Stratasys 3D printers first to be verified by Pantone

Pantone is a universal language for colour. The company produces colour books that list thousands of different colours across the colour spectrum.

Use the code assigned to a particular colour and no matter who you are dealing with or what you are producing, the colour will look the same as it does in the colour book. It is an amazing system that has been used by designers for decades, but up until now it has mostly been restricted to those using traditional techniques.

Now, the benefits of the Pantone colour system are being brought to the world of additive manufacturing. Stratasys has the first 3D printers in the world to be certified by Pantone. They use the Pantone Matching System (PMS) to ensure that what you see on your screen is what comes out of the machine.

Pantone certified machines

The certified machines are the Stratasys J750 and J735. These Polyjet machines can each deal with 500,000 colour combinations, and now product designers and engineers that are rapid prototyping can use a simple workflow to match specific colours in the design to printable colours.

Printing using Pantone on the J750 and J735 saves designers time, and therefore money. Think of the advantage of 3D printing a product design in exactly the colour you want it to be, rather than the time-consuming process of painting a model by hand.

Reviewing a prototype in a meeting while looking at a model that has been printed in exactly the right shade of blue, matching exactly the brand you are designing for, is going to be much more useful than turning up with a prototype that is finished in an approximate colour. By using the Pantone system, you can be sure that the colour you are looking at on your prototype model will be the same as the one used in manufacture.

Compatible materials

Pantone colours are initially supported on VeroVivid materials (vivid cyan, vivid magenta and vivid yellow), Vero PureWhite and VeroBlackPlus, along with support materials SUP705 and SUP706B. After selecting the colour you want to use from a Pantone PMS colour guide, you select the colour you need from Stratasys GrabCAD Print software. We have produced this handy guide to give you step by step instructions.

Mark Tyrtania, Sales Director at Laser Lines comments: “The Stratasys J750 and J735 continue to be the best in class machines for anyone in product design. You can create real-world prototypes incredibly quickly, and the new support for the Pantone Matching System is the icing on the cake. We can’t wait to introduce our existing and new customers to the easy workflow and unparalleled colour accuracy of these amazing Polyjet systems.”

If you want to find out how the Pantone colour system on the Stratasys J750 and J735 can save you time and money, give Laser Lines a call on  01295 672599 or email [email protected].