Having helped people get into 3D printing since 2012, one of of the most commonly overlooked aspects of the 3D printer buying process is the warranty that a printer comes with.
We’re here today to tell you that you are making a mistake by overlooking your printer’s warranty, because in the 3D printing industry, your warranty will dictate who deals with any issues you experience further down the line.
3D Printers and Warranties
When most people buy a 3D printer, they know that their machine will come with a warranty. They may even read the warranty briefly, to see what is covered. However, it is rare for 3D printers to come with a comprehensive warranty covering parts, labour, accidental damage and physical damage of any kind. In fact, we can’t think of any 3D printer manufacturer who’s warranty covers all eventualities. Most 3D printers have a ‘limited warranty’, covering parts and labour, for a period of one-year, with the option to extend your warranty to a period of two years at additional cost.
The Manufacturer’s Stance
Of course, you can find out what’s covered under warranty by a 3D printer manufacturer simply by visiting their website. To help get you started, here’s Ultimaker’s warranty, and here’s Zortrax’ warranty. Both Ultimaker and Zortrax make it very clear here what is covered and what is not covered under warranty.
However, when you are choosing a 3D printer, you need to look out for the warranty’s conditions section, and there’s a good reason why we chose to link out to Ultimaker and Zortrax previously with regards to this.
Quite simply, there are certain manufacturers who do not let partners or re-sellers get involved with warranty repairs; while there are other manufacturers who are happy for partners or re-sellers to carry out repairs and provide support.
For example, if we were to receive communication from a customer with an Ultimaker 3D printer regarding a mechanical fault, we would have to pass that customer onto Ultimaker. Now, that’s not us as the seller shouldering responsibility – that’s just how Ultimaker wants to control the warranty process, which is fine. Conversely, if we were to receive communication from a customer with a Zortrax 3D printer regarding a mechanical fault, we would be able to provide warranty support because Zortrax allows partners and re-sellers to do this so long as they are trained to do so.
What’s Important To You?
Now that you know that some 3D printer manufacturers allow re-sellers to offer warranty support while others do not, it’s important to consider which channel you would like your potential future support to come through.
At GoPrint3D, we are able to carry out warranty repairs on all 3D printers we sell, so long as the manufacturer allows us to. Our support service really is second-to-none. The same, however, can be said of manufacturers who offer support themselves. Ultimaker, for example, have a fantastic support service. So there is no downside to either option; although having already struck a relationship with us, most customers do prefer it if we are able to help them with warranty issues.