HP Unveils New Color 3-D Printers to Aid Made-to-Order Movement

(Bloomberg) -- That customized iPhone case, pair of sneakers or even Mini Cooper dashboard may have been made with a 3-D printer.

HP Inc., trying to speed the shift toward personalized goods like these, unveiled a cheaper line of 3-D printers on Monday. The Jet Fusion 300/500 series will be the quickest to create full color objects on the market and the first that can handle both prototyping and production, Steve Nigro, HP’s president of 3-D printing, said.

The Palo Alto, California-based company hopes its three-dimensional printers will grab a piece of the $12 trillion global manufacturing industry. It’s targeting a wide range of potential customers with the new $50,000 to $100,000 devices. Children’s hospitals could create customized casts for broken bones, while schools might fashion objects to help students learn.

Many consumers want personalized products and services and about a fifth of those will pay a 20 percent premium, according to consultant Deloitte. That demand has encouraged a bevy of brands to offer customized wares. HP’s 3-D printing division has partnerships with the BMW AG, Johnson & Johnson and Nike Inc.

To contact the reporter on this story: Nico Grant in New York at ngrant20@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jillian Ward at jward56@bloomberg.net, Alistair Barr, Andrew Pollack

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.