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Casio's '2.5D' printer can mimic leather and fabric
It's safe to say that we're all familiar with the term "3D printing" by now, but "2.5D printing?" As silly as it sounds, this may be a game changer for all the industrial designers out there. At CEATEC, Casio demoed this Mofrel printing technology that adds a range of textures to ordinary-looking sheets, before giving them the final touch with a 16-million-color inkjet. The printed samples looked and felt surprisingly convincing with a great level of detail -- down to the uneven surfaces and puffiness of leather, the subtle bumps on stitches and even the coarseness of embroidered fabrics (especially for kimono designs). Hard materials like wood, stone, brick and ceramic can also be mimicked, though some of these may require additional coating for hardness or shininess.
