Introduction
From the WaxJet 400 to the jewelry-focused WJ530, Flashforge has developed high-precision material jetting alongside coordinated equipment, material and software capabilities.
On October 10, 2026, Nanjixiong learned that Flashforge was extending that experience to full-color creation with the CJ270 desktop printer. Priced at RMB 34,999 in China, it targets creative studios, design teams, customization businesses and educators.
Lowering the investment barrier for full-color printing
Full-color material jetting has traditionally required substantial investment. Mimaki's 3DUJ-553 had a Japanese machine-only price excluding tax of ¥17.8 million in 2017. The publicly referenced starting price for the Stratasys J55 was approximately $99,000 in 2020. Representing inkjet and PolyJet approaches respectively, both required considerable expenditure, space and supporting budgets.
The CJ270 measures 697 × 410 × 405 mm and weighs 33.5 kg, allowing operation on an office desk or in a studio corner. Its combination of price and footprint gives desktop full-color printing a concrete implementation.
The technology behind true full-color 3D printing
UV describes how materials cure; it does not automatically mean 2.5D printing. Many products marketed as full-color systems print patterns on existing objects or build shallow reliefs. The CJ270 instead uses industrial MJP material jetting to construct complete three-dimensional models layer by layer from the ground up.
Its seven industrial inkjet heads deposit six base resins—CMYK, white and clear—plus water-soluble support material. After each layer is deposited, an industrial leveling roller compacts and flattens it to control thickness precisely, followed by UV curing and the next layer. Leveling helps maintain clear edges and reduce accumulated errors in taller models, supporting contour accuracy, detail, color registration and yield.
Two distinctions matter when comparing true full-color 3D printing with UV 2.5D: whether the model is built from scratch layer by layer, and whether color is generated together with the structure. The CJ270 does both, creating overhangs, complex surfaces and gradients in one print without subsequent hand-painting.
Over ten million colors and 7 μm layers
CMYK, white and clear materials support gradients, textures and transparent or translucent effects. Skin tones, clothing patterns and pet colors can be produced with the model, reducing manual color separation and painting. The machine is designed to convert digital color data into physical parts while preserving shades and gradients.
Minimum layer thickness is 7 μm, or 0.007 mm, supporting fine curves and small details. Its 180 × 120 × 100 mm build volume suits figurines, miniature scenes and appearance prototypes. Designers can realize form and color together, while studios can test new color schemes by modifying digital files, shortening prototyping and customer approval cycles.
Water-soluble supports and targeted printhead maintenance
Water-removable supports reduce the risk of damaging details during manual removal and help reach inaccessible areas.
Seven independent ink channels cover CMYK, white, clear and support material. Automatic white-ink agitation helps reduce pigment settling and blockage. Automatic printhead wiping and cleaning occur approximately every 2,000 movements. Heads can be replaced individually, limiting maintenance scope and cost. ColorPrint slicing software previews color and geometry and integrates color control, support optimization and layout management.
Applications beyond figurines
Creative studios can prototype original characters and artistic merchandise or produce small batches. Customization businesses can combine scanning or digital modeling with portrait and pet keepsakes. Design teams can create product and packaging appearance models to assess proportion, texture and color. Educators can use full-color anatomical, terrain and architectural models to explain complex structures.
Within Flashforge's range, the Creator 5 Pro and CJ270 serve different needs. The former uses four independent FDM toolheads for multicolor, multi-material and functional parts. The latter focuses on visual full color, gradients, textures and detailed appearance models.
At RMB 34,999, the CJ270 makes desktop material jetting available to more studios, enabling in-house model production, less outsourcing communication and reduced hand-painting. Readers can consult Flashforge's official channels for sample results and purchasing options.
References cited in the original
1. Mimaki Japan official brochure: 3DUJ-553 machine-only price of ¥17.8 million excluding tax, current as of November 2017.
2. Stratasys' GrabCAD: Estimated J55 starting price of approximately $99,000, July 14, 2020.
3. Flashforge CJ270 official product page: Material jetting principles, color capabilities, layer thickness and build dimensions.
AI-translated from an article by Xiaoruanxiong on Nanjixiong, originally published on 2026-10-10. Text and images retain the original source attribution.
Read the original Chinese article |
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