Back in 2008, Mcor Technologies unveiled its brilliant Matrix 3D printer that created models from a stack of regular old copier paper. It was a cheap way to dabble in 3D printing, and now the company has unveiled a new model, the Iris, that adds a bit of colour to your creations.
Like with the original Matrix, the Iris slices and glues layer after layer of paper together to slowly build up a 3D model. But colour is introduced through an additional process that presumably prints a design on the parts of a page that will be visible in the final model.
Because it’s not printing a full design on every single page, the Iris shouldn’t chew through ink cartridges too quickly. But having it run out of ink halfway through a long model-making process could be incredibly frustrating, since it’s not like you can simply go back and re-print the pages with streaks. [Mcor Technologies via Make]
When I find one that will allow me to print a Mask I create, then I shall buy a 3D printer.
Have a look. At the SLA machines by 3d systems. They can print an awful lot of things in different materials at sizes large enough for masks. They are commercial machines with price tags to match though.