Print Foreman: run your whole print farm from one screen

You're on the list · Kickstarter opens Thursday, October 22, 4 PM Eastern

Here's what you'll be able to back

The lowest prices go first. "First 48 hours" rewards end 48 hours after launch (Saturday, October 24, 4 PM Eastern) or when they sell out. We'll email you the moment the campaign is live.

Supporter

Our thanks, your name in the credits, and access to the backer beta forum.

Kickstarter price: $25

Starter

Print Foreman licence for up to 4 printers.

First 48 hours: $89 first 50
Early bird: $99 next 50
Kickstarter price: $129
Retail later: ~~$179~~

Farm

Licence for up to 12 printers.

First 48 hours: $209 first 75
Early bird: $249 next 75
Kickstarter price: $299
Retail later: ~~$399~~

Pro Farm

Licence for up to 30 printers.

First 48 hours: $419 first 25
Early bird: $499 next 25
Kickstarter price: $599
Retail later: ~~$799~~

Founder 25 only

Licence for up to 100 printers, 3 years of updates, and Founder credit.

Kickstarter price: $999
Retail later: ~~$1,499~~

Why back it on Kickstarter

The lowest price it will ever be. First-48-hours and early-bird prices are well below the price after the campaign.
Your licence never expires. It includes every new feature and Bridge release for 12 months after the full release. After that, Print Foreman keeps working exactly as it is, cloud dashboard included, and bug and security fixes keep coming.
A locked-in backer discount on the optional yearly update plan. Founders get 3 years of updates instead of 1.
Built by a working print farm. You'll get at least one build update a month until delivery.

Add the launch to my calendar

Why I built it

I'm Drew. I run a print farm at Stuntz Manufacturing in Cumberland, Wisconsin. The farm software I tried didn't do what I needed. I wanted one place that handled everything, from inventory to shipping to printer controls, so the only time I'd leave the dashboard was to slice a file.

So I built Print Foreman, and I've been running my own farm on it every day since.

How it works

1The Bridge runs at your farm. A small Windows program on a PC that stays on, wired to your router.
2It talks to your printers over your own network. Each printer connects to the Bridge in LAN mode, right there in your shop.
3You run the farm from any browser. Every printer, every camera and the job queue on one screen, at the shop or away from it.

Works today

Running on our own farm now. Real screens, shown with sample data.

Dashboard showing every printer in the fleet with its status

One dashboard for every printer

Every printer in your fleet and its live camera, on one screen.

Job queue with jobs waiting for a matching printer

A queue that keeps printers busy

Queue a job once. It goes to an idle printer with the right material, color and nozzle.

A Bridge that comes back on its own

After a crash or a power cut, the Bridge restarts by itself and starts before anyone logs in to the PC.

What's coming

Not shown working yet, so you'll only read about these here.

In developmentPrinting through an internet outage. Prints already running keep going, and the dashboard catches up when the connection comes back. We're testing it on our farm now.
In developmentStarting the next job while offline.
In developmentOrder parts, not prints. Tell Print Foreman you need 40 good brackets. If a print fails or you reject one at inspection, it goes back in the queue until you have 40 good parts.
Coming for backersConnect your Etsy shop. Paid orders become print jobs, matched to your parts by SKU. It runs on our own shop today.
Coming in the backer betaYour own account, farm and team. Owner, operator and viewer roles.
Coming in the backer betaPrinter discovery and a signed Windows installer with a pairing code.
Coming for backersFull automation for four more printer models. Listed below.

Is it right for my farm?

Printers, today from Bambu Lab. P2S, H2S and H2C are fully automated now. P1S, X1C, A1 and H2D get full support for backers (the A1 without automatic part removal). Other Bambu Lab models get live monitoring. Printers need LAN mode with Developer Mode on: the current firmware requires it for any third-party control, and it turns off the Bambu Handy app and cloud printing for that printer.
A Windows 10 or 11 PC that stays on at the farm, wired to your router.
Any farm size your reward covers, from 4 printers to 100.

Other brands, Klipper and OctoPrint aren't supported yet. More brands are the goal after release, but they aren't part of any reward. The Bridge doesn't run on Mac or Linux.

Questions

How is this different from the printer maker's own farm tool?

Free maker tools run on one local PC. Print Foreman adds a production queue that matches each job to the right printer, and a dashboard you can reach from anywhere. The good-parts loop is in development.

How is it different from other farm software?

Most farm tools run their queue in the cloud, or only on a local PC. Print Foreman's Bridge runs at your farm and you manage it from anywhere. Keeping prints running through an internet outage is in development, and we're testing it on our farm now.

Do I need Developer Mode?

Yes, for Bambu Lab printers. Their current firmware requires LAN mode and Developer Mode for any third-party software to control a printer. It turns off Bambu Handy and Bambu cloud printing for that printer.

Which printers does it work with?

P2S, H2S and H2C are fully automated today. P1S, X1C, A1 and H2D get full support for backers; the A1 doesn't support automatic part removal. Other Bambu Lab models get live monitoring. Other brands aren't supported yet.

Does it need the internet?

Only to reach the dashboard from outside your shop. The Bridge talks to your printers over your own network. Keeping prints running through an outage is in development.

Does it connect to my Etsy shop?

Yes, with the backer release. It runs on our own shop today: paid Etsy orders become print jobs, matched to your parts by SKU. Connecting takes one sign-in to Etsy, and you can disconnect any time.

Can I try it first?

Yes. Once Print Foreman is released, any farm can run it free for 14 days without a licence key.

Mac or Linux?

Not at launch. The Bridge needs Windows 10 or 11.

Is Print Foreman made by Bambu Lab?

No. It's an independent product and isn't affiliated with or endorsed by Bambu Lab.

Tired of babysitting every printer on your farm?