Royal Mail Teams with iMakr to Pilot 3D Printing Service

The dawning of the digital age has threatened a number of institutions that people once assumed were unassailable. Newspaper circulation has plummeted, resulting in an adapt-or-die situation, where the papers either learn to adjust their content for online coverage, or risk being shut down.

Traditional post is another potential casualty. With the convenience of email and the vast array of social media services available, unless you need to ship something, most people would never consider sending a letter by snail mail.

The US Post Office has run in the red for years, and is investigating a number of different potential solutions to the problem, including offering on-site 3D printing. Suffering from the same sort of funding maladies as its US counterpart, the United Kingdom’s mail service, the Royal Mail, has moved on the idea of on-site 3D printing, and will be launching a pilot program with the assistance of partner iMakr.

This 3D printed Royal Mail box replica is one of the items for sale during the pilot program. Courtesy of the Royal Mail.

“3D printing is an emerging technology that has many applications and offers an innovative way to create unique or personalized objects,” said Mike Newnham, chief customer officer, Royal Mail. “It can be prohibitively expensive for consumers or small businesses to invest in a 3D printer, so we are launching a pilot to gauge interest in 3D printing to sit alongside Royal Mail’s e-commerce and delivery capability.”

The pilot program launched in London at the New Cavendish St. delivery office December 8. Customers are presented with a small range of items from the Royal Mail store, each of which can be further customized for each customer. The Royal Mail will also accept customer designs, which can either be printed on-site or sent to iMakr for processing.

iMakr is a 3D printer and 3D scanner reseller with physical store locations in London and New York City, in addition to its online presence. The company was formed in 2013, and has expanded since then to offer a variety of services to its clients and customers, including training, classes and workshops.

Below you’ll find a video about the Royal Mail service.

Source: Royal Mail