Mcor Announces the Release of Their First Desktop 3D Printer: The Full-Color, Paper-Based Mcor ARKe

With so many 3D printers out there, printer manufacturers have to work hard to stand out from the crowd. If there’s any company that’s expert at standing out, it’s Mcor. The Irish company, which recently celebrated their 10-year anniversary, made a name for themselves with their unique take on 3D printing, which utilizes plain old paper along with a water-based adhesive to create 3D prints as solid and sturdy as any other material. Their Matrix 300+ printer and its full color counterpoint, the IRIS, have been incredibly popular for their affordability, eco-friendliness, and sheer innovation. Both are industrial printers, which makes Mcor’s announcement at CES 2016 today so exciting: they are releasing a full-color, paper-based, desktop 3D printer. Ladies and gentlemen, meet the Mcor ARKe.

The ARKe is compact, lightweight, and like Mcor’s other printers, very eco-friendly. The printer itself is made from recycled materials, and the paper, and all models printed from it, are recyclable. All chemicals used are non-toxic, with no harmful emissions. But beyond its green-minded responsibility, the ARKe is fun. Like the IRIS, the ARKe prints in over a million colors, but it stands out as the first paper-based 3D printer to incorporate an inkjet head for photorealistic models.

Specifications include:

• Length: 34.4 inches
• Width: 22.8 inches
• Height: 23.6 inches
• Weight: 110 pounds
• Maximum build envelope: 8 x 9.5 x 4.9 inches
• DPI: 4800 x 2400 x 254 (2x the DPI of comparable industrial 3D printers)

Like many 3D printing manufacturers lately, Mcor has made a point of focusing on education. In 2014, they designed an IRIS education package to make 3D printing extremely affordable to schools, and the ARKe was developed to be ideal for classroom environments: it’s small, safe, user-friendly and inexpensive. As an added fun perk, users have several options to customize the appearance of their printers with skins that include a wooden look, a Union Jack, etc.

“Our mission is to put a 3D printer in every office, classroom, and eventually every home, and Mcor ARKe is a huge step in that direction,” said Dr. Conor MacCormack, co-founder and CEO of Mcor Technologies. “The launch of Mcor ARKe is a defining moment for Mcor and the 3D printing industry, much like the iPhone was for Apple and the 747 was for Boeing. I believe that this is a disruptive step that will transform this industry stimulating widespread adoption of 3D printing particularly in education and among creative professional.”

The ARKe has already been generating a lot of excitement prior to its official release (it will begin shipping in the second quarter of 2016). According to Dr. MacCormack, the printer, which has an MRP of $5,995, has already generated over 2,500 pre-orders. The ARKe has also been named a CES 2016 Best of Innovation Awards Honoree. If you’re at CES, stop on by Mcor’s booth, #72916 in the 3D printing TechZone, to see the ARKe in action.

“We are thrilled that our new product, Mcor ARKe, is taking home the top prize in the 3D printing category,” Dr. MacCormack added. “It is an honor to be named a CES Best of Innovation Awards Honoree, and serves as a huge point of validation for all of the incredible work we’ve seen from the Mcor team throughout the development process. We believe our newest product will be an industry disruptor with its unique full-color desktop capabilities, and are excited to be recognized as leaders in the 3D printing industry.”

Discuss this new machine in the Mcor ARKe forum thread on 3DPB.com.