Review of Colour Image Reproduction Using 3D Printing Technology

In this paper, the current technologies for full-colour 3D printing are reviewed with a special focus on colour image reproduction frameworks using the 3DPTM and PolyJetTM printing engines. For each system, conventional cross-media colour management has been applied to transform the colours of real 3D objects from one medium (e.g. a 3D camera image or a display) to another (a 3D printer). In the 3D printing industry, although good colour reproduction is highly desired, there is a lack of technology to accurately assess the colour appearance of a 3D printed object. Conventionally, flat (2D) colour charts have been used to both develop a colour profile and evaluate the performance of the colour reproduction of 3D objects. It has become apparent however, that, for a number of reasons, the appearance of 2D colour samples cannot truthfully represent the appearance of 3D objects. A number of reasons contribute to this shortcoming, including the angle of illumination on to a multifaceted object, and the overall shape, translucency and texture of the object. Two approaches, colorimetric colour reproduction and spectral-based colour reproduction have been proposed in order to aid faith reproduction of the colours of 3D objects. Two key studies, colour reproduction for soft tissue prostheses and colour uniformity correction across different orientations, are described. The results clearly show that the application of this proposed colour image reproduction framework leads to improved performance in terms of their appearance, especially their colour