Methods of printing grayscale and full-color 3d articles

Abstract

In one aspect, methods of printing a 3D article are described herein. In some embodiments, a method of printing a 3D article comprises selectively depositing a first portion of build material in a fluid state onto a substrate to form a first region of build material; selectively depositing a first portion of support material in a fluid state to form a first region of support material; and selectively depositing a second portion of build material in a fluid state to form a second region of build material, wherein the first region of support material is disposed between the first region of build material and the second region of build material in a z-direction of the article. In some cases, the first region of support material forms a grayscale pattern and/or a CMY color pattern in combination with the first region of build material and/or the second region of build material.

That which is claimed: 
     
         1 . A printed three-dimensional article comprising:
 a first region of build material;   a first region of support material; and   a second region of build material,   wherein the first region of support material is disposed between the first region of build material and the second region of build material in a z-direction of the article, and   wherein the first region of support material forms a grayscale pattern in combination with the first region of build material and/or the second region of build material.   
     
     
         2 . The article of  claim 1 , wherein the grayscale pattern is a two-dimensional pattern formed on an exterior surface of the article. 
     
     
         3 . The article of  claim 1 , wherein the grayscale pattern is a three-dimensional pattern visible through an exterior surface of the article. 
     
     
         4 . The article of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the grayscale pattern is provided by normal reflection of incident light;   the first region of support material further forms a second grayscale pattern in combination with the first region of build material and/or the second region of build material; and   the second grayscale pattern is provided by backlighting the article.   
     
     
         5 . The article of  claim 1 , wherein the first region of support material is completely or substantially completely covered by the second region of build material in the z-direction. 
     
     
         6 . The article of  claim 1 , wherein the first and/or second region of build material comprises a colorant. 
     
     
         7 . The article of  claim 6 , wherein the first region of build material comprises one or more first colorants and the second region of build material comprises one or more second colorants. 
     
     
         8 . The article of  claim 1 , wherein the first and second regions of build material are formed from the same build material or combination of build materials. 
     
     
         9 . The article of  claim 1 , wherein the second region of build material is optically transparent or substantially optically transparent. 
     
     
         10 . The article of  claim 1 , wherein the support material is white. 
     
     
         11 . The article of  claim 1 , wherein the support material is non-white. 
     
     
         12 . The article of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the first and/or second region of build material is formed from a combination of one or more of a first build material having a cyan color, a second build material having a magenta color, and a third build material having a yellow color; and   the first region of support material is formed from a support material having a white color.   
     
     
         13 . The article of  claim 1 , wherein the grayscale pattern is formed by a variation of the thickness of the first region of support material and/or the thickness of the second region of build material in one or more lateral directions. 
     
     
         14 . The article of  claim 13 , wherein the variation is a continuous variation. 
     
     
         15 . The article of  claim 1 , wherein the grayscale pattern comprises a stochastic distribution of spatially discrete sub-regions of support material. 
     
     
         16 . The article of  claim 1 , wherein the grayscale pattern comprises an ordered array of spatially-discrete sub-regions of support material. 
     
     
         17 . The article of  claim 1 , wherein the grayscale pattern is formed by a variation of the spatial density and/or weight percent of the first region of support material relative to the surrounding first and second regions of build material in one or more lateral directions.