Terra Crescent tower lamp with a two tone crescent tile pattern

What a 3D printed lamp costs in Bangladesh, and what changes the price

If you have searched for a 3D printed lamp in Bangladesh you have probably seen prices anywhere from a few hundred taka to well over ten thousand, with no obvious reason for the gap. This is a guide to what you are actually paying for, so you can tell a fair price from a bad one — including when the bad one is ours.

Printed lighting is priced on machine time, not on material

This is the part that surprises most people. The plastic in a table lamp is rarely more than a few hundred taka's worth. What you are buying is the hours the printer spends laying it down.

A small lamp is roughly eight hours on the machine. A large shade with a fine surface pattern can be most of a day on its own, and during all of that time the printer cannot make anything else. That is why size raises the price so much faster than you would expect: doubling the height of a lamp does not double the print time, it can triple it.

It also explains why a plain cylinder costs less than a fluted one of the same size. Detail means slower movement and more layers, and the machine bills you in hours either way.

The four things that move the price

1. Size

The single biggest factor. Our smallest piece, the Vortex, is a single twisted column and sits at the bottom of the range. The Coral Bloom is a rippled dome on a tendril base, printed in two parts and assembled by hand, and it is the most expensive thing we make. Same material, same workshop, very different number.

2. Whether it is one print or several

A lamp that comes off the printer in one piece is cheaper than one that needs two prints aligned and joined afterwards. Multi-part pieces also carry more risk: if the second part fails after fourteen hours, that is fourteen hours gone.

3. How many colours are in it

A single-colour print runs uninterrupted. A multi-colour print — like the panels in our lanterns, where the image is built from several filaments — involves the printer swapping and purging material repeatedly, which adds both time and waste. That is why the lanterns cost more than table lamps of a similar size.

4. Whether it is wired and tested

A printed shell is not a lamp. Socket, cable, switch, bulb and the labour to fit and test them are real costs. If you find a printed lamp being sold far below everything else, check whether it includes electrics at all — a surprising number of cheap listings are the plastic body only.

What our lamps cost

Prices at the time of writing, all including an LED bulb, fitted and tested:

Delivery is Tk 150 anywhere in Bangladesh, and free over Tk 5,000. Cash on delivery is available nationwide, so you can pay the courier when the lamp reaches you.

Why a custom colour is sometimes free and sometimes not

Because every lamp is printed after you order it, the colour costs us nothing extra if it is a filament we already keep on the shelf. Those are listed on the product page and they ship fastest.

Anything else has to be ordered in. That adds about a week, and sometimes a small cost depending on the filament — a plain PLA is cheap, a silk or translucent one is not. Email support@3dowala.com with the colour you want before ordering and we will tell you the price and the timing before you commit to anything.

What to check before you buy from anyone

  • Does the price include the bulb and wiring, or just the printed body?
  • What plastic is it? PLA is the normal choice and it is fine indoors, but it softens with heat — see our guide on whether printed lamps are safe and which bulb to use.
  • Is it printed here or imported? Imported means you wait, and it means no one can reprint a part for you when something breaks.
  • What happens if it arrives damaged? Ours is replaced free within seven days; not everyone does that.

Have a look at the full range in table lamps and lanterns, or ask us anything at support@3dowala.com.

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