New York, Nov. 20, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Step into the future at the new MakerBot Store in New York and experience 3D printing like you never have before. MakerBot, the global leader in 3D printing technology, is celebrating the grand opening of its first retail outlet in the United States on November 20th with the unveiling of a MakerBot 3D Photo Booth, powered by ShapeShot® and MakerBot®.
MakerBot and ShapeShot have joined forces to provide a 3D Photo Booth experience for the 21st century - a chance to capture and create a 3D image, but not just any image, but a 3D portrait and replica of your face! In a few minutes, a scan is made of your face and displayed on a screen. Serious or funny expressions are immediately captured using ShapeShot's 3D face data that can then be used to print out a 3D replica of your face! The 3D portrait is a cool souvenir, preserves your loved ones face forever, and is the perfect gift for birthdays, bar or bat mitzvahs, and holidays. Customers can also get a 3D bust of their baby, friends, and the whole family.
"We are super excited to offer our MakerBot Store customers the chance to be 'immortalized' by the 3D Photo Booth," noted Bre Pettis, CEO and co-founder of MakerBot Industries. "We've been playing with this technology for awhile, and to finally be able to bring it directly to our customers is just awesome."
This first fully automated MakerBot 3D Photo Booth was unveiled to the media and the public at a Grand Opening celebration at the MakerBot Store on November 20th.
Visitors to the MakerBot Store, located at 298 Mulberry Street in New York City, step inside the MakerBot 3D Photo Booth and for $5, have a 3D scan made of their face. They can then choose to have MakerBot make a bust or specific item for them made by MakerBot (costs vary depending on item), or take the design with them to modify and print on their own.
The MakerBot 3D Photo Booth, powered by ShapeShot and MakerBot, uses digital cameras to capture or scan the subject instantaneously in high-resolution data. The images are then combined to create an accurate three-dimensional model of the face, including textures. It's a simple procedure - no makeup, no special preparations, just one scan and you now have your face in 3D! ShapeShot was created by Direct Dimensions, Inc., of Baltimore.
"This is beyond digital photography - it is the future -- and to be able to create a 3D image of yourself is just amazing," noted Pettis. "We've had celebrities and musicians come in and get a 3D Portrait made. It's fun, it's inexpensive, and it's totally cool."
In addition to the MakerBot 3D Photo Booth, visitors to the MakerBot Store will have the unprecedented opportunity to experience MakerBot technology, such as the just-released MakerBot® Replicator™ 2 Desktop 3D Printer, live and in-person. The machines are up and running, and patrons have the chance to purchase the MakerBot Replicator 2 Desktop 3D Printer on-site, as well as MakerBot PLA and ABS Filament, available in more than 30 colors, and also amazing gifts and accessories made on MakerBot Desktop 3D Printers, created at the company's workshop.
Other attractions at the store that will be sure to delight 3D printing enthusiasts all the way from hobbyists to professional engineers and designers include:
· A MakerBot Gumball machine with a variety of products to choose from, all made on a MakerBot Desktop 3D Printer
· Ongoing demonstrations by MakerBot 3D operators
· Really cool and changing project installations to check out in the store's front window
· And much, much more.
Store Location and Hours
The MakerBot Store
298 Mulberry St.
New York, NY 10012
(347) 457-5758
store@makerbot.com
makerbot.com/retail
Open: Mon-Sat 12 PM-7 PM; Sun 12 PM-6 PM
Founded in 2009, Brooklyn-based MakerBot® (www.makerbot.com) has grown to be a global leader in desktop 3D printing. MakerBot had 16 percent market share of all 3D printers (industrial and personal) made from 2009 to the end of 2011. In 2011, MakerBot had 21.6 percent market share. In 2012, MakerBot estimates that it now has a 25 percent market share of the 3D printer market. There are more than 15,000 MakerBot Desktop 3D Printers in use by engineers, designers, researchers, and people who just like to make things. The first generation MakerBot Replicator Desktop 3D Printer has been named Popular Mechanics "Overall Winner" for best 3D printer and was honored as one of Time Magazine's Best Inventions of 2012. In addition, MakerBot was named "Best Emerging Tech" at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show, won Popular Mechanics Editor's Choice Award, the Popular Science Product of the Year, and recently was awarded the Fast Company 2012 Innovation by Design Award. The company has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Economist, Wired, The Colbert Report, Fast Company, Engadget, Make: Magazine, Rolling Stone, Time.com, IEEE Spectrum, CNN, Financial Times, NPR, Vogue Italia and many others.
A photo accompanying this release is available at:
http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=15871
