What Are My Options For Full-Color 3D Printing?

A brief look at the available methods, materials and machines for multicolor 3D printing.

Engineers looking to 3D print prototypes or even production parts in full color have many options to choose from — not just materials but machines as well. There are several commercially available methods for multicolor 3D printing, including binder jetting, material jetting and fused filament fabrication (FFF) or fused deposition modeling (FDM).

What’s the difference between full-color and multicolor 3D printing?

The terms ‘multicolor 3D printing’ and ‘full-color 3D printing’ are generally used interchangeably, although the latter is sometimes restricted to 3D printers capable of producing a wide range of colors, as opposed to something more basic, such as an FDM machine with filament swapping capabilities. In the absence of an established industry standard, this article will treat the two terms as equivalent.

What full-color 3D printers are available today?

Stratasys’ PolyJet technology is an example of a full-color 3D printing method, one that uses a form of material jetting combined with ultraviolet light for curing. In addition to making multicolored models, 3D printers using PolyJet technology can also produce parts with elastomeric or transparent materials.

3D Systems’ ColorJet Printing is more akin to binder jetting. It involves spreading a core material over a build platform with a roller and, with each successive layer, selectively jetting a color binder to solidify the core.

HP’s Multi Jet Fusion technology is also capable of full-color 3D printing using a binder jetting process. In this case, a colorless fusing agent is combined with cyan, magenta, yellow and black (CMYK) agents before being heated with infrared light.

Lesser known Mimaki claims that its 3D printers are capable of full-color builds with more than 10 million color tones, once again using a binder jetting/ink jet process.

As for lower-cost or entry-level options, the da Vinci Color from XYZprinting combines FFF with a CMYK inkjet system, while Mosiac Manufacturing’s Palette 3 Pro uses multiple filaments for a maximum of eight colors.

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