The concept of 3D printing has been around since the 1980s, though early 3D printers were large, costly and of very limited use. The first use of the terms 3D printing and 3D printer is often associated with Jim Bredt and Tim Anderson, who in 1995 when graduate students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, modified an inkjet printer to deposit binding solution onto powder rather than ink onto paper. Bredt and Anderson later went on to found 3D printing company Z Corporation.