Scattering-Aware Color Calibration for 3D Printers Using a Simple Calibration Target

We present a novel method for accurately calibrating the optical properties of full-color 3D printers using only a single, directly printable calibration target. Our approach is based on accurate multiple-scattering light transport and estimates the single-scattering albedo and extinction coefficient for each resin. These parameters are essential for both soft-proof rendering of 3D printouts and for advanced, scattering-aware 3D halftoning algorithms. In contrast to previous methods that rely on thin, precisely fabricated resin samples and labor-intensive manual processing, our technique achieves higher accuracy with significantly less effort. Our calibration target is specifically designed to enable algorithmic recovery of each resin's optical properties through a series of one-dimensional and two-dimensional numerical optimizations, applied first on the white and black resins, and then on any remaining resins. The method supports both RGB and spectral calibration, depending on whether a camera or spectrometer is used to capture the calibration target. It also scales linearly with the number of resins, making it well-suited for modern multi-material printers. We validate our approach extensively, first on synthetic and then on real resins across 242 color mixtures, printed thin translucent samples, printed surface textures, and fully textured 3D models with complex geometry, including an eye model and a figurine.