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Adobe Adds 3D Printer Support To Photoshop

angry tapir writes "Adobe has rolled out an update to Photoshop that incorporates direct support for 3D printing. According to Adobe, they don't expect most users to directly create 3D meshes in Photoshop. Instead they expect most of the time people will import objects from other applications and then use Photoshop as a finishing tool to tweak and repair meshes — in a similar fashion to how Photoshop can be used to tweak photos before production. The application currently directly supports MakerBot printers and the online Shapeways service. More printer support is coming (printer profiles are editable XML files) and the application can also export STL files that can be copied to a USB drive and used on other brands of 3D printer."

73 comments

  1. Awesome! by RMH101 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Some more features that I won't know how to use in PS! Seriously, this is great. But it does make PS even more intimidating - wow, the learning curve is already steep!

    1. Re:Awesome! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The move to an online-only, subscription model is going to kill PhotoShop. Thankfully we have Corel Photo-Paint.

    2. Re:Awesome! by mcgrew · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Odd that the software costs more than the hardware. You can get a 3D printer for $500, PS is about a grand unless you get the Pirate Bay Discount version.

      By the time I get a 3D printer (I'm waiting for the price to come down and quality to go up) maybe someone will have added these features to Gimp, because I refuse to pay that damned much for a piece of software, especially since I had a perfectly good replacement that came free with a scanner I bought fifteen years ago.

      Unless you're a rendering professional, why would anyone buy PhotoShop? Gimp and other such programs are fine for non-professionals.

    3. Re:Awesome! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Odd that the software costs more than the hardware.

      Was true in the 2D world too.

      maybe someone will have added these features to Gimp,

      Is Gimp really the right place to add it? Sounds like a kludge, if most of the tools are made for 2d stuff, unless there is a 3d side to PS I hadn't noticed before. Why work toward such features in a program already meant for 3d work, like Blender?

    4. Re: Awesome! by RMH101 · · Score: 1

      Just use free stuff like sketch up to create the stl files then. U don't have to buy Photoshop. Although if you're an imaging professional you always end up with PS eventually...

    5. Re: Awesome! by WillAdams · · Score: 1

      SketchUp isn't that free these days though --- read the license for the ``free'' Community edition.

      --
      Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow.
  2. great news for nerds! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Now we can airbrush our 3D printed sex bots.

    1. Re:great news for nerds! by rmdingler · · Score: 4, Funny

      Right. Just be careful not to paint over all the screw holes.

      --
      Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.

      Ernest Hemingway

    2. Re:great news for nerds! by ericloewe · · Score: 1

      I see what you did there...

    3. Re:great news for nerds! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Every layer of latex paint is another hymen.

    4. Re:great news for nerds! by ArcadeMan · · Score: 1

      Thank you Ted, that was the joke.

    5. Re:great news for nerds! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just make a tulpa like normal nerds.

  3. I won't upgrade until they add.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I'm waiting until they add the kitchen sink and rename the project adobe franken-shop. come on, photo editing, then video editing, now 3d cad? I swear they just keep adding in items so people feel they are getting value from the upgrades. OR they want to help out the massive (and lucrative) training economy built around the wonderful (and intuitive) user interface in Photoshop.

    1. Re:I won't upgrade until they add.... by lxs · · Score: 1

      It's official. Photoshop is the new Emacs.

  4. Doesn't make sense by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm sorry, but to me that doesn't make sense. Photoshop is a program to manipulate raster images, that is, 2-dimensional arrays of coloured pixels. 3D printing simply doesn't fit in here.

    I mean, there's nothing wrong with Adobe making a program for 3D printing. They also can bundle it with Photoshop, that's a pure business decision. But it simply doesn't make sense to add that functionality to the Photoshop program itself. Three are almost no operations which make sense for both raster image editing and 3D printing.

    1. Re:Doesn't make sense by ColdWetDog · · Score: 1

      I'm sorry, but to me that doesn't make sense. Photoshop is a program to manipulate raster images, that is, 2-dimensional arrays of coloured pixels. 3D printing simply doesn't fit in here.

      I mean, there's nothing wrong with Adobe making a program for 3D printing. They also can bundle it with Photoshop, that's a pure business decision. But it simply doesn't make sense to add that functionality to the Photoshop program itself. Three are almost no operations which make sense for both raster image editing and 3D printing.

