Files & storage; what is SimplyPrint cloud storage, and what & how much can I upload?
In this article, we'll talk about what SimplyPrint "cloud storage" is and how it's used in SimplyPrint.
The SimplyPrint ecosystem is all about having all you need for your 3D printing, in one single place. This means your printers, slicer, and files can all be accessed and fully utilized in SimplyPrint.
And in the case of files, this means you can store all your 3D-print-related files in the SimplyPrint cloud, making them accessible everywhere!
You can view it as a Dropbox, OneDrive or Google Drive - just for your 3D print files!
As SimplyPrint, and the file system, is all about 3D printing, we can provide you with much more information on your 3D print files than a traditional file cloud can; showing a preview, thumbnails even if they're "hidden" inside the Gcode file, show details about the file, such as what the physical size of the print would be, print temperatures and much more - but most importantly of all, your files are always in the same platform as your printers, allowing you to start a 3D print on any of your 3D printers, with just a few clicks, anywhere!
By storing your files with us in the SimplyPrint cloud, we can help provide a much more secure base for your 3D print files.
Many used to have their files on a little SD card, perhaps plugged in to a Pi - but the issue is; these can quite easily corrupt or get damaged, and then, out of the blue, all your files might be gone in an instant.
The SimplyPrint cloud is backed up every 12, 24 and 48 hours, as well as every week and every other week, so your files are safe in our cloud.
Your files are hosted on a secure server, and are available on the "edge", meaning it's hosted closest to you, ensuring fast download times always!
Furthermore, with your files in the cloud, they can be accessed anywhere at anytime.
With that said, we respect the fact that some files are best stored locally only - whether it's a preference, due to strict rules from a client or manufacturer, or something else - you're never forced to store your files in SimplyPrint; you'll be able to use our platform even if you never upload a single file to your file system, and simply want to track your printers, even when printing via SD card, or simply use us as a "gateway" to start prints - which sends the file through our servers, directly to your printer, hereafter the file is permanently deleted off of our servers.
As SimplyPrint is all about 3D printing, you can't upload just anything to your SimplyPrint cloud account - but all the important file types for 3D printing; absolutely.
The following file extensions can be uploaded;
.gcode (printable file - for most printers)
.gco (alias of .gcode - printable file for most printers)
.nc (alias of .gcode, often used for CNC: - printable file for most printers & CNC machines)
.bgcode (Prusa's Binary Gcode format - printable on Prusa printers)
.npg (alias of .gcode: - printable file for most printers)
.stl (3D model file)
.3mf (3D model file OR printable file on specific printers, such as Bambu Lab)
.obj (3D model file)
.ufp (Ultimaker file, similar to 3MF)
.chitubox (for Chitubox printers; we don't support the printers, but you can upload their files)
.zbd (common powder printing file format; we don't support the printers, but you can upload their files)
Some SimplyPrint add-ons can enable upload of different file types. The following add-ons enable the following extensions;
PolyFusion Sign-Maker (bundled with PolyFusion printers & via the PolyFusion Cloud): .svg (can be converted to signs via the Sign-Maker method, or sliced via the SimplyPrint-slicer)
Each of our subscription plans offer different cloud storage amounts. Please refer to our pricing page; https://simplyprint.io/pricing
When you upload a file, the size of the file (in bytes), is subtracted from your total available storage space - exactly the same way as your computer. phone and any harddisk does it.
If you delete a file, you of course get back the space that it previously used.
The following file uploads "spend" your available storage space;
File uploads in the file system (the "Your files" page in SimplyPrint)
Folders created in the file system; 8 KB per created folder
Direct uploads to the print queue; if you upload a file to the print queue rather than select an already-uploaded file from the file system, this also uses your available storage
* Print queue "Replace STL with Gcode"; if you upload an STL/3D model to the print queue (whether directly or via the file system), you slice it via the SimplyPrint slicer, and select "Replace in print queue", this will add the newly-sliced Gcode file to your print queue, taking up space (the 3D model will be removed from the print queue, and if it wasn't from your file system, but rather a direct queue upload, you'll get back the space it used)
Some of our subscription plans allow for you to buy more storage. Check our pricing page for more info; https://simplyprint.io/pricing
When you have multiple users with access to the same SimplyPrint account (which some of our subscription plans offer, such as the "Print farm" and "School" plan), each user has their own individual storage space.
This means each user has their own file system when they enter their "Your files" page, and their root-folder will always just be theirs. From here, for multi-user organizations, you can create shared folders to tie your file systems together and share your files and folders.
So, if your subscription plan includes 5 GB of storage, each user will get 5 GB of their own, so if you have 2 users, each gets 5 GB of storage individually - not to be confused with a shared pool of 10 GB.
When creating shared folders, storage space usage is still calculated the same way; the one who uploads the file owns it, and the space that the file takes up, is taken from the user who uploaded the file. And the same goes for folders; the user who creates the folder, bears the file storage use of that folder (not the content within it, that this user did not upload themselves).
That should be all you need to know about cloud storage in SimplyPrint!
What is file cloud storage in SimplyPrint?
