3D Printed book : 3D Printed Book. 2015. Artist experiment. 3rd edition. Material: Polyamide (nylon). Process: Selective laser sintering (SLS).

Abstract

Traditional printing processes allowed the book to flourish as reproduction processes became distributed and accessible. We're now at a stage where technology enables objects to be created and reproduced through a variety of 3D Printing techniques. Due to the new creative freedoms offered by 3D Printing technology the opportunity to redefine existing and understood forms could be seen as heralding a renaissance in three dimensional design. There is however a persistent desire to use these 3D printing techniques in a traditionally understood context resulting in printed objects that mimic their predecessors. This 3D Printed book shows how the technology is able to duplicate existing forms but how it struggles to replicate the qualities of existing materials. The 3D data file that describes this object can be easily distributed, the text changed and new content added but in order for 3D Printing technology to rewrite the book, the very essence of what a book is needs to be re-imagined, re-engineered and re-written.