      Photoshop has been adding (marginally functional) 3D tools for years now. Real 3D programs tend to offer better functionality and workflows, but I suppose the user case is that if you are just cleaning up a mesh you don't need the full Maya suite and you don't need to go wander around the depths of Free Software to fun a specific tool.

      This may say more about 3D printing than Photoshop though. When you're noticed by the big guys, you've made it.

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    2. Re:Doesn't make sense by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're like ten years behind. Photoshop has been able to handle 3D models for a long time.

  5. Gimp developers - please don't by Chrisq · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Gimp developers - please don't feel obliges to play catch-up and incorporate this. It should be a separate application.

    1. Re:Gimp developers - please don't by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, not sure why they added this to Photoshop. They should have made a separate tool.

    2. Re:Gimp developers - please don't by Sarten-X · · Score: 1

      Wilber already had an encounter with Blender. That's how he became a gimp.

      --
      You do not have a moral or legal right to do absolutely anything you want.
    3. Re:Gimp developers - please don't by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'd imagine that Adobe has layers of patents protecting their implementation, so even if the Gimpers even attempted to try to play "catch-up" they'd be shut down pretty quickly.

    4. Re:Gimp developers - please don't by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'd imagine that Adobe has layers of patents protecting their implementation, so even if the Gimpers even attempted to try to play "catch-up" they'd be shut down pretty quickly.

      I can already see the headlines. "Adobe sues gimp over plastic tool patent."
      That is going to be fun for their PR department.

    5. Re:Gimp developers - please don't by ArcadeMan · · Score: 1

      This is Adobe we're talking about here. The Kings of bloatware. Even Microsoft seems to be making race cars by comparison.

    6. Re:Gimp developers - please don't by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Gimp developers - please don't feel obliges to play catch-up and incorporate this. It should be a separate application.

      They do not have the development resources to do that anyway.

  6. OT: But does anybody know... by unique_parrot · · Score: 1

    ...how the software-subscription/lending business model is working out for adobe?

    1. Re:OT: But does anybody know... by quetwo · · Score: 1

      They had their most profitable year ever last year (the first full year since they made the change), so I guess good?

    2. Re:OT: But does anybody know... by lucyingham · · Score: 1

      Our company seems very fond of it - I think it is easier for organisations to justify if they are small/fiscal scrooges.

  7. WHY??? by ericloewe · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Whose brilliant idea was it to add something that has nothing to do with photoshop?

    2D image editing and 3D modeling are two completely seperate things that share almost nothing. I'd be surprised if they shared anything beyond the basic interface.

    1. Re:WHY??? by Piata · · Score: 4, Insightful

      To be fair, some basic 3D modelling has it's uses in Photoshop, especially if you want a super accurate rendering. Stuff like extending the perspective of a photo or placing a product label you created on a bottle or can. But that's pretty much where the uses for 3D end in Photoshop.

      If it were up to me, I'd push for Photoshop to have a more tablet friendly mode (as in Wacom tablet, not iPad or Android tablets) and get rid of the subscription model.

    2. Re:WHY??? by cayenne8 · · Score: 1

      If it were up to me, I'd push for Photoshop to have a more tablet friendly mode (as in Wacom tablet, not iPad or Android tablets) and get rid of the subscription model.

      I use PS with a Wacom tablet, Intuos5...seems perfectly tablet friendly to me? What types of problems are you having with it?

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    3. Re:WHY??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If it were up to me, I'd push for Photoshop to have a more tablet friendly mode (as in Wacom tablet, not iPad or Android tablets) and get rid of the subscription model.

      I use PS with a Wacom tablet, Intuos5...seems perfectly tablet friendly to me? What types of problems are you having with it?

      He probably said "tablet" and meant either things like the Surface Pro (or other Windows tablets), or "interactive pen displays", such as Wacom's Cintiq, or the lower-cost alternatives that have started cropping up in the past year or so. Seems likely considering the comparison to ipad and android, at least.

      If I had to guess, I'd say he was asking for an option to have a more touch- or pen-friendly UI in addition to the mouse-oriented default, akin to how Krita's dual-mode Gemini builds work. Less poking about for buried options and menu-diving for the more common features, but with the less-used options buried a bit more.

