add a lot of time, we can talk about simplifying it, moving it, or finding another way to make it personal.

Further reading: Prusa’s explanation of multi-tool printing and purge waste.