MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) researchers present the MultiFab-- a 3D printer able to print objects using up to 10 materials, as well incorporate other, finished objects into the design.

"Multi-material" 3D printers already exist, if in the shape of industrial machines able to print able to use up to 3 materials at a time. The Multifab claims to be superior to such devices through the use of 3D scanning and machine vision technologies.

As CSAIL put it, the MultiFab constantly receives feedback from a 40-micron 3D scanner and a camera array while printing, allowing it to adjust and re-calibrate materials and the printing process on the fly. The scanning also allows the incorporation of finished objects, such as circuits and sensors, in the printed object.

Epson suggests an alternative to ink cartridges-- the EcoTank, a range of printers featuring permanent mechanical printheads and a built-in user-refillable tank holding enough ink for around 2 years of printing.

Currently vendors sell printers at a loss, instead making profits through cartridge sales. The EcoTank concept upturns such reasoning, since it involves higher upfront purchase prices and lower replacement ink costs. Refills come in the shape of bottles allowing users to literally squirt ink into the appropriate tanks.

According to Context W. Europe is the 2nd largest market for desktop 3D printers (priced under $5000), capturing 20% of of global Q1 2015 shipments growing by 114% Y-o-Y as more brands enter the 3D printing arena.

The top 5 global vendors according to the analyst are XYZPrinting (Da Vinci), 3D Systems (Cube/Cubify), M3D (Micro), Stratasys (MakerBot) and Ultimaker.

The market leaders see "good" Y-o-Y gains, even as Stratasys and the MakerBot brand struggle. Further boosting shipments during the quarters is the successful M3D Kickstarter campaign for The Micro, a 3D printer initially offered back in 2014 for $299.

Ingram Micro commits itself to the 3D printing market as it opens a European 3D printing and scanning division and plans to provide resellers with support and training via new European center of competence.

Leading the division is Rudolf Ehrmanntraut, senior manager of 3D printing and scanning for Europe.

"We have seen a frenzy of activity in the 3D printing and scanning space in Europe, with our resellers making it clear that they are looking to enter or expand in this fast-growing market," Ehrmanntraut says. "We are pleased we are able to provide resellers with the needed support to get them fully operational in offering 3D printing and scanning products and support services-- going much further than just providing hardware."

Customers appear to approve of low-cost 3D printers, but such devices can create objects in only one colour. Enter the Palette, an add-on accessory allowing single-extruder 3D printers to print in up to 4 colours.

The idea behind the Palette is fairly simple-- it combines 4 different 1.75mm filaments into a single filament output. It also calculates and cuts filaments according to the design, ensuring every colour appears exactly where it should.

Interestingly the device even handles different filament materials, allowing the use of non-plastic filaments such as conductive, carbon fibre infused, stainless steel infused and woodfill.

Global 3D printer shipments reach "nearly" 133000 units in 2014, Canalys reports-- a "substantial" 68% increase over 2013, with revenues from both printers and associated materials and services growing by 34% to $3.3 billion.

$1bn of such revenues were made in Q4 2014 alone, a quarterly first according to Canalys, while global shipments during the quarter reached 41000 with 24% Q-o-Q growth.

EMEA comes second in terms of market share, as it accounts for 31% 2014 share. On top are the Americas with 42% share, while APAC accounts for 27%.

"We’ve seen the 3D printing industry go from strength to strength in 2014," the analyst says. "As we expected, the holiday season saw the most significant growth, particularly in the consumer segment, with many users buying their first 3D printer. A combination of falling prices, a wider range of technologies on offer and improved printing speeds helped fuel this demand."

Remember the T-1000 from Terminator 2, the villainous robot able to form itself from liquid metal? Mystery startup Carbon3D emerges from stealth mode to reveal a 3D printing technology inspired by that same sequence.

The technology, dubbed Continuous Liquid Interface Production (CLIP), is stunning to simply to look at-- an arm extracts objects, seemingly fully formed, straight out of a puddle of colourful goo. How does it do it? While regular 3D printers build objects layer-by-layer, CLIP uses light and oxygen to "cure" a photosensitive liquid resin, thus creating objects in a "true" 3D manner.

Essentially, light cures the resin while oxygen keeps it from going solid. A transparent and permeable window controls the exact amount light and oxygen the resin comes in contact with, creating "dead zones" through which printer produces cross sectional images of the object in question.

IDC reports the Q4 2014 W. European printer and multifunction (MFP) market shows "slight" shipment declines of 0.8% Y-o-Y, as units reach 6.84 million units due to drops in consumer inkjet shipments.

However the analyst also says revenues are up during the quarter, thanks to growing high speed laser MFP and business inkjet shipments. The same goes for overall 2014, as IDC says the MFP market is recovering with shipments growing by 2.9% as more major segments continue to shift from single-function to multi-function printers.

MFP products account for 82.4% of both Q4 and overall 2014 shipments, with the overall MFP growing by a minimal 0.6% as printers decline by -6.5%. Laser MFPs show most at 8.3% (with 17.3% for colour devices and 1.6% for mono), while the overall A4 laser printer declines by almost -1%, proof of the threat from business inkjets according to the analyst.