    4. Re:WHY??? by EnsilZah · · Score: 1

      I guess the developers on the Photoshop team are just running out of ideas for 2D image related features and management just lets them run with whatever silly ideas they come up with.

      People sometimes want 3D text or preview the texture they're making for their model?
      Sure, lets build 3D rendering engine into Photoshop and add support for 3D printing too!

      People might want to make an animated gif?
      Why don't we build a fucking audio/video timeline editor into it, even though we already have After Effects and Premiere.
      I shit you not, I just played a couple of MP3s through Photoshop.

      I'm pretty sure you can build a web browser into Photoshop panels.

      I stopped using Winamp around the time they added the browser and then CD burning support.
      And I stopped using Nero when they started bundling in all the shitty editors and video player and picture album and quick launch app and whatever.
      And I'm sure the managers and marketing actually believe all those extra bullet points bring more value to the consumer or some shit.

  8. Why does this belong in Photoshop? by JDG1980 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I don't understand why something like this would be included in Photoshop. "Kitchen sink" applications are usually a bad idea: you want your app to do one thing very well, not a bunch of different things poorly. "One thing" can be defined pretty broadly (2D still image editing, in Photoshop's case), but you need some level of focus. And it's not like there aren't still more important things to fix: the Windows version of Photoshop still does not play nice with HiDPI, and there is still no support at all for the Windows Ink API (so tablets which don't support WinTab for patent reasons can't even get basic pressure sensitivity). Adobe is aware of these issues, but they'd rather add silly glitz that no one will use instead of fixing these rather significant bugs.

    1. Re:Why does this belong in Photoshop? by garyoa1 · · Score: 1

      If you think it only does image editing... you don't know photoshop.

      --
      Wuddooeyeno? IITYWYBMAD? Like nuts? eclecticallyincorrect.com
    2. Re:Why does this belong in Photoshop? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Photoshop is the MS Word of the 21 century....

  9. In other news... by sl4shd0rk · · Score: 4, Funny

    Symantec now offering Norton Antivirus for 3D printers.

    --
    Join the Slashcott! Feb 10 thru Feb 17!
    1. Re:In other news... by _xeno_ · · Score: 3, Funny

      And not a moment too soon, I read somewhere that 3D printers are being used to print medical gear, can you imagine if your medical gear printed with a virus? You'd doom the human race to gray goo! It's good to think that we're safe from that, thanks to products like Norton Antivirus.

      Of course, 3D prints will take twenty times as long, but it's a small price to pay for the peace of mind and ability to use a laptop as a space heater that Norton Antivirus provides.

      --
      You are in a maze of twisty little relative jumps, all alike.
    2. Re:In other news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      you think that's bad wait a few more generations the maker bot virus will turn itself on, have it print out a small robot, who walks over to your computer, hacks it, and empties your bank account.

    3. Re:In other news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ob xkcd

      curses, foiled again by slashcode!

  10. Can't wait by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I can't wait to see the Fark Photoshop contests for 3D printers. Or better yet, give your crescent wrench huge tatas.

    1. Re:Can't wait by pubwvj · · Score: 1

      give your crescent wrench huge tatas.

      Typo. I'm sure you meant, "Cresent wench".

  11. Creative Cloud (was Re:OT: But does anybody know.) by WillAdams · · Score: 1

    Well, over 1 million people have signed up as of 24 September or so: http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2013/september/creative-cloud-1-millionth-user

    which sounds impressive, until one recalls that for its 20th anniversary, Adobe announced PhotoShop had over 10 million users.

    There's also no word on how many of these people have merely signed up for a 30 day free demo / trial.

    Adobe's initial estimation was that only one-third or so (~4 million) of their customer base (~12 million) would initially sign up: http://www.cmswire.com/cms/customer-experience/adobes-creative-cloud-gamble-pays-off-handsomely-even-if-q2-earnings-crash-021396.php

    So they're still far short of their initial estimate.

    An Adobe CEO admitted to the disappointment and a need to tweak things: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/06/19/adobe_q2_customers_disappointed_with_no_boxed_wares/

    but I've still not seen any change --- just more patches and up-dates. My suspicion is that Adobe planned this a long while ago, identifying the last few product features which would be essential for profitability of users and the most difficult for a competitor to implement, then deferring implementing them until after they introduced Creative Cloud.

