There are over 4700 UPS stores in the us, Puerto Rico, and Canada according to Wikipedia. That is a large potential market for Stratasys, which recently announced a test program to place a UPrint 3D printer in various locations.
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| Stratasys announced a partnership with UPS Stores that brings 3D printing to a larger market |
According to Wikipedia the average investment cost of a new store is $150k-$370k, assuming a bulk cost of $10,000 for printer this is a represents a 2.7%-6.6% portion of an initial investment. In most stores I have sen there are 4-5 office scale printers, 10-15 computer terminals for customers, cutting tables, shelves, etc. With the buzz around 3D printing still rising there are a number of small businesses who are likely willing to try out this service.
Additional staff will be required to help service the machines and the materials are also persumably supplied by Stratasys. Essentially each UPS store could turn into a small scale manufacturer of 3D components that were previously created through injection molding and shipped long distances. If margins hold for the 3D printing manufacturer in their materials division this could be very beneficial. (margin review of various Stratasys divisions from earlier post)