HP is in the 3D Printing Space With What They Call A Faster, Less Expensive 3D Printer

Written by: Daniel M. Suib

This morning, on CNBC, Jim Cramer, the well-known stock analyst, when hearing about HP’s entry into the 3D Printing industry was quoted as saying…”This is a game-changer”.
The news out this morning from HP (Hewlett-Packard) the printer mega-giant, is that they have entered the 3D Printing industry in a big way, creating a faster, less expensive 3D Printer. We have all been waiting for reaction from HP on how and when they would enter this arena, and how. Well, they answered the questions this morning by telling the world…”Printers are our domain…we will capture it”.

It will be interesting to see how this movement from HP will affect the leading manufacturers of 3D printers Stratasys, 3D Systems and Makerbot. All I have to say is…I knew it. We all knew it. Sooner or later, this company was going to pounce. It was just a matter of time and strategy. Well, apparently the time has come. They pounced, and overnight…changed the game.

From CNET:
The computer and printer company claims that the new 3D printing technology is 10 times faster than that in existing 3D printers, is more affordable and prints stronger products than current offerings in the market. With those improvements, HP claims it can make 3D printing much more widely adopted than it is today. However, any customers will have to wait a little longer to buy the product — it doesn’t become generally available until 2016.

Earlier this year, HP said it would announce a 3D printing offering by the end of its fiscal year (which is this Friday). Wednesday’s announcement comes just three weeks after HP unveiled plans to split into two companies, joining a recent trend of large corporate breakups to create smaller, more targeted firms, including eBay’s plans to spin off its PayPal unit. After the split, the new Hewlett-Packard Enterprise will focus on business and government software and services, and HP Inc. will focus on PCs and printing. The breakup will be completed by the end of October 2015.

With HP becoming one of the biggest companies to enter 3D printing, the landscape for the young industry is likely to shift quickly — and perhaps not to the benefit of the smaller players already in the space. Just as HP made its announcement Wednesday, shares of 3D Systems, ExOne and Stratasys all dropped some 5 percent to 7 percent.