Qlopedia

3D Model Sharing Website

Website

Printables

Printables is a popular website from Prusa Research for discovering, sharing, downloading, and organizing 3D-printable models and digital fabrication files.

Core idea
A 3D model database and community for printable designs, makes, collections, contests, ratings, comments, and creator activity.
Common use
Makers, educators, designers, brands, repairers, and 3D printer owners use it to find or publish printable models.
Registration snapshot
Who.is lists printables.com as registered through Gransy, s.r.o. and created on July 29, 1996.
Printables logo icon for the 3D model sharing website.View icon asset on Printables

What Printables is

Printables official site is a 3D model database and community operated by Prusa Research. Prusa's launch article says Printables.com replaced PrusaPrinters.org in 2022 while keeping its library of 3D models and making the site more open to owners of any 3D printer.

From PrusaPrinters to Printables

The service began as PrusaPrinters.org, a Prusa community hub launched in April 2019. In March 2022, Prusa Research renamed it Printables.com because the audience had grown beyond owners of Prusa machines. The name change made the site's purpose clearer: useful printable models for many printers and makers.

Model discovery and organization

Printables is built around search, model pages, collections, comments, ratings, and makes. Those features help users judge whether a file is likely to print well, how it looks in the real world, which printer or material may fit, and whether a design belongs in a larger project collection.

Community rewards and contests

Prusa's launch article highlights community contests, user groups, events, rewards, and tools shaped by user feedback. That matters because 3D model communities rely on creator motivation: people need reasons to publish original designs, document results, upload photos of finished prints, and help others improve a model.

Official brand profiles

Printables also supports official brand profiles. Prusa's 2022 announcement listed brands such as Adafruit, Framework, Raspberry Pi, Noctua, Bohemia Interactive, Cooler Master, Warhorse Studios, World of Warships, and Prusa Research sharing official 3D printable models. That gives manufacturers a structured way to publish accessories, replacement parts, fan models, and product-adjacent files.

Who uses Printables

Printables is used by 3D printing hobbyists, teachers, students, makerspaces, product designers, repair communities, hardware brands, cosplay builders, tabletop gamers, and creators who want a home for downloadable models. It is especially relevant for people who want model discovery plus community signals, not just raw file hosting.

How it compares

Printables belongs near Thingiverse, MyMiniFactory, MakerWorld, Cults3D, Instructables, GitHub, and Wikimedia Commons in the broader maker-web landscape. Compared with Thingiverse, it is newer and more closely tied to Prusa Research. Compared with general DIY sites, it focuses more specifically on downloadable 3D-printable files and model-community workflows.

Why it matters

Printables matters because 3D printing depends on both machines and shared designs. A printer becomes more useful when people can find tested models, see real makes, credit designers, and publish improvements. The same openness also makes licensing clarity, safety review, spam control, creator incentives, and long-term archive maintenance important.

WHOIS domain data

Data pulled: May 21, 2026View current WHOIS record

Domain
printables.com
IP address
104.20.47.153
Registrar
Gransy, s.r.o.
WHOIS server
whois.regtons.com
Referral URL
http://regtons.com
Created
July 29, 1996
Updated
November 20, 2023
Expires
July 28, 2026
Nameservers
carl.ns.cloudflare.com (173.245.59.106); lara.ns.cloudflare.com (173.245.58.128)
Domain status
clientTransferProhibited