See it in use before you print
3 November 2026
A deck box is just a box until there are cards in it. A pencil pot looks better with pens in. A name ornament makes more sense hanging than lying flat on a print plate. So the 3D view in the designer now shows over 60 of our templates in use: holding what they're made for, open and closed, standing up or hanging where they'll live. You see what you're making before you print a thing.
With what they hold
Switch the view from Print plates to the button beside it (it's named for the template: With cards, With pens, Filled) and the design fills up:
- Card Deck Box: the deck standing in the box, the lid lifted above it.
- Card Sorting Tray: a stack of cards in every bay, mid-sort.
- Pencil Pot and Name Desk Tidy: pens and pencils in every compartment.
- Phone Stand, Controller Stand and Headphone Stand: with the phone, controller or headphones on them.
- Family Toothbrush Holder: a toothbrush in each hole and the toothpaste in its own.
- Plant Pot: planted, in its saucer.
Nothing that's only there for show is printed or counted: the sizes, filament and print cost are for your design alone, and the downloads are the same files as ever.
Open it, spin it, press it
Where something moves, the Move tool under the view has a slider for it. Lift the lid off a box or unscrew the Earbuds Case. Slide the lid along the Jewellery Box. Pull out the card drawer or all 24 advent drawers at once. Spin the Fidget Spinner round its bearing, press the keys on the Keyboard Fidget, fold the Text Embosser shut. It's the quickest way to check a fit before you print it.
Standing up and hanging
Lots of designs print flat but don't live flat. Now you can see them as they'll be seen:
- On the wall: the Street Sign, Door Sign, House Number and Name Plate.
- Hanging: Christmas Ornaments, the Snowflake Name, Photo Bauble and Gingerbread Man, on threads from a rod.
- In place: the Cake Topper in an iced cake, Table Numbers in their stands, the Tree Topper on a tree, and the Pet Memorial on its prop, its garden stake or a wall.
- Standing: the Initial & Name and the Word Cloud.
A proof for your customer
If you make to order, Download proof now works for 3D prints too, not just paper and laser designs. It takes a picture of the design from wherever you've turned the view (in use, if that's what's showing), puts PROOF across it, and adds the design's name, its size and every colour with what it's for underneath. Send it by email or message before you print, and the customer can say yes to exactly what they'll get.
Better pictures to sell with
Everything above carries through to the photo tools (for Ultimate members): a Photo render or Turntable video of a design in use shows a buyer what it's for at a glance, which is what a listing photo needs to do. Turn the view to the angle you like, then render.
Open any of the templates above, pick the view beside Print plates, and have a play.