Photo from Collegiate Inventors Competition website

The University of Wisconsin announced Thursday that a team of undergraduate students won the Collegiate Inventors Competition last week in Alexandria, Va., for its full-color 3-D printer called Spectrom.

Founded by Cedric Kovacs-Johnson, Charles Haider and Taylor Fahey, Spectrom is the first device that enables Fused Deposition Modeling, or additive 3D printers, to print in full, variable color, according to the entry description. The technology leverages the precise application and rapid changing of proprietary dyes to create crisp, multi-colored objects.

“The first place prize was an amazing affirmation of the technology we’ve poured our hearts into over the last few months,” Kovacs-Johnson said in a statement. “Explaining our idea to (the judges), having our project validated by them, was one of the most memorable experiences I believe I’ll ever have.”

According to a release, the team won $12,500, which will be shared with the team’s advisor’s mechanical engineering lab.

Spectrom also was a finalist in this year’s Governor’s Business Plan Contest.