It is worth understanding the differences between the processes for rendering and for printing.
Both processes start with a mesh, created in a 3D application. The mesh could be simple extrusion or include complicated sculpting. Generally we try to keep the mesh as simple as it needs to be, as the more complex the model the greater the draw on your computing power.
The next step is unwrapping which is the digital equivalent of unfolding the surfaces onto a flat 2D surface.
Then we create materials on those surfaces, which is where the Substance applications come in. This process creates a set of maps for different properties of the material e.g. colour, metalness, roughness, height and normal. Remember those last two they are important. Height describes how each point on the surface moves away from or into the surface, normal describes movement in 3 planes.
The final stage is rendering in which the application uses a shader to calculate how the material looks when it interacts with the light in a scene. Remember those two maps - height and normal, they are used by the shader to simulate points in the material moving in relation to that surface. The important word is simulate. That allows us to add a lot of apparent surface detail without actually complicating the model with additional vertices.
For 3D printing though, real surface detail is required, as opposed to simulated detail, and the model has to be made more complex by subdividing the mesh in order that it has enough points (vertices) so that the height information can actually displace the surface. There is of course a pay off in terms of complexity and computing power, and the detail added to the mesh has to be at a level that can be handled by your software and printed on your 3D printer.
In summary, design with your end goal in mind, understand the limitations in your particular printing software and hardware, and you will have success.
Dave
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