Thanks to the rapid development in the field of computing the last 40 years have meant that a lot of new industries have come into being. Without it cellphones as we know them now wouldn’t have been possible. Hardware keeps getting faster and cheaper and leads to new products. The 3D printer for the home, which allows you to print products based on a 3D based computer model is one of those new product. Print the Legend takes a look at this part of the tech industry, including its most important players and what the future can possibly bring.
The documentary makes clear that at the moment there aren’t any “killer applications” yet to convice the average consumer to run to the shop to buy such a device. 3D printing still is very young and they machines allow new possibilities which could also lead to new laws. One example of that is printing guns and Cody Wilson, founder of is the first who managed to do so. That got him into some trouble (his printer were taken by the supplier), but he is willing to fight the use of 3D printing for it in court.
The film focusses on a couple of companies: 3D Systems, which has been making professional 3D printer for years and the ones who have managed to shake up the industry by providing relative cheap solutions, MakerBot en Formlabs. They challenge the old giant in price and their product come pretty close to providing the same quality.
As this is a documentary about 3D printing, you’d expect it to completely focus on that, but this isn’t the case. Althought the subject is prominent, the second half of the movie is more about the effects growth can have on a startup company and the friction that can lead to between the people working there. Printing the Legend shows how Makerbot changed their whole philosophy (moving aways from open source) and how at the various companies people are fired or quit because they can’t support the direction that the company has taken, because people have changed as the company has grown. One of the people who is interviewed says that the book about Steve Jobs resulted in CEO’s seeing it as a justification to act like a dictator and fire anyone who doesn’t agree and some examples are shown of this.
Netflix is producing a lot of original conetent and Print the Legend is an excellent example. It shows how a new industry is developing and all the issues that come with its growth. Since it has been shot over a couple of years it gives a very good overview of the main players involved. Whether 3D printing will be as an important link in the chain of technological development as the computer was remains to be seen, but as a document of the dawn of a new industry it is worth checking out.
