Choosing Your First 3D Printer
Finding the right 3D printer means matching capabilities to your actual needs. Not the prints you imagine making someday, but the ones you'll make in your first six months.
Entry Level: Around £150-200
The Creality Ender 3 V3 SE (around £170) dominates this range for good reason. Auto bed levelling, sprite extruder, and a massive community mean you'll find solutions to any problem within minutes.
At this price, expect some assembly and calibration. That's not a downside. You'll learn how your printer works, which matters when things go wrong (and they will).
Mid-Range: Around £200-400
This is where quality jumps significantly. The Bambu Lab A1 Mini (around £200) offers exceptional out-of-box experience with auto-calibration that removes most beginner frustrations.
The Creality Ender 3 V3 KE (around £250) brings CoreXY speed to the budget segment. Print times drop dramatically.
What Actually Matters
Print quality differences between £200 and £600 machines are smaller than you'd expect. The real variables are your patience for calibration and tolerance for occasional failures. Cheaper printers teach you more. Expensive ones frustrate you less.
Complete guide to all price points Read Full Printer Comparison
Your First 3D Printer: What to Expect
Your first 3D printer will teach you more than any guide can. The question is whether you want a gentle introduction or a crash course.
The Learning Reality
Expect your first week to involve failed prints, calibration frustration, and YouTube tutorials at midnight. This is normal. Every maker went through it. By week three, you'll wonder what the fuss was about.
Our Top Beginner Pick: Creality Ender 3 V3 SE
Around £170, this printer dominates beginner recommendations for good reason. Auto bed levelling removes the biggest beginner frustration. Most importantly, millions of people own Ender 3 variants, so every problem has a documented solution.
What Your First Month Looks Like
Week 1: Assembly, first successful print, first failed print, learning bed levelling
Week 2: Experimenting with settings, printing things from Thingiverse
Week 3: Understanding why prints fail, starting to dial in quality
Week 4: Making prints you're actually proud of
Materials to Start
PLA only. It prints at low temperatures, doesn't warp, doesn't smell much, and forgives mistakes. The fancy materials can wait.
Everything you need to know to start Read Full Beginner Guide
Resin vs FDM Printing
Resin printing delivers detail that FDM can't touch. If you're printing miniatures, jewellery, or intricate models, nothing else comes close. But it's not for everyone.
How MSLA Works
Masked stereolithography uses UV light to cure liquid resin layer by layer. The result: incredibly fine detail down to 0.01mm layer heights, versus 0.1mm typical for FDM.
Our Top Pick: Elegoo Mars 4 (around £200)
The Mars series dominates the budget resin market. The Mars 4 offers excellent detail, reasonable build volume, and a huge community for troubleshooting.
The Reality Check
Resin printing is messier, smellier, and requires more post-processing than FDM. Every print needs:
1. Draining excess resin
2. Washing in IPA or water
3. UV curing to fully harden
4. Support removal and cleanup
You need a dedicated workspace with ventilation. Not suitable for bedrooms or living areas. The smell is noticeable.
When Resin Makes Sense
Choose resin if you're printing miniatures, jewelry, dental models, or anything requiring fine detail. Choose FDM for functional parts, large objects, or if you want simpler maintenance.
Complete resin printing comparison Read Full Resin Guide