What should I ask about a 3D printing service’s customers who submit design files?

In a 3D printing service, a customer’s file is often their product. That makes handling it a matter of trust. Begin by asking how files arrive, where they are kept, who can open them and whether they are backed up. Ask how the shop deletes or returns files at a customer’s request. A tidy answer suggests care. A shrug suggests risk.

Ask about agreements. Are there signed terms covering confidentiality, ownership and reuse of designs? Do any customers send sensitive or pre-release products? Did the shop ever receive a complaint or dispute over a file? Your lawyer is the right person to say who owns what and how any customer agreements pass to a buyer.

Then look at the customers themselves. Which ones send regular work, and which came once? Do designers need the owner’s advice to prepare a file for printing, a skill that may leave when the owner does? Ask how jobs are quoted and whether the pricing is repeatable. Review the customer list against the sales records to confirm the pattern. Ask how the shop handled a failed print on a customer’s design, and who paid for the lost material and time.

Key takeaways

• Ask how files are received, stored, shared and deleted, and who can open them.
• Request signed customer terms and have your lawyer review who holds design rights.
• Separate repeat customers from one-time ones in the sales records.
• Find out which customers depend on the owner’s personal advice.