Big changes are afoot at PrintedSolid.
PrintedSolid is a Delaware-based operation that is wholly owned by Prusa Research. The company partially assembles Prusa 3D printers for the North American market and assumes the reseller market for the same.
Prusa Research acquired PrintedSolid some years ago as a way to establish a bit of a footprint in the US market. That has become a lot more important as the current US administration has been launching (sometimes significant) tariffs in all directions. A US-based operation might be able to get around the tariffs, at least partially.
Then we learned this week that PrintedSolid’s chief, Dave Randolph, has resigned. In fact, he departed weeks ago, on January 1st. In a post on X, Randolph explained:
“It has been almost 9 years since I came on as an owner of Printed Solid, and it has been a wonderful journey. We started with 3 employees and have grown the staff beyond my wildest dreams. In 5 years since I launched the 3D printing filament named after my dog, Jessie, it has become a prominent brand in the industry. She has crossed over the rainbow bridge, but her legacy lives on. We have built out manufacturing and support for Prusa Research here in the USA, and I am excited to see what is accomplished with what I have put into motion here in the USA. It has been truly a highlight of my life to grow Printed Solid as much as it has grown in almost 9 years.
This is why I am a little sad to make this announcement, but I have stepped down as CEO from Printed Solid as of January 1, 2026. I will be taking a little time to reflect on all that has been done at Printed Solid over the years before deciding on my next adventure. I wish everyone at Printed Solid nothing but the best, and I look forward to watching it growing even more.”
There are no official announcements about this from either PrintedSolid nor Prusa Research, and that has led to a wide range of speculative posts about the situation.
Some claim there have been problems at the company — but what company doesn’t have problems? Others say that Josef Prusa himself has had to step in an “emergency role”, but as the CEO of the owning company, I suppose that is automatically his responsibility.
So what is really going on here? There is no proper evidence of any issues, but Randolph is probably a bit too young to be retiring.
My guess is that this is a planned event.
Prusa Research announced the acquisition of PrintedSolid in May 2022 — 3.6 years before January 1st, 2026. In acquisition scenarios, it is common to maintain existing leadership for a specified time period, after which the acquiring company would “know” enough to run it themselves.
It could be that during the acquisition, the two parties agreed that Randolph would stay around until January 1st, 2026, to keep things running and work on transition steps.
Regardless of the circumstances, and in the absence of a named replacement for Randolph, it would seem that Prusa Research will be taking a more direct hand in the operation of PrintedSolid. That might mean a more Prusa-like operation in the future. Considering that US tariffs and restrictions are likely to increase, transforming PrintedSolid into “Prusa USA” or something similar might be a very good idea.
