Method and system for building painted three-dimensional objects

1. A method for printing a three-dimensional object, the method comprising:

generating printing data for printing a layer of the three-dimensional object;

generating color data for an outer circumference region of the layer;

printing an inner region of the layer of the three-dimensional object with a three-dimensional printing system using at least one building material based on the generated printing data, wherein at least a portion of the inner region of the layer functions as a background for color perception; and

printing an outer circumference region of the layer based on the generated printing data and the generated color data with the three-dimensional printing system using at least one colored material by jetting the at least one colored material from a print head, wherein the outer circumference region extends around at least a portion of the inner region of the layer to define an apparent colored surface for the layer and the outer circumference region is printed at a higher resolution than the inner region.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one building material comprises a white building material, a transparent building material, or a combination thereof.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein printing the inner region of the layer comprises:

printing a bulk portion of the inner region from a first material of the at least one building material; and

printing an outline portion of the inner region from a second material of the at least one building material, wherein the outline portion extends between the bulk portion and the outer circumference region, and is the portion of the inner region that functions as the background for color perception.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one colored material comprises a plurality of colored materials selected from a group of basic colors such that the printed outer circumference region of the layer comprises a plurality of different colors.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the basic colors include at least two of yellow, magenta, cyan and black.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein the at least one build material comprises a transparent build material, and further comprising mixing colored additives to the transparent build material to provide the plurality of colored materials.

7. The method of claim 4 , wherein the printing data is generated by dividing an apparent color surface into patches, each patch defining the face of a color cell.

8. A method for printing a three-dimensional object, the method comprising:

slicing a digital representation of three-dimensional object into a plurality of layers, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of layers comprise colored layers that define a colored surface of the three-dimensional object;

generating printing data for printing the plurality of layers, which comprises:

generating first printing data for printing inner regions of the colored layers from at least one building material; and

generating second printing data for printing outer circumferential regions of the colored layers from at least one colored material;

and

printing the plurality of layers of the three-dimensional object with a three-dimensional printing system based on the generated printing data by depositing the at least one colored material from an inkjet head material such that, for each colored layer, the outer circumference region of the colored layer extends around at least a portion of the inner region of the colored layer to define an apparent colored surface for the colored layer having a higher resolution than the inner regions.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the at least one building material comprises a white building material, a transparent building material, or a combination thereof.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the at least one colored material comprises a second building material and a colorant.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein generating the first printing data comprises:

generating bulk printing data for printing bulk portions of the inner regions from a first material of the at least one building material; and

generating outline printing data for printing outline portions of the inner regions from a second material of the at least one building material, wherein the outline portions extend between the bulk portions and the outer circumference regions.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the colorant is one or more colorants selected from a group of basic colors.

13. A three-dimensional object printed with a three-dimensional printing system, the three-dimensional object comprising a plurality of printed color layers, wherein each color layer comprises:

an inner region printed from at least one extruded thermoplastic building material, wherein at least a portion of the inner region functions as a background of the printed layer for color perception; and

an outer circumference region printed from at least one colored jetted material, wherein the outer circumference region extends around at least a portion of the inner region to define an apparent colored surface for the printed layer and the outer circumference region is printed at a higher resolution than the inner region.

14. The three-dimensional object of claim 13 , wherein the at least one building material used to print the inner region comprises a white building material, a transparent building material, or a combination thereof.

15. The three-dimensional object of claim 13 , wherein the at least one colored material comprises a plurality of colored materials such that the printed outer circumference region comprises a plurality of different colors.

16. The three-dimensional object of claim 13 , wherein the at least one colored material comprises a polymerizable material.

17. The three-dimensional object of claim 13 , wherein the inner region comprises:

a bulk portion printed from a first material of the at least one building material; and

an outline portion printed from a second material of the at least one building material, wherein the outline portion extends between the bulk portion and the outer circumference region, and is the portion of the inner region that functions as the background for color perception.