VisiPrint: Previewing 3D-Print Appearance from Real Material Samples

We present VisiPrint, a tool for appearance-first previews of 3D-printed objects. Existing print preview slicers focus on toolpaths, not appearance, while pure rendering software is complex and cannot automatically reproduce slicing patterns. Prior work highlights persistent gaps between digital previews and printed results, such as color shifts, gloss/translucency changes, and layer-line highlights, motivating the creation of VisiPrint, an appearance-focused support tool. The VisiPrint algorithm combines slicer screenshots with filament photos via a custom diffusion-based synthesis pipeline. We present both a standalone user interface for VisiPrint compatible with any slicer and an Ultimaker Cura Plugin. We evaluate VisiPrint through a user study showing it is significantly faster, easier to use, and more faithful than alternatives: within a time-limit, participants completed 100% of preview tasks with VisiPrint, versus 63% with Cura and 13% with Blender. VisiPrint narrows the gap between design intent and printed appearance, complementing settings-centric tools with appearance-driven decision support.