Full-color prints

…So far, we've talked about printing processes…where the color comes from the material.…You can print in red plastic on a plastic filament printer.…Or mix black and white polymers in a material jetting printer to print gray.…But what if you want to print in full color?…The full color process uses gypsum powder, which is…a white mineral that's also used to create plaster.…The 3D printer…spreads the gypsum in thin layers.…The printer uses an inkjet cartridge to deposit liquid binder,…essentially glue, onto the surface binding the powder layers together.…

The uncolored models are an off-white color, but the printer…can also deposit ink at the same time using CMYK inks.…Cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. Just like an inkjet printer.…The color on a model like this doesn't run all the way through.…It's only printed a couple millimeters deep on the surface.…The gypsum based models have a beautiful…color, but sometimes a somewhat rough finish.…There's some variation on the materials that…are available, depending on the powder that's used.…