Relatively recent advancements in 3D printing include the ability to print with multiple materials and in multiple colors. Traditional 2D printers, which print to flat media, assume that the surface geometry has a negligible effect on the appearance. The International Color Consortium (ICC) builds profiles allowing for color communication among devices, including traditional 2D printers. The ICC does not currently have practices in place to build profiles for color 3D printers due, in part, to several unknown parameters affecting the appearance of 3D printed objects. One such unknown parameter is the surface structure. To test the effect of surface structure on the color appearance of 3D printed objects, 3D models were built digitally with goniochromatic effects in mind and then printed using a color 3D printer. Spectral radiance and bidirectional reflectance distribution function measurements of the 3D printed samples were taken and correlated with the results of a psychophysical experiment to test for changes in the appearance. It was found that surface structure does have a measurable, perceptible effect on the color appearance of 3D printed objects.
Matt Ronnenberg, Susan Farnand, "The Effect of Subsurface Structure on the Color Appearance of 3D Printed Objects" in Journal of Imaging Science and Technology, 2019, pp 040403-1 - 040403-8, https://doi.org/10.2352/J.ImagingSci.Technol.2019.63.4.040403