Two chemical engineering undergraduates from the University of Wisconsin-Madison have created a device that allows desktop 3D printers to print in colour. The Spectrom, as the system is named, works with fused deposition modelling machines by adding dye to plastic as it is laid down, allowing multiple colours to be used in a single print.

The Spectrom costs less than $100 (￡60) to produce and follows a year and a half of development by the inventors, who now have a patent pending for the device. Aiming to ensure that it is compatible with all 3D printers, the duo are looking at bringing more people on board, with a link-up with a larger company or a Kickstarter mooted as options to bring in funds.

"With 3D printing you have the ability to scan someone's face and build an exact face profile," says Cédric Kovacs-Johnson, one of the inventors. "You can then print off, using Spectrom, a nose that would match their skin exactly."

The invention was débuted at the University's annual Innovations Day, for which the students were awarded both the $10,000 (￡5,960) Schools Prize for Creativity and the $2,500 (￡1,490) Tong Prototype Prize.