The case against a second color

Every design review has the same tempting suggestion: what if the hat were red. Sometimes it is right. Most of the time it is the fastest way to make a piece look cheaper.

What a second color costs

• A filament swap at a specific layer, which means a manual step in the middle of a print run.
• A visible seam exactly where the color changes, which the design then has to hide.
• A higher failure rate, because a print that pauses can fail at the pause.
• A price increase of a couple of dollars on a piece that may not support it.

When it is worth it

A second color earns its place when it carries meaning: a Santa hat, a uniform, a specific marking on an animal. It does not earn its place when it is just a mood. A grey duck with a navy hat is not more interesting than a grey duck — it is a grey duck with an extra step.

Color should be a decision the design made, not a decision we made for it.

When we do add color, we usually add it to the piece rather than the paint: a separate printed accessory that sits on the figurine, which avoids the seam problem entirely.