Before you start
Open your project in Revit 2026 and switch to a 3D view that shows the building the way you want it printed. Elements hidden in the view are left out, so hide anything you don't want printed. You can also select elements first to print just those.
Four steps
Click Add-Ins › PrintBIM › Print Studio. Everything happens in one window.
- What to print. Choose Building, Building + site, or Building + linked models and site. PrintBIM leaves out furniture, fixtures and annotations automatically. Use Review elements… to include or exclude anything.
- Printer and scale. Pick your printer or enter its build volume. Press Best fit for the largest standard scale at which the model fits in one piece, or choose a scale such as 1:200. The size line under the scale shows the printed size.
- Build print model. PrintBIM reads the geometry and builds a solid print model. Drag to orbit and scroll to zoom. Notes under the preview explain every automatic change.
- Save STL… The file is written, read back and checked before PrintBIM confirms it. Models that don't fit your bed are saved as a ZIP of numbered parts with a README.
What PrintBIM does for you
- Fills enclosed interiors, so thin walls don't have to stand on their own. Courtyards and passages open to outside air stay open.
- Closes tiny gaps between elements that can't print anyway: by default, anything narrower than two nozzle widths.
- Thickens free-standing thin parts such as canopies, parapets, fins and railings to your minimum wall, only across their thickness.
- Cuts small parts below the lowest floor, such as lift pits, so the model sits flat on the bed. Choose "Keep them" to undo this.
- Splits large models into closed parts on grid planes, saved together as a ZIP.
- Checks the saved file: every edge closed, no degenerate triangles, correct orientation.
Beginner and Professional modes
Beginner makes every decision for you. Professional shows the settings behind them: resolution, gap closing width, thin-part policy (thicken or keep), splitting and flat base. It also lets you save printer and scale combinations as profiles.
In your slicer
- Import the STL at 100%. Units are millimetres and the model is already at your chosen scale.
- Interiors are solid, so set infill in the slicer as usual; 10–15% is plenty for most models.
- For split models, print each part from the ZIP; the README lists them.
Tips
- At small scales (1:500 and smaller), details under about 0.2 mm merge. That is below what a 0.4 mm nozzle can print anyway.
- Nothing is written until you press Save. Cancelling keeps any existing file unchanged.
- Very large models are built at a slightly coarser resolution to stay within memory. A note tells you when that happens.
Licence
Your first export is free, with every feature. It carries a small printbim.com mark cut into the roof and front facade; a licence gives unlimited exports without it. After it you can still build and preview, and saving needs a licence. Click the licence badge in the top-right of the Studio, paste your key and press Activate. Keys work offline. To move a licence, press Remove on the old computer first.
Troubleshooting
The Studio says to open a 3D view
PrintBIM prints what a 3D view shows. Open the default {3D} view or any 3D view, then click Print Studio again.
The model is very large or slow
Hide parts you don't need in the 3D view, select just the elements to print, or leave linked models and site out. Building at a smaller scale is also faster.
A part I need was removed
Check the notes under the preview. Parts below the lowest floor can be kept with "Keep them", and thin parts can be kept as modelled in Professional mode.
Still stuck?
Email hello@printbim.com with a screenshot of the Studio. The build ID in the licence window helps us find the issue.