Bringing quantum creativity to 3D printing
May 11, 2026
4 min read
With specialty 3D printing filament, Protopasta is enabling a community that blends art and tech.
Written by Genevieve Michaels
Illustrated on paper by Elizabeth Builes
Over two decades, Alexander Dick’s career has tracked the evolution of 3D printing itself.
He’s seen the technology evolve from a no-nonsense medium for industrial prototyping, to a vibrant creative community exploring colour and materiality. Now, his company Protoplant has partnered with Quantum Light on black-light reactive printing filament made with Quantum Dots.
For the uninitiated, 3D printing is a way to transform a digital file into a physical object. Through a hot glue gun-like tip, the printer melts and layers plastic into a specific shape. The plastic polymer is sold in reels of noodle-like filament. That’s Protopasta: Protoplant’s vibrant specialty filament, in a rainbow of otherworldly colors and textures.
I'm interested in technical things, but I've always been drawn to the artistic side too. Protopasta has allowed me to get deeper into those interests and work with colour and texture.”
Coming out of mechanical engineering school in Michigan, Alex was always interested in cars. His first experience with 3D printing was prototyping engine parts at Ford. He became an expert, working for EOS, the German company behind industrial 3D printing, and later Boeing and Nike.
Individual creativity, industrial innovation
Over time, Alex became interested in 3D printing’s possibilities for individual creativity. With two of his best friends, brothers Dustin and Aaron Cram, he saw an untapped niche in the market. They launched a Kickstarter in 2013, and Protoplant was born. “Printer technology for consumers was just getting started,” he says. “We quickly found out that the most desirable material was both aesthetically pleasing and easy to print.”
In filament, an arts-science crossover was revealed. “For the first ten years of my career, 3D printing was always done in this functional, off-white plastic,” he says. “At Protopasta, we experiment with colour, saturation, and finishes like pearl and glitter.”
Alex even found an unexpected connection between filament and his early passion for cars. “As we explored the colour and textural potential, I found inspiration in high-end automotive paint finish,” he continues. “I realized we could emulate that in filament, so people can print beautiful things with unique color and texture.”
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Quantum vibrance, in endless forms
That willingness to engage with materials, and explore what’s possible with filament, created their partnership with Quantum Light, who creates new pigments with unique optical properties using Quantum Dots.
Protoplant’s Quantum Dot filament is colorless in natural light, but under UV, glows more powerfully than normal black-light reactive pigment.
One comment that really sticks with me from a customer is, ‘it looks like more light is coming out than I'm putting in. I don't know what's going on, but it's amazing’.”
Some customers have experimented with this chameleon-like quality by covering their 3D printed objects in a thin layer of Quantum Dot filament, so they show the foundational colour in daylight but glow under the right conditions.
Creating the filament also pushed Protoplant’s manufacturing innovation further. Quantum Light’s pigment is liquid, so they had to create a new process for dispersing it into polymer than the powders and fibres they normally use.
Producing Quantum Dot filament leans on our core abilities. Just with us co-founders, we have mechanical, electrical, and software engineering covered. Very few businesses have the skills and equipment to make everything from scratch.”
New mediums, new forms of creativity
With experiments like Quantum Dot filament, Protoplant is fueling a growing creative community. For example, one Protopasta customer has combined 3D printing and fashion, by developing a method to laminate cloth in patterned, 3D-printed designs.
Ten years ago, experts would have thought this level of creativity in 3D printing was impossible, or at least impractical.
When I started, you couldn't even really get reliable quality filament. Now, it almost feels more like fashion culture than traditional engineering culture.”
Quantum Dots are only the beginning for Protopasta, and Alex is excited to keep experimenting. “It’s so rewarding to work in this community space, where there’s openness and shared experience,” he says. “We take this equipment, put our work out there, and there’s mass creativity and collective learning. Somehow, you put in this light and get more back. It’s good for people, and good for creativity.”
Gain clarity on Quantum Dot technology.
Excited about Quantum Dots but unsure to apply them to your tangible product? Our team answers your big questions about this tiny technology.