Late last year, Staples Europe signed a deal with a little company called Mcor Technologies.
Because Mcor makes printers, you might not find this all that surprising, save for this one small detail: with Mcor's printers, you're more likely to make a key chain than print off a copy of your resume.
That's because Mcor makes 3D printers, and if that's not enough to make this an interesting deal, then consider what material Mcor uses for its 3D prints...
Regular old office paper
Yep, that's right: Mcor printers make 3D prints with standard office paper.
When I asked the company's cofounder and CEO, Dr. Conor MacCormack, why they decided to make a 3D printer that uses paper, this is what he told me:
"We wanted to upset the status quo. It's one thing that the prices of the machines are coming down, but the material prices are going in the opposite direction, we really felt that inhibited people from printing."
One of the major gripes about traditional 3D printing materials like filament is that it's expensive. MacCormack thinks that by using office paper and offering access to their printer technology through office stores, it will help bring 3D printing to the masses.
The usual things that startups do
Becoming a partner with a company as big as Staples was a huge deal for a startup like Mcor, but it's not like the company was an overnight success.
MacCormack, who cofounded the company with his brother Fintan, said they came up with the idea for their paper 3D printers a decade ago, but didn't get serious until 2005 when they quit their jobs.
From that point, in 2005, they started to develop the technology, but wouldn't actually sell their first printer until 2007.
How did they make for a couple years without selling a product?
"We did the usual things that startups do," said MacCormack. "Getting money from banks, remortgaging houses, and getting all the things to get the company up and running."
The Irish connection
Since those early days, they've brought in outside investors, including local money from Ireland and, more recently, angel investors from Silicon Valley, but with an Irish connection.
But the connection to the company's home country doesn't stop there.
"We've had great support as well from the Irish government. There's a department called the Enterprise Ireland that assists companies that are export-oriented. They've helped us along the way."
If you'd like to hear my full conversation with Dr. MacCormack about the future of 3D paper printing, both at home and at your local office center, you can do so at my blog, Soundcloud or on iTunes.
