Smashing Color

with Maggie Maggio

CMY in 3D Printing


Connex-3-Color-Pallettestratasys color chart

There are a number of companies claiming to have the first full-color printer using cyan, magenta, and yellow to mix all the colors of the rainbow in three dimensions. The color charts above are from the Stratosys Object 500.

Those triangles look so familiar! I’ve been making the same thing in polymer for years. I have to say I am a bit jealous. No, not just a bit. A lot jealous!

The excitement is palpable in even the most business like articles and news stories. Design it in the morning and “print” the prototype in the afternoon! Imagine how artists will adopt the technology. The possibilities are endless. Here’s one example – a fashion collection designed by Dr. Michaella Janse van Vuuren.

stratasys-object500-connex3-multi-material-3d-printer-shoes

Stratasys

3dfull-colour-3d-print

3DSystems

Will 3D printing take over from hands-on sculpting and designing? Only time will tell.

What is absolutely apparent however is that the digital and printing worlds embrace the RGB |CMY model of color. And the results are stunning!

Links:
Stratasys: Inquirer Article
3
D Systems: San Paolo Announcement

3 Comments

  1. Maggie Maggio

    February 11, 2016 at 8:51 pm

    I’m hoping artists will find a way to make their mark with the 3D printers. On the flip side – I bet handcraft will make a big comeback.

  2. This kind of technology will put amazing art into everyone’s homes. Everyone can be an artist now, since the difficult work is done by a machine. I sense an artistic revolution underway as the music revolution, which has put cheap recording studios and thousands of instruments onto computers, is putting record labels out of business with the sheer quantity of great sound.

  3. This technology is interesting but I hope will never replace crafting objects by hand. Personally, I feel that handmaking feeds my soul and produces an object that is infused with my energy, which is passed on to the wearer. Mass-producing a design just makes a “thing”. and multiples of it. Losing the skills of making would be a great tragedy. I love to use my computer to write and communicate but the basic skill of writing is still a “slow” process and requires thought and craft. It’s a slippery slope to having a machine fill in those little design elements that are tricky to master and then to start making design decisions. What are we in such a hurry about anyway? Thanks for the post– very thought-provoking.

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