Mimaki’s Full-Colour 3D Printing Technology Powers New Wave of Post-Digital Art

Mimaki’s advanced full-colour 3D printing technology is enabling a new frontier of artistic expression, with post-digital artist humanoise (Taketo Kobayashi) leveraging the company’s innovations to push the physical and conceptual boundaries of contemporary art. A post-digital artist is an artist who blends digital technologies with traditional, physical and conceptual practices to create hybrid works that reflect a world where the digital and analogue are fully intertwined.

Following the success of his “DIGITAL G-O-D” exhibition debut in Amsterdam, humanoise credits Mimaki’s technology, particularly the 3DUJ-553 full-colour 3D printer and Pure Clear Ink, for helping him realise intricately detailed, hyper-vivid works that blend ancient Japanese aesthetics with digital-era experimentation. “Seeing the 3D data I’d only seen on-screen suddenly take a physical form was, and still is, an incredible feeling,” he says, reflecting on the moment 3D printing first became central to his practice.

Humanoise describes each 3D printer as having its own “quirks and strengths”, and says Mimaki’s full-colour capabilities have become a true partner in his creative process.
“When I create high-end art pieces, especially ones with complex textures or full colour, I use Mimaki’s full-colour 3D printers,” he explains. “The 3DUJ-553, used together with Mimaki’s Pure Clear Ink, is especially effective for creating the clear and transparent elements that define many of my works.” This combination has allowed him to achieve forms, structures and colour profiles that would be impossible with traditional sculpture or single-colour additive manufacturing.

Humanoise’s visual style blends influences from the Jomon period of Japan with contemporary subcultures such as manga and anime. Mimaki’s technology, he says, has opened up new expressive dimensions.
“Before I started using Mimaki’s full-colour 3D printer, my focus was more on the shape itself. But the full-colour technology opened a new door, allowing me to inject more psychedelic energy into my work.”

This shift has enabled the artist to fuse physical and spiritual themes through layers of intricate colour and transparent surfaces, hallmarks now associated with his signature aesthetic.
Global Audiences Engage with 3D-Printed Art

At the Amsterdam edition of DIGITAL G-O-D, many visitors encountered full-colour 3D printing for the first time. According to humanoise, “Most visitors had never encountered the kind of printing technology we showcased, especially full-colour 3D printing. My kaiju piece, with its transparent shell and detailed structure inside, drew a lot of attention;  some people even thought it was made from glass.”

Humanoise believes the future of 3D printing in the art world will be defined by how artists choose to interpret and apply the technology. “I use it as a kind of spiritual mechanism, a way to bring back ancient animism with cutting-edge technology,” he says, adding, “as I sculpted a textured base layer on canvas using modelling paste, then printed the AI-generated image on top using Mimaki’s JFX200 flatbed printer. The result [felt] like a hybrid, with digital aesthetics grounded on a handmade, physical foundation.”

He expects 3D printing to become increasingly prominent as interest in posthumanism, techno-animism, and neo-spirituality continues to grow.
Following Amsterdam, humanoise and his co-curator Chinny are exploring opportunities to bring DIGITAL G-O-D to major cities across Europe, collaborating with new artists and continuing to demonstrate how Mimaki’s technology enables works that merge digital imagination with physical craftsmanship. “We always say: if we can imagine it, we can make it happen,” humanoise notes.