Oct.18, 2013

Many innovative use of 3D printing fall under the category of cool or creative. Dave White, owner of Studio DTW, a full service photography and digital imaging studio has produced some really cool 3D-printed images from nothing but 2D photographs.

The brand is called 'TOPOGRAFICS' and they are personalized 3D-printed photographs that have been converted from traditional photographs. Printed using high resolution 3D-printers, Dave's creations are textured to create an interesting 3D effect. Back-lighting these prints reveals the original photograph from which the TOPOGRAFICS was generated.

"We are experimenting with SLA, FDM, and Polyjet technology to print these." "With these prints, not only are you viewing your favorite memories, but you can feel the texture, and see it come to life over and over." notes Dave.

Check out the pictures below that show the TOPOGRAFICS as they look when they come out of the printer, and the effect that backlighting them with window light has.

"We are also developing frames with an artificial light source built right in, to back light the print, had have many more applications in mind." says Dave.

This creation can be used by wedding photographers, who would like to offer these prints as part of their packages. "But they will be available to anyone who wants a completely immersive experience when viewing their favorite images or reliving a cherished moment. As 3D printing continues to become more and more prevalent, I expect the market for these prints to expand right along with it." adds Dave.

Dave is a photographer, but has also been interested in 3D printing. "My plan is to continue to develop and perfect this process, continue to find ways of cutting costs without sacrificing quality, and make TOPOGRAFICS™ a household name." says Dave.

Earlier this year, Amanda Ghassaei, assistant tech editor at Instructables had also created some creative 3D-printed photos. Images used for 3D printing were first converted to black and white, and then software computes the various heights / layers in the image to enable a 3D representation for 3D printing. The principle behind Ghassaei's experiments relies on the concept of image analysis - Where the algorithm thinks there's a shadow, additional layers of resin will be produced, making it thicker and less translucent. by using a backlight to view the 3D printed photo, the darker areas can appear to have depth.

Dave will demonstrate its complete line of products and services at this year's PDN PhotoPlus International Conference + Expo in New York City from October 23-26, 2013 at the Javits Convention Center. Further details about the technology will be revealed. Attendees will have an opportunity to receive hands-on demos of their latest products, including TOPOGRAFICS. Meanwhile Dave will launch a Kickstarter campaign for TOPOGRAFICS on Oct.23, 2013, so stay tuned.

 

Posted in 3D Printing Applications

 

 

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Krzysztof wrote at 4/19/2014 6:11:59 PM:

This is so sick !!!! :DDD

Joe Larson wrote at 10/29/2013 8:58:03 PM:

I'm Cymon and aside from the holder on Thingiverse I've been doing this for people on Etsy for a while now, taking their images and 3D printing them a lithophane. https://www.etsy.com/listing/126658033/custom-night-light-lithophane-3d-printed The customizable ones on thingiverse are really low quality compared to the stuff I do. I outlined the process on my blog: http://joesmakerbot.blogspot.com/2013/03/how-to-make-lithophanes.html

hugh wrote at 10/22/2013 2:07:53 AM:

This site lets you upload a photo and they print you a lithophane from it. The results look awesome. http://www.lithophane.me/

Donny wrote at 10/19/2013 4:51:48 PM:

Been doing this for 15 years on a home built cnc router and 2 years on a home built fff printer.

Darrell J wrote at 10/19/2013 3:32:09 AM:

Jon S, I was going to say the same thing--thanks for beating me to it! Saving some people the trouble, here is a link to some of the many examples of "lithopanes" created by folks from all over: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:74322/#made And here is Cymon's design to mount your lithopane to a nightlight for display: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:67241 I will admit that the examples from this article seem to be of higher resolution. I used to use a SCAD program to make these, but thingiverse is so much handier.

Jon S wrote at 10/18/2013 7:54:23 PM:

This is not unique. Thingiverse has had a customizable "lithopane" since early this year: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:74322



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