Color Reproduction Framework for Inkjet FDM 3D Printers

Abstract

Recent advances in consumer-grade 3D printers have enabled the fabrication of personal artifacts in aesthetically pleasing full color. However, the printed colors are usually different from the actual user desired colors due to the mismatching of droplets when the color reproduction workflow has been changed or the color profile setup is missing. In this paper, we present a preliminary experiment to investigate color reproduction errors in consumer-grade inkjet FDM 3D printers. Our results suggest that solving the problem requires initiating the workflow to minimize color reproduction errors such as using CMYK or sRGB color profiles. We also found that the mismatched color gamut between the input's desired texture and the 3D printed output depends on different file formats, and this finding requires future investigation.