08-01-2012: Stratasys and HP decided to discontinue their manufacturing and distribution agreement

This ended a 2.5-year collaboration

On August 1, 2012, Stratasys and HP agreed to discontinue their manufacturing and distribution agreement for 3D printers, effective at the end of 2012. The companies initially partnered in mid-January 2010, with Stratasys manufacturing HP-branded 3D printers, which were marketed under the Designjet 3D brand. The first 3D printers, based on FDM technology, were shipped in May 2010 to France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK.

Although it may seem surprising today, HP—one of the key players in the Additive Manufacturing market with its proprietary powder-based MultiJet Fusion method—took its first steps in the industry over 14 years ago in the area of 3D printing using plastic filaments. The two-and-a-half-year partnership between Stratasys and HP ultimately proved unpromising for both parties, leading to its termination in August 2012.

The Designjet 3D printer was essentially a rebranded version of Stratasys's "affordable" uPrint model. It was intended as a response to the growing global popularity of the RepRap project and the rapid emergence of companies producing inexpensive, amateur 3D printers (such as MakerBot, BitsFromBytes, Ultimaker, Solidoodle, and others).

The distribution partnership between Stratasys and HP was limited to the aforementioned European countries and was managed by HP's Graphic Solutions Business, part of the company's Imaging and Printing Group.

It is also worth mentioning that at the turn of 2011 and 2012, after the merger with Objet, leadership at Stratasys began transitioning to the Israeli team, led by David Reis, who replaced the company's founder and FDM technology inventor Scott Crump as CEO. The shift in strategy and the introduction of PolyJet 3D printers to Stratasys’ offer played also a significant role in the decision to end the partnership with HP.