HP CEO Meg Whitman casually noted that the company would have a “big technology announcement” in June related to the 3D printing space, a move that could place 3D printers into the hands of casual home and industrial users. Whitman also mentioned that the company has solved a number of 3D printing problems and expects that “the bigger market is going to be in the enterprise space.”

Whitman made these remarks in her regular shareholders call. There was no mention of an exact date.

HP first came onto the 3D printing radar in February when CTO Martin Fink said he expected the company to begin working in the space later in the year. “HP is currently exploring the many possibilities of 3D printing and the company will play an important role in its development,” he wrote.

Does this mean you’ll be able to pick up a 3D printer in Best Buy? Not likely – yet. With HP moving into the enterprise market and the home printer market sewn up by Makerbot and myriad other printers, big names just don’t make sense yet, especially given the pricing and costs associated with 3D printing. However I could imagine HP making quite a dent in the enterprise side of things, which could give incumbents like Stratasys pause.

via 3Dprint