The West Sussex-based supplier will sell the Israeli start-up’s Massivit 1800 3D printer and Dimengel 3D printing material in the UK and Ireland from May, and has claimed the significance of the development of the technology is similar to that of wide-format printing.
The deal was agreed after Papergraphics chief executive John Selby was invited to a Massivit open day while on a visit to a reseller in September 2015 and was surprised to find giant 3D-printed models.
“I was fascinated. Everyone else was after the food but I was mesmerised,” he said. He returned the next day and began negotiations.
The Massivit 1800 'print' hollow 3D shapes of up to 1.8m tall, 1.5m wide and 1.2m deep. It can create shapes with flat tops and shapes with no visible means of support, such as arms, by first printing a strut that is used as a support.
Papergraphics will provide customers with a full-service offering for the Massivit 1800, which will demonstrated in operation at Papergraphics' headquarters in Crawley from May, including pre- and post-sale support.
“It’s amazing what it can do," Selby said. “We weren’t expecting to come across something like this but I’ve been in the game a long time and nothing has excited me about the industry for a long time and I really do think this will take print into a new dimension.”
The Massivit 1800 will be of interest to model makers, TV and film studios, exhibition, high-end signage and POS producers, Selby said. Papergraphics will not fix a price for the machine until the official launch but it will be “no more than the cost of a high-end UV printer,” Selby said.
“I truly believe that the Massivit 1800 will be as big an innovation for the print industry as the wide format inkjet was when it launched. This product will change the way the visual communication market operates.”
Massivit, which was set up two years ago, recently secured investment from Stratasys the US-based 3D printing and additive specialist.
Massivit chief executive Avner Israeli, said his company wanted a global presence.
“We feel that Papergraphics, with its experience and customer-base in the UK and Ireland, will help us achieve this goal. Not only that, the company is clearly extremely passionate and enthusiastic about the 3D revolution, which will undoubtedly help us achieve our ultimate goal.”
