Patent ID: 7555157

Claim:
A method for creating a transformed graphical image, the method comprising the steps of: providing a measurement article having a three-dimensional topography, said measurement article comprising a plurality of measurement points, wherein said plurality of measurement points collectively are suggestive of at least part of said topography of said measurement article; obtaining at least one electronic representation of said at least one of said plurality of measurement points with a digitizing apparatus, said digitizing apparatus comprising at least one sensor electronically interconnected with a computer memory, said digitizing apparatus adapted to relocate said at least one sensor, and said measurement article in relation to each other, wherein said electronic representation is obtained in a manner not involving contact between said at least one sensor and said measurement article; transforming, in said computer memory, at least one graphical image into at least one transformed graphical image using said topography of said measurement article; applying said at least one transformed graphical image onto a substrate; and producing a three-dimensional part from said substrate, wherein the an appearance of said at least one transformed graphical image on said substrate is altered such that said at least one transformed graphical image takes on an appearance that more closely resembles said graphical image, wherein said alteration only includes deformation of said substrate.