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Review on processes and color quality evaluation of color 3D printing

Jiangping Yuan (Department of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Yuncheng University, Yuncheng, China and State Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China)
Ming Zhu (Color Research Center for Digital Printing, Henan University of Engineering, Zhengzhou, China)
Baohui Xu (Department of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Yuncheng University, Yuncheng, China)
Guangxue Chen (State Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China)

Rapid Prototyping Journal

ISSN: 1355-2546

Article publication date: 12 March 2018

Issue publication date: 12 March 2018

817

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is provide a broad view for the standardization efforts of color quality evaluation of color 3D printing techniques. Further, this review paper demonstrates the processes and color properties of most color 3D printing techniques with specific devices and applications to extend the range of possible memberships of standardization group.

Design/methodology/approach

Six color 3D printing techniques including plastic-based, paper-based, powder-based, organism-based, food-based and metal-based color 3D printing have been introduced and illustrated with colorization principles and forming features in detail. Moreover, for printed 3D color objects, literature about color measurement, color specification and color reproduction are described and analyzed, respectively.

Findings

Four color 3D printing techniques including plastic-based, paper-based, powder-based and food-based color 3D printing show great affinity toward standardization of color quality evaluation, while their colorization principles indicate that it is difficult with a single standard frame. It is possible to develop a completed color quality evaluation standard for color 3D printing based on approaches in color 2D printing when color measurement method and devices are standardized together.

Originality/value

The paper provides an important guide focusing on the efforts to standardize the colorization processes and color quality evaluation of the color 3D printing techniques.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the Students’ Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program of Yuncheng University (Grant No. DC-2017167), Applied Basic Research Program of Foundation of Yuncheng University (Grant No. CY-2016012), the National Natural Science Foundation of China for Youths (Grant No. 61301231), the Guangdong Provincial Science and Technology Program (Grant No. 2013B010401007, Grant No. 2013B090600060), the Guangzhou Science and Technology Program (Grant No. 201607020045 and No. 2017B090901064), the State Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper Engineering Project (Grant No. 2016C01). The authors wish to thank several people for their help and advice: Liuxi He and Chen Chen in SCUT, Philip Green, Jon Y. Hardeberg and Marius Pedersen in NTNU.

Citation

Yuan, J., Zhu, M., Xu, B. and Chen, G. (2018), "Review on processes and color quality evaluation of color 3D printing", Rapid Prototyping Journal, Vol. 24 No. 2, pp. 409-415. https://doi.org/10.1108/RPJ-11-2016-0182

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited

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