Prusa Research has rebranded its free 3D model repository, formerly named PrusaPrinters, to “Printables” this week in a bid to encourage users outside the Prusa ecosystem to join its community, the company says.
The change isn’t exactly unexpected. Back in October of last year, when Thingiverse, another popular 3D model repository owned and operated by MakerBot, experienced a 32 GB data breach Josef Průša, founder and CEO of Prusa Research, tweeted about upcoming changes to Prusa Printers’ branding. He said the company felt its branding alienated those not already in Prusa Research’s community and revealed plans for a new name.
At the same time, Průša revealed the company’s plan to allow the commercial sale of 3D models on its repository — something reiterated in the rebranding’s accompanying blog article. “more stuff [is] coming later this year” Průša said, “e.g., we would love to give designers the option to monetize their models.”
Members of the Printables community took notice of this plan and some took to the article’s comment section to express their concern. “Monetization is a terrible idea” Prusa user mdkendall said. “It leads to designers spamming links to their models everywhere, and is the reason any mention of MyMiniFactory is banned on the /r/3Dprinting subreddit, for example. Please don’t do this.”
Prusa’s choice of name for the repository rebrand is an interesting one considering the new domain’s history. Printables.com has been held by Metro Design Group since 1996, as one Twitter user pointed out. The previous owner had expressed its willingness to sell the domain, but only for a sum that would cover its own rebranding. Prusa really wanted this URL, it seems.
Printables is a community-focused repository and Prusa Research goes above and beyond the offerings of competitors to support that. For example, the website hosts regular design contests to encourage the sharing of fresh, creative 3D models. Since December of last year, it’s also offered a reward system for participation that rewards members of the community with Prusa Research’s filament, Prusament, or merch and doesn’t require any sort of paid subscription to earn. It’s not just designers who are eligible for these rewards, Průša pointed out, but also users participating in the community by other means like uploading photos of their prints (“Makes”).
Though the three years that Prusa’s repository has been around is a relatively short time compared to the most established competitors, the company’s loyal users and the website’s greater community efforts seem to have paid off. The website has made great progress under the PrusaPrinters name, and Průša shared an infographic to show off its impressive growth.
What are your thoughts on the rebranding and monetization plans? Let us know in the comments below.
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