3D Print Full-Color Photos on a Regular Old Filament Printer

Some 3D printing processes, like PolyJet, allow for 3D printing in full color, which is pretty amazing. Unfortunately, those aren’t the processes that made their way into the hobbyist and consumer markets. We’re mostly stuck with MSLA (Masked Stereolithography) resin printing and FFF (fused-filament fabrication) printing. But fret not, for Primed3D is a tool that will let you print in full color(ish) using a regular old filament 3D printer.

The Primed3D website says it is a “Free Full Spectrum 3D Printing Tool.” And while that’s mostly accurate, it is worth noting that it prints the “full spectrum” through dithering. That is when you mix “pixels” of two (or more) different colors in order to trick the eyes into seeing a third color. Red and blue, for example, will look like purple. But the illusion only works if you’re far enough away. In the case of FFF 3D printing, which doesn’t have pixels at all, the effect is far from perfect.

The other big caveat is that this requires the ability to print with multiple filaments. You’ll get the best results with five colors: white, key (black), cyan, magenta, and yellow.

With the disclaimers out of the way, I can say that the results are pretty awesome. It seems to work best when you print entire surfaces in a single mixed color or with gradients. Photos do work, but the dithering will make them look pretty grainy and blurry — especially at small sizes or when viewed close-up.

And using the Primed3D web tool is pretty easy. Just upload your model and use the built-in tools to paint colors with a brush, fill surfaces, or slap on a photo. Then you simply configure the layer heights and export. You’ll be able to import the file into Bambu Studio or OrcaSlicer for final slicing before printing.

It isn’t magic and there is only so much a developer can achieve with the 3D printer hardware people have available. But Primed3D is very cool and worth spending some time with.