Konica Minolta Strikes Deal to Sell ZVerse LAYR 2D-to-3D Content Creation Platform

South Carolina-based 3D printing app and software developer ZVerse has announced a new non-exclusive software reseller agreement with Japanese technology giant Konica Minolta. The deal will see the US division of Konica Minolta Business Solutions selling access to ZVerse LAYR, its 2D-to-3D content creation platform. The Konica Minolta sales force will offer LAYR as part of their office software packages that often includes workflow systems like networked copiers, imaging systems, printers and as a growing sector, 3D printers and 3D printing.

The ZVerse LAYR app was created to quickly and easily convert 2D images like artwork, photographs or logos into 3D printable files. The app works with a set of simple tools that allow even novice users to quickly generate 3D content. The app can also connect with 3D printing services companies and offer quotes for 3D printing the resulting file, and can also be used to manage and process 3D data to in-house 3D printers. The app is fully scalable and can be used by small operations all the way up to large, global corporations.

“The biggest challenge to widespread adoption of 3D printing, is that you need a 3D file. And creating these files can be a very inefficient and expensive process. We designed the ZVerse LAYR platform to solve the challenge of 3D printable content creation.  ZVerse LAYR is a turnkey suite of software applications that make any 2D content 3D printable.  Simply put, We 3D 2D,” said ZVerse CEO John Carrington.

Current ZVerse customers include commercial printing providers, marketing agencies, architecture firms, engineers, product designers and K-12 educational institutions. The new partnership with Konica Minolta will allow the growing app company to expand into new, more mature markets who may not yet have invested into 3D printing technology. In order to serve these new customers without in-house 3D printers, ZVerse has a network of three hundred 3D printing service providers who will be offering their services throughout North America to Konica Minolta customers who purchase the LAYR app.

“We are very excited about this partnership. We are already successfully selling a line of 3D printers, but the LAYR platform takes the opportunity to an entirely new level. We are bundling ZVerse services with a 3D printer, or alternatively, we are selling the services platform and sales training to enable them to enter the market without an equipment investment. It’s a key strategic partnership for us,” explained Vice President of Solutions and Production Planning at Konica Minolta, Gavin Jordan-Smith.

Konica Minolta already has a reseller deal with 3D Systems for the ProJet series of 3D printers, including the Color Jet printers, Multi-Jet printers and the Cube desktop 3D printers. LAYR will generate 3D content and then quickly send the new 3D printable file directly to any networked 3D printer. The available materials include a wide-range of plastic filaments as well as the composite VisiJet PXL materials developed exclusively by 3D systems. The LAYR software is expected to be available from Konica Minolta resellers sometime in the second quarter of 2016. Discuss in the ZVerse 3D Printing Deal forum over at 3DPB.com.