Directly Print Color Parts in Custom or Classic Colors With Color Resin

Formlabs stereolithography (SLA) 3D printers make it possible to bring your ideas to life with intuitive, streamlined workflows. But it’s our versatile materials library that makes it possible to achieve the aesthetics and performance you require from 3D printed parts for any application. Now, two new Formlabs resins expand just what is possible to print. 

Color Resin is a General Purpose Resin for Form 4 Series 3D printers, enabling printing of parts in custom colors that represent your brand, product line, or creative vision — a first-of-its-kind solution that is manufactured to order in one week from quantities as little as one liter, or choose from 16 Classic Colors.

Color Resin and Form 4 Series 3D printers are rewriting timelines for producing parts in color. 

While adding color to injection molded parts is easy and low-cost, timelines and minimum quantities are many times those of 3D printing. Meanwhile, fused deposition modeling (FDM) filaments are available in many colors, but color-matching is difficult, and part quality is lower than SLA 3D printed parts. Until now, achieving color SLA parts involved outsourcing, painting, or alcohol-dyeing — all of which require lead time, additional material, and labor. 

Now, Color Resin makes it possible to 3D print color parts -– including custom-color parts — with SLA 3D printers, achieving everything from nuanced neutrals to saturated, bold colors with the speed and ease of printing of any other Formlabs General Purpose Resin. 

With Color Resin, create realistic prototypes that match the color of end-use parts easily and affordably without added finishing. Color code jigs and fixtures or differentiate the parts of an assembly, streamlining work and improving communication. Colored models and props stand out or blend in, exactly as intended. And, with orders of custom colors starting at one liter, crafting a custom palette is accessible.

Classic Colors enables easy ordering of a palette of 16 colors, including Signal Red, Cobalt Blue, Golden Yellow, Royal Purple, Kelly Green, and more. These colors are mixed to exacting specifications, so you can achieve your vision from batch to batch. 

To order Color Resin in custom colors, enter Hex codes or RGB profiles to order resin in a spectrum of colors to match your brand, product line, or creative vision. When ordering Color Resin, the store page will show you your requested color and the closest achievable color. Learn more about ΔE and color tolerancing here.  

Color perception varies greatly based on lighting conditions, and pulling digital colors from photos will lead to inaccurate color results. One solution is to use a physical color standard like Pantone or RAL. Customers needing matches to a physical color standard can either send Formlabs a Pantone color code or use a hand-held spectrometer to obtain a more accurate HEX code that can be used to order resin. 

Color Resin is custom-manufactured in one week for a time-efficient and cost-effective solution for creating easy and affordable custom-colored SLA parts, including color-coded jigs and fixtures, realistic prototypes, and high-quality end-use parts.

The table below gives estimates for the lead time and pricing of producing this prototype water bottle cage for cycling, designed by Albatross Bikes.

*Labor cost assumes $30/h operator wages.

Designed for both aesthetics and performance, the mechanical properties of Color Resin are commensurate with General Purpose Resins for Form 4 Series 3D printers, with a small amount of variability depending on the color ordered.

The first time Agostino LoBello 3D printed a scooter part in the iconic Radio Flyer Red, he couldn't believe how perfectly it matched the famous brand color. The Product Development Engineer was so impressed, he paraded the scooter around the office, asking his colleagues which part they thought was 3D printed. No one got it right.

The name Radio Flyer instantly conjures up an image of the Original Little Red Wagon® in bright, Radio Flyer Red. Whether it’s a red children’s scooter, bike, or wagon, the iconic color goes hand in hand with the brand. And now, LoBello is pulling Radio Flyer Red parts directly off of Formlabs stereolithography (SLA) 3D printers, delivering roadshow parts in less than a day and saving up to four days of lead time plus costs and labor.

Learn how LoBello achieved the precise brand color and saved time, costs, and labor by printing with custom Color Resin in the full story.

For 25 years, H2scan has made hydrogen sensors for any company working in the hydrogen space. Sensors are designed, manufactured, and calibrated in-house, ensuring that the final sensor is a safe and robust product. This year, they’re launching the Hy-Guard, a product with an all-plastic enclosure that’s 3D printed on Formlabs Form 4L large format 3D printer in Color Resin that matches the visual brand language. By directly printing in color, H2scan saved costs and got the product to market faster than using injection molding for manufacturing.

Christian Thompson, Mechanical Engineering Manager, designs the metal components, enclosures, and mechanical assemblies for H2scan sensors. Initially, he was going to print the enclosure of the Hy-Guard in Tough 2000 Resin, which would be painted and sealed. Thompson says, “We found that even with the extra steps of painting and sealing, it was cheaper for us to print in Tough 2000 than to go to injection molding. Injection molding is just too expensive and cost-prohibitive for us to enter the market with this new product.”

Around this time, Formlabs Color Resin was released. Thompson sent the H2scan Pantone brand colors to Formlabs, who delivered a few samples showing the closest matches that could be achieved. “We picked the one we liked, they sent the exact resin that fits that, and we've since ordered dozens of liters of this material for our initial runs,” says Thompson. With Color Resin, “All we have to do is break away supports, some simple post-processing, sanding, and cleanup.” 

The response to the Hy-Guard from stakeholders and customers has been surprise and amazement that the enclosure was 3D printed. “Handing them something that they can hold, they can touch and feel, the value has been tremendous. It has given a lot of hype to the Hy-Guard product,” says Thompson. 

Each order of Color Resin includes a customized Formlabs Print Settings (FPS) file. In PreForm, click the “Download Now” button to login and download the FPS file. Then, insert your resin cartridge and dedicated resin tank in the printer and start printing. 

To post-process, wash the part in Form Wash for 10 minutes. Then, post-cure at room temperature in Form Cure (2nd Generation) for one minute or Form Cure (1st Generation) for five minutes. 

Printing directly in color eliminates the need to paint parts, saving time, costs, and labor. Color Resin can be ordered in quantities as little as one liter, or in bulk for high-throughput production. Each order is manufactured on demand with a one-week lead time and quality-checked to ensure reliable results. 

Color Resin is currently only available in the USA, with expansion to other regions coming in the near future. 

Achieve colors that blend in or stand out — from vibrant colors to nuanced neutrals — with Color Resin.