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3D printing legend Josef Prusa takes emergency command of Printed Solid after CEO exit — Prusa holds the fort as successor hunt begins
After nearly a decade at the helm, David Randolph has stepped down as CEO of Delaware-based Printed Solid. The move, announced on X and effective as of January 1st, sees Josef Prusa, CEO of parent company Prusa Research, stepping in as interim leader to oversee what could be a new phase of North American expansion. Randolph will remain as a consultant during the transition period. A permanent successor has not yet been named.
Under Randolph’s leadership, Printed Solid evolved from a small 3D printing supplier into a key manufacturing hub for Prusa’s European-designed hardware. The company has a small Prusa print farm churning out parts for MK4S and Core One 3D printers that are assembled in Delaware. Work is underway to source sufficient American-made parts to earn the printers the coveted “MADE in the USA” stamp. Josef Prusa has stated that he wants his team to become the largest 3D printer and filament manufacturer in the U.S.
Chief Sales Officer Chris Pelesky noted that operations remain "business as usual," with the management team working closely with Prusa HQ to align the companies' core missions. “Jo has been working with the remainder of the Printed Solid management team, myself included, along with our longtime liaison, Sam, who helps with any Prusa HQ needs that we have.
“We are the same company we were in 2025, with the same goals of advancing sales and manufacturing of Prusa 3D printers here in the U.S. While we will certainly miss David, we will continue onward in the journey he started us on knowing we are in good hands with our Prusa parents, who will determine the next steps in the CEO replacement process,” Pelesky said.
“It has been a wonderful journey,” Randolph said in a post on LinkedIn. “We started with three employees and have grown the staff beyond my wildest dreams. It has been truly a highlight of my life to grow Printed Solid as much as it has grown in almost nine years.” He said he wishes Printed Solid nothing but the best and looks forward to watching the company grow. He did not announce any further plans, other than taking time off before the next grand adventure.
Randolph’s dog Jessie, the Printed Solid mascot.(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)
Before entering the 3D printing industry, Randolph worked as a broadcast engineer for the Discovery Channel and G4TV, where he ran Star Trek 2.0, an interactive cable TV show. His love of retro tech led to Printed Solid’s Beige 500 and Tan 64 PLA, which perfectly match the cases of an AMIGA 500 and a Commodore 64.
He also helped save a fan favorite silk filament, Polyalchemy Elixir, from extinction when the original manufacturer shut down. He purchased the formula and spent the next two years reengineering it to work on Printed Solid’s equipment. The result is the super shiny Jessie Elixir. Jessie was Randolph’s dog and company mascot, whose likeness is used to showcase filament colors on the website. All of Printed Solid’s filament is named for her.
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Denise Bertacchi is a Contributing Writer for Tom’s Hardware US, covering 3D printing. Denise has been crafting with PCs since she discovered Print Shop had clip art on her Apple IIe. She loves reviewing 3D printers because she can mix all her passions: printing, photography, and writing.
Interesting, you could be like all the other companies and just cheat. Make a few products in America and put the stickers on everything(like snap-on, mac tools, etc.)
Former Printed Solid employee here. Honestly not the first person that I'd have called for prusa to push out. Wonder if the smelly guy(not naming names) is also leaving. And im not just being mean. While I worked there, dude reeked.