    --
    Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow.
  12. Why Photoship? Well... by snarfies · · Score: 1

    Could it be because nobody is buying their stupid new subscription-only version of Photoshop, and this is a desperate attempt to make it tempting again?

    Yeah, that's probably it.

  13. The article/Summary are confused. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What they mean is that you will have to tweak your models to get them to display right when you import them to photoshop because as usual, photoshop will do an absolutely horrible job of working with any non-adobe format. Lets face it, unless this is 10 to 100 times better than their SVG import support, this will be utterly useless.

    If they can't even import/export SVGs or EPS correctly who the hell is going to use them for 3d models.

    Adobe needs to die. I'm not sure when the shark was jumped, but I'm certain it came before CS3 after which I refused to buy another Adobe product as they are the ONLY FUCKING THING BESIDES STEAM THAT HAS A PROBLEM WITH CASE SENSITIVE FILESYSTEMS ON a Mac, I want to say it happened before CS existed.

    This of course made it easy for me to deal with the transition they made to rental only model since I don't have to rent shit from them.

    Of course, we spent the better part of a year retooling our software systems to get off adobe formats and move to open formats like SVG, so we don't exactly have a problem finding tools anymore.

    1. Re:The article/Summary are confused. by ArcadeMan · · Score: 1

      Adobe CS2 had ImageReady, a proper tool designed for Web optimization. Adobe CS3 tried to add the ImageReady tools to Photoshop in a half-assed way where you can only do actual work once you're already in the "export" mode where you lose 95% of the Photoshop power and need to go back-and-forth between regular mode and export mode.

      They screwed up bad.

  14. Ulterior Motives? by CanHasDIY · · Score: 2

    Oh, wow, so Adobe is going to start supporting 3D printers.

    Hey, wait - aren't Adobe those guys who were so adamant about DRM on their new software release they thought making it a subscription based service was a good idea?

    Considering the source, I don't trust that this isn't just a power move on Adobe's part to get in on the ground floor of locking down your property (in this case, your 3D printer).

    --
    An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
    1. Re:Ulterior Motives? by Bite+The+Pillow · · Score: 1

      With the subscription model, no one can 3d print installation media and have infinite Adobe. Obviously that had to be in place before they could support the horde of users clamoring for 3d printing for image macros and headswaps.

    2. Re:Ulterior Motives? by ducomputergeek · · Score: 1

      And in the world of professional print graphics name me one other real world replacement...

      That's why they can go to a subscription model...

      There is no replacement for Photoshop...

      --
      "The problem with socialism is eventually you run out of other people's money" - Thatcher.
    3. Re:Ulterior Motives? by CanHasDIY · · Score: 1

      Methinks thou hast missed the point.

      --
      An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
  15. Maybe not by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That doesn't say anything. One can always cook the books to make things look spectacular.

    Wake me up when their good streak continues for a second or third year in a row.

    You can look at: how many people did they hire? If they hired no-one and laid off a lot, it means the ship is sinking.

    1. Re:Maybe not by cayenne8 · · Score: 1
      Well, I keep seeing them extend deals for folks to join the Creative Cloud....over and over again, which tells me, that they haven't reached market penetration they'd predicted.

      I know on a number of photographer forums, I constantly hear people griping about not wanting to rent their software, and are not at this point, moving past CS6.

      I'm personally sticking with the CS6 Production Premium suite I got for the educational pricing, and believe that will last me a number of years to see how this plays out, and if Adobe relents on the rental only software paradigm.

      I know there are some fanboys that love CC, and for some it is a good fit. I do hope Adobe relents at some point and allows for stand alone versions again. If not, they I hope other tools stand up and maybe try to put offerings in place that would supplant Photoshop.

      Heck...Adobe needs some competition in this realm anyway, long overdo.

      I actually wish some other corporate types would throw money and resources maybe into GIMP, since it has a decent start, and have it fully developed into a PS competitor.

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
  16. Sweet! by Greyfox · · Score: 1

    If you have a 3D printer that can print with clay, you could use Adobe to design, print and build your adobe house!