The SimplyPrint ecosystem is all about having all you need for your 3D printing, in one single place. This means your printers, slicer, and files can all be accessed and fully utilized in SimplyPrint.
And in the case of files, this means you can store all your 3D-print-related files in the SimplyPrint cloud, making them accessible everywhere!
You can view it as a Dropbox, OneDrive or Google Drive - just for your 3D print files!
As SimplyPrint, and the file system, is all about 3D printing, we can provide you with much more information on your 3D print files than a traditional file cloud can; showing a preview, thumbnails even if they're "hidden" inside the Gcode file, show details about the file, such as what the physical size of the print would be, print temperatures and much more - but most importantly of all, your files are always in the same platform as your printers, allowing you to start a 3D print on any of your 3D printers, with just a few clicks, anywhere!
Why upload your files to SimplyPrint instead of having them locally or on a Raspberry Pi?
By storing your files with us in the SimplyPrint cloud, we can help provide a much more secure base for your 3D print files.
Many used to have their files on a little SD card, perhaps plugged in to a Pi - but the issue is; these can quite easily corrupt or get damaged, and then, out of the blue, all your files might be gone in an instant.
The SimplyPrint cloud is backed up every 12, 24 and 48 hours, as well as every week and every other week, so your files are safe in our cloud.
Your files are hosted on a secure server, and are available on the "edge", meaning it's hosted closest to you, ensuring fast download times always!
Furthermore, with your files in the cloud, they can be accessed anywhere at anytime.
With that said, we respect the fact that some files are best stored locally only - whether it's a preference, due to strict rules from a client or manufacturer, or something else - you're never forced to store your files in SimplyPrint; you'll be able to use our platform even if you never upload a single file to your file system, and simply want to track your printers, even when printing via SD card, or simply use us as a "gateway" to start prints - which sends the file through our servers, directly to your printer, hereafter the file is permanently deleted off of our servers.
Which files can I upload (file types / extensions)
As SimplyPrint is all about 3D printing, you can't upload just anything to your SimplyPrint cloud account - but all the important file types for 3D printing; absolutely.
The following file extensions can be uploaded;
.gcode (printable file - for most printers)
.gco (alias of .gcode - printable file for most printers)
.nc (alias of .gcode, often used for CNC: - printable file for most printers & CNC machines)
.bgcode (Prusa's Binary Gcode format - printable on Prusa printers)
.npg (alias of .gcode: - printable file for most printers)
.stl (3D model file)
.3mf (3D model file OR printable file on specific printers, such as Bambu Lab)
.obj (3D model file)
.ufp (Ultimaker file, similar to 3MF)
.chitubox (for Chitubox printers; we don't support the printers, but you can upload their files)
.zbd (common powder printing file format; we don't support the printers, but you can upload their files)
Add-on-specific file extensions
Some SimplyPrint add-ons can enable upload of different file types. The following add-ons enable the following extensions;
PolyFusion Sign-Maker (bundled with PolyFusion printers & via the PolyFusion Cloud): .svg (can be converted to signs via the Sign-Maker method, or sliced via the SimplyPrint-slicer)
How much cloud storage space do I get?
Each of our subscription plans offer different cloud storage amounts. Please refer to our pricing page; https://simplyprint.io/pricing
How is cloud storage used?
When you upload a file, the size of the file (in bytes), is subtracted from your total available storage space - exactly the same way as your computer. phone and any harddisk does it.
If you delete a file, you of course get back the space that it previously used.
The following file uploads "spend" your available storage space;
File uploads in the file system (the "Your files" page in SimplyPrint)
Folders created in the file system; 8 KB per created folder
Direct uploads to the print queue; if you upload a file to the print queue rather than select an already-uploaded file from the file system, this also uses your available storage
* Print queue "Replace STL with Gcode"; if you upload an STL/3D model to the print queue (whether directly or via the file system), you slice it via the SimplyPrint slicer, and select "Replace in print queue", this will add the newly-sliced Gcode file to your print queue, taking up space (the 3D model will be removed from the print queue, and if it wasn't from your file system, but rather a direct queue upload, you'll get back the space it used)
I used up all my available storage space - can I get more?
Some of our subscription plans allow for you to buy more storage. Check our pricing page for more info; https://simplyprint.io/pricing
Multiple users; how does it work for print farms, companies, institutions and schools?
When you have multiple users with access to the same SimplyPrint account (which some of our subscription plans offer, such as the "Print farm" and "School" plan), each user has their own individual storage space.
This means each user has their own file system when they enter their "Your files" page, and their root-folder will always just be theirs. From here, for multi-user organizations, you can create shared folders to tie your file systems together and share your files and folders.
So, if your subscription plan includes 5 GB of storage, each user will get 5 GB of their own, so if you have 2 users, each gets 5 GB of storage individually - not to be confused with a shared pool of 10 GB.
When creating shared folders, storage space usage is still calculated the same way; the one who uploads the file owns it, and the space that the file takes up, is taken from the user who uploaded the file. And the same goes for folders; the user who creates the folder, bears the file storage use of that folder (not the content within it, that this user did not upload themselves).
That should be all you need to know about cloud storage in SimplyPrint!
Updated on: 16/03/2024
Thank you!