3D printed type

I’m not the first to figure this out and certainly not the last but I tried 3D printing my own type out of financial desperation. I need some large font for a project and was overwhelmed by the price of large wood type. So as a test it worked well. (I know, I know the font is backwards and have since figured how to invert it in my CAD software.). It has its drawbacks but I think it may open up the door for some great experimenting; I can use any font, any point size and design cuts to my heart’s desire.

Next time I will only print a sliver of the base and mount it to MDF to save printing time. The small grooves between the plastic beads are handled by applying a layer of super glue then sanding to type high. The quality of 3D printing is remarkably good with a $300 printer.

My question is this cheating? I / We love metal type but why not experiment and open some doors?

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Anything mounted type high, inkable, and able to be locked in your press is not ‘cheating’ - it’s called printing. You’d be astonished the images available from simple bottle caps mounted to height. :o)

It’s not cheating if you’re running

Print that on a clear substrate, like mylar or glassine, meant to be read from the back, and then it will be right reading LOL

Certainly not cheating! I’m playing around with 3d printing some small movable type on an Anycubic Photon Mono resin printer, with decent results.
I’m currently working with 24pt type, but had tried down to 12pt with some success.
It is mostly for proof of concept, but I’m hoping to use it to create non-latin characters in the future.
check my instagram: www.instagram.com/printmongerpress for a few process shots.
There are some folks also making some 3d printed type here: https://opentypeproject.com

Cheating? I’m 3d printing plates on a formlabs 3L

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