    --

    I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?

    1. Re:Sweet! by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 1

      Oh, you were so close!

      you could use Adobe to design, print and build your adobe abode!

      You could also use Adobe to dawb the wardrobe and floor boards in your adobe adobe.

      --
      systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
    2. Re:Sweet! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And if they could print bread products, you could design a dough bee.

  17. Oh wow, the revolution is here by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Fascinating. Because when I think poor quality fragile plastic trinkets, I'm definitely worried about the quality of the finish.

  18. How? by hackertourist · · Score: 1

    How did they incorporate 3D modelling, which mostly uses 3D vector-based drawing, into a 2.5D pixel-based application?

  19. Photoshop by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Anything that I cannot run entirely from my computer without a subscription does not get put on my computer. When I purchase software, I expect it to run, not demand a subscription payment. #d printing is immaterial as there are many programs that do that.

    1. Re:Photoshop by ArcadeMan · · Score: 1

      So I guess you're not a big fan of World of Warcraft or Final Fantasy XIV then.

  20. A day late, and a dollar short by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There are still a lot of holes to be filled before PhotoShop finally fulfills its natural born role of all-round swiss army knife of um... everything we could possibly imagine. Why can't I make phone calls from PhotoShop? Why can't I bake a cake in PhotoShop? This isn't rocket science!

    1. Re:A day late, and a dollar short by ArcadeMan · · Score: 1

      I won't be happy until Photoshop enables me to do rocket surgery.

    2. Re:A day late, and a dollar short by morgauxo · · Score: 1

      If you can afford to buy Photoshop why not just hire a "rocket surgeon"?

  21. please wait while loading bloat-ware... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    and it will now take 1 minute longer to load, use more ram, have more useless menus to navigate past, etc...

  22. On topic... by DrYak · · Score: 1

    ob xkcd

    I think that's the first in /.'s history when a goatse picture is actually on topic.

    --
    "Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
  23. More context menus? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So now there will be an additional 20 items in my context menu when I right-click on a jpg?

  24. Oh great. by SCHecklerX · · Score: 1

    Now 'designers' will believe even more that they can be engineers.

  25. Why Adobe added this to Photoshop by zdepthcharge · · Score: 1

    It's simple. They have been running out of ways to improve Photoshop. Once they realized this, they switched to a subscription only business model. Now they can roll out meager "upgrades" in drips and drabs without the pressure of having to create a whole new version of the software. I expect Adobe will update/upgrade the 3D portion of Photoshop the most over the next two years simply because there will be a lot of features they CAN add. Photoshop itself already does just about everything it needs to be able to do. Also, Adobe has been trying to crack the 3D problem for fifteen plus years now. Where the "3D problem" is how does Adobe sell 3D.

    1. Re:Why Adobe added this to Photoshop by pubwvj · · Score: 1

      They have been running out of ways to improve Photoshop. Once they realized this, they switched to a subscription only business model. Now they can roll out meager "upgrades" in drips and drabs without the pressure of having to create a whole new version of the software.

      Exactly. Which is why I stopped upgrading years ago. Now we have the problem that Apple has made it so that they're not supporting legacy software. This makes it so I can't run older software on the newer MacOS X which means I can't buy new Mac hardware. This means I keep using the same old hardware. It still works. It still does what it did before. And when my $5,000 hardware finally broke down I was able to replace it with a used one for $350 off of eBay. That saved a pretty penny.

      Adobe, and Apple, are being very short sighted. They've killed their market. I'm no longer sending them my money.

  26. Forget photoshop by jonwil · · Score: 1

    When are they going to add 3D printing support to Blender. Design your part in Blender, hit "print" and out comes a piece of plastic.

    1. Re:Forget photoshop by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Cue the "As Soon As You Make It" symphony!

    2. Re:Forget photoshop by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Coming soon and cheap:
      http://www.peachyprinter.com/

  27. Not so good. by pubwvj · · Score: 1

    3D printing. Good.
    Cloud. Bad.
    Subscription. Bad.
    Adobe loses 2 out 3.

  28. Food to Be 3D Printed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://www.marketwatch.com/story/hershey-3d-systems-to-develop-printable-foods-2014-01-16-94853813

    Soon eating will require an Adobe subscription.