Doumit Raidy, of the Raidy Printing Group, and Guillame Credoz, of Ghouyoum, are two innovators building their businesses on new 3D printing technology in Beirut. During a chat with Wamda earlier this year, they spoke about the challenges and opportunities of the industry in Lebanon.

The term 3D printing describes the process through which three dimensional objects are made from a digital file, the creation of these objects is achieved by laying down successive layers of materials until the object is created.

Raidy is now leading his decades old Lebanese family printing business. Having learnt about 3D printing only a few years ago the technology quickly became a passion of his and was soon incorporated into the business. He sees diversification away from conventional printing as the next necessary step for his business to grow.

Guillame Credoz is an architect and designer that spent his formative years in Montreal, he has now brought his skill and passion to Beirut where he merges century old techniques, such as ceramics and etching, with computer generated geometries to create uniquely artistic pieces through 3D printing.

In this video they discuss how 3D printing is quickly becoming the standard for prototyping, allowing large companies to cut cost and small time designers to implement their creative visions. Ultimately they see the technology becoming ubiquitous and moving online, in such a way where individuals can simply input their custom orders and receive the final products at their doorstep.