Apologies for the late reply - poor internet and revising for the final year exams of a medical degree are a bad combination when it comes to spending time online.
Indeed, that could be an excellent option - replacing the bronze with Pewter would keep the same printing technique and equipment but simply remove the bronze colouration that is associated with the current method of printing stainless steel.
It certainly sounds feasible to me - though I know a lot less about the logistics of printing than those of model-making, but I see no reason why it wouldn't work.
Another thought - why not TIN?
Either for a replacement of the bronze in the stainless steel printing, or as a material on its own.
Tin is a much better colour than bronze, and given that silver's price per kilo is roughly 500, and tin's is only 20... much more affordable as a raw material. And it has a decent melting point as well that's not too high.
Also, why not Zinc? Also a silvery metal, also a fraction of the price per kilo as sterling silver (seems to be only around 3-5 per kg), to the extent of my knowledge does not cause allergies, and has a sensible enough melting point of around 400 - still lower than bronze. And it's hard and durable. Can tarnish but toothpaste should take off the tarnish, apparently.
Could even be an idea to offer stainless steel with a plating of zinc possibly to cover up the bronze colour?
Or even silver plating on tin, perhaps - as here:
https://www.wulflund.com/jewellery/dinosaur-pendants/smilodon-saber-toothed-tiger-necklace-tin.html/
Anyway, it is true that it won't make it cheaper than cast brass or bronze - but cast pewter would still be cheaper than cast silver, at least going by the price for the metals themselves.
And the biggest thing is that it would be a white metal, since I think Shapeways is lacking in that by quite a bit - would be fine if the steel was actually steel-coloured, but alas, it isn't.
To be honest, most alternative options could beat what they can offer now, as the bronze tone on the steel is REALLY disappointing. Rhodium-plated is the only real alternative other than silver that could look in any way decent and actually come out as a WHITE metal. The steel... has potential, but using bronze in it means the outcome kinda sucks.
And thankyou for the information there, I didn't know about those developments underway - indeed Shapeways will have to keep up with the current trends, good to hear that there may be more on the way soon enough - and if there is clearly a demand for it from users of the site, perhaps that could spur them on.
Thanks for your reply by the way!