PRINTING WITH PURPOSE
- Adrianna Donat
- 12 minutes ago
- 5 min read
Columbia High School students turn 3D printers into tools for good
By Adrianna Donat
Accompanied by the steady hum of 3D printers, a handful of Columbia High School students are running a quiet operation with big impact from their homes. Their efforts are changing lives for visually impaired people they’ve never met.
Led by founder and senior Jackson Teitelbaum, Print with Purpose designs and 3D prints tactile educational tools for people who are blind or visually impaired. The group prints everything from braille dice and topographical maps to statues and science models. Their creations are shipped across the country through a partnership with See3D, an Ohio-based nonprofit that distributes 3D-printed models to schools, facilities and events for the blind.
For Teitelbaum, this isn’t just a hobby. It’s the evolution of a mitzvah project that sparked a lifelong passion for using technology to make the world more accessible. Five years ago, Teitelbaum was a middle schooler searching for a meaningful Bar Mitzvah project. He discovered OrCam, an Israeli startup that created MyEye, an AI-powered device that clips onto eyeglasses and helps people who are blind read text, recognize faces and identify objects.
“I raised $5,000 to buy an OrCam device for a woman who really wanted one,” Teitelbaum says. “She told me how it completely changed her daily life. It could read her text messages and tell her who was in the room. Seeing how much technology could help someone was what really opened my eyes.”
That experience set Teitelbaum’s direction. “I didn’t plan to work with the blind community,” he says, “but helping someone through technology made me realize how powerful that connection could be.” A few years later, a friend gave Teitelbaum an old 3D printer. “I was instantly hooked,” he says. “It’s amazing to make physical things from a digital file.”
At first, Teitelbaum printed for fun – gadgets, trinkets, the kind of experimental projects any teenage tech tinkerer might make. But when he discovered See3D, the same instinct to help that guided his Bar Mitzvah project came roaring back.
His first assistive creation was a periodic table labeled in braille, so blind students could explore the layout of elements through touch. “It felt amazing to know something I made could actually help someone learn,” Teitelbaum says.
His single printer couldn’t keep up with requests from See3D. So Teitelbaum reached out to friends, many from CHS’s robotics team, who owned 3D printers. “I just started asking around,” he says. “Before I knew it, we had 10 people in the group, all seniors with their own printers.” Together, they became Print with Purpose, with a shared philosophy of using technology in the service of others. The group’s catalog of creations reads like a mix between a science fair and an art studio:
Topographical maps of the United States, allowing students to feel where mountains and rivers rise and fall.
3D statues of Louis Braille, the inventor of the braille system, helping learners visualize the man behind the tactile code.
Braille finger guides that make it easier to type on a brailler machine.
U.S. flags with raised stars and stripes.
And even whimsical items such as braille dice and models of the Titanic for history lessons.
Each object takes hours to design and print, but Teitelbaum and his team say it’s worth it every time they see a video from See3D showing one of their models in use. “At this year’s Ohio Regional Braille Challenge, we saw a video of a child learning from an astronaut and comet model we had printed,” Teitelbaum says, smiling. “Watching that really opened my eyes to our impact.”
Print with Purpose expands its reach by partnering with Printing Pathways, a 3D printing group connected to Saint Barnabas Hospital. “They print for us, and we print for them when needed,” Teitelbaum says.
Caroline Karbowski, founder and CEO of See3D, says, “Jackson and his group always come through in a pinch. We’ll get urgent requests, and Print with Purpose jumps in, printing models with the right slicing details so recipients can feel every educational and visual element. They’re a great team of invested 3D-printing enthusiasts.”
Some people who receive the models express their appreciation. Minh, a visually impaired user, shared this feedback about a model of Louis Braille that Print with Purpose created. “The detail is perfect and the facial features are clear. I can feel the detail in the eyebrows, curly hair, and ears. He has a really highcollared shirt and giant ears!” For Teitelbaum, feedback like that is pure fuel. “The reactions are the best part,” he says. “It reminds us that something as simple as a plastic model can mean so much.”
When See3D gets a request from a teacher or organization, it passes the 3D file to Teitelbaum. He divides the job among his teammates, who print using whatever setup they have at home. A typical order might be for 50 pieces, which can take several days of printing. Teitelbaum collects the finished parts, quality checks them and ships them off using free labels provided by See3D.
Print with Purpose has shipped hundreds of these since they began working with See3D. “Sometimes files get corrupted or printers jam, so we split projects between whoever’s printer is working best that week,” he says. “It’s a good team effort.” As Print with Purpose has grown, so has Teitelbaum’s vision for the future. He hopes to hand off leadership when he graduates, while continuing to oversee and expand the project in college. He plans to major in computer engineering with an eye toward medical technology, a field that merges his passions for innovation and helping others.
“The medical tech side of this really fascinates me,” he says. “I’d love to keep exploring how devices can help people live more independently.”
Before he leaves CHS, Teitelbaum hopes to recruit more volunteers, including female students, to join the team. “There’s definitely room for more diversity,” he says. “You just need a 3D printer and a willingness to help.”
For all the sophisticated equipment and technology involved, Teitelbaum insists that the heart of Print with Purpose is simple: using what you have to do good. “I think most people don’t realize how easy it is to make a difference,” he says. “You don’t need a fancy lab or a huge budget. You just need some basic tools, some time and a little curiosity.”
As the holidays approach, Teitelbaum’s story is a reminder that generosity doesn’t always look like a check or a donation drive. Sometimes, it looks like a handful of high school students, a few spools of filament and a printer humming quietly in the corner creating something that helps someone, somewhere, see the world a little differently.
To learn more or get involved with Print with Purpose, contact Jackson Teitelbaum at jteitelbaum417@gmail.com.
Adrianna Donat is a real estate agent, writer and proud champion of our SOMA community.
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