


Resin printers can produce far more accurate, higher resolution prints, with easy to remove supports making them ideal for small, high detailed printed items. There are plenty of things I wouldn’t print in resin due to size and cost of printing, such as 28mm tanks and terrain pieces, while there are other things that I wouldn’t dream of printing on FDM where resin is far better suited such as figures (I realize that people do print miniatures on FDM, but for the average person it’s really not worth the effort compared to the outcome) and gaming pieces at smaller scale (such as those suitable for games like Epic 40,000, Flames of War, Team Yankee, Cruel Seas or Micro Armor). Often people will ask whether they should get a FDM printer or resin printer, in my view you should aim for both, starting with a cheaper FDM printer. It’s cheaper, safer, cleaner and in my view easier for the uninitiated, there is also a lot of information out there to get people started. Most people will start with FDM printing, and I’d definitely recommend starting that way. The post will assume that you have the same or a similar printer, and some software will be specific to the Photon (which is currently the most popular entry level resin printer) though generally the concepts will apply to other similar printers.

This post will cover what I’ve learned through failed and successful prints, while trying to achieve the holy grail of prints that work every time (60% of the time). I’ve recently taken the plunge into 3D printing with DLP resin using an Anycubic Photon. This is through trial and error, and spending way too much time on Facebook groups, reddit and every blog I can read. I’m terrible at printing, I can’t level a bed to save myself, I need a raft whenever I print in FDM, yet I still manage to get decent prints. As an Amazon Associate will earn from qualifying purchases.
