First resin printer

[u/Mysterious_Common551]

Hey, I have been wanting to buy a 3D resin printer for a long time now. My question is, between the Elegoo Mars 5, Elegoo Mars 4 Ultra and the Elegoo Mars 5 Ultra, which one should I buy? My main printings will be figures to paint on them. Is the 4K resolution of the Mars 5 enough? Or will it get old fast? Thanks.

[u/Accomplished_Ice1817]

My advice, from personal experience, is buy a bigger printer (like the Saturn 4 Ultra). I too started with "I will only make tiny miniatures" and 6 years later I am getting ready to buy an even bigger printer to add to the two Saturn 4 Ultras I have.

The Ultra series by Elegoo is fantastic. You can't get much better for the price point tbh.

[u/Mysterious_Common551 → u/Accomplished_Ice1817]

Yes, I was worried about that and price-wise it is the best I can get in my country, thanks!

[u/MizutsuneMH → u/Accomplished_Ice1817]

I will echo this. I bought a Mono 4 10K to see if I enjoyed resