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What to Do When the 3DPrinter Breaks?



After 6 months, our 3D printers have had some hiccups. Any library must take into consideration troubleshooting and repair when purchasing a printer. Who is going to fix the printer when it goes down? When the photocopier or printer is busted, we have servicemen we can call. Depending on if you are using 3D printers solely for programs or as a "service," the immediacy of the fix might be more than one librarian can handle.  When purchasing a 3D printer, be sure to ask what kind of support will be given by the company.  When our Cube printers were clogged, we received an email with step by step instructions (with pictures) on how to fix the jam. But what if you're someone that has no experience taking machines apart? How do you overcome the hurdle of taking that leap? The commitment from the staff, and more than just one person, is one of the biggest obstacles I can see to libraries thinking about a printer.  We were very fortunate to have a brave soul on staff that took it apart and was willing to get the rest of us up to speed.  It turns out we weren't using a tool that came with the printer inbetween color reel changes! Where was that in our instructions?

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