While I understand the technology behind it, UV printing will always feel like magic. Buying a box that can bring all your magnificent ideas to reality? It’s magical, and it’s only getting better. xTool, a leader in innovative digital fabrication technology, has just opened the preorder window for its “print anything” O1 Omni printer.
The tagline for the Omni is “From rigid to fabric. Print it all.” xTool says the print anything capability is made possible by a “flexible, innovative dual-printhead architecture.” Makers will be able to configure the system for dual-UV printing to unlock advanced multilayered effects using specialized neon ink, or choose a hybrid UV and fabric setup to give you as many material options as possible.
The O1 Omni printer is available in three configurations. There’s the entry-level UV edition: $1,699 preorder ($2,499 retail price), the effect-optimized dual-head UV edition for specialized neon ink: $2,699 preorder ($3,299 retail price) and the ultimate cross-category hybrid UV and fabric edition for printing directly onto cotton or onto film: $2,799 preorder ($3,499 retail price).
Possibilities are pretty much endless as the Omni stands in a lane of its own. It merges UV (printing on solid surfaces), DTG (printing directly onto fabric), DTF (printing flat images to plastic transfers) and UV DTF (printing raised images onto plastic transfers) technologies.
That means, you can print intricate designs on fabric, wood, acrylic, glass, metal and more. xTool says the Omni can print on “virtually any surface imaginable,” or at least any surface that can fit inside the machine.
CNET’s 3D printing expert James Bricknell got to spend some time with the Omni at CES in January and had this to say:
“I’ve used a couple of really good UV printers in the last year or so and, more importantly, I’ve used a lot of great xTool lasers. The Omni is bringing a relatively new technology to a company that has a proven track record in the maker community, and the addition of Direct to Film as well as Direct to Garment makes this a unique one-stop shop for custom creation.”
During the preorder process, you’ll be required to pay a refundable $50 deposit to secure your printer and lock in the early-bird savings. You’ll also receive a special bonus package of jigs, ink discounts and credits for xTool’s generative AI tool Atomm, valued at $459. Launch date is scheduled for July 15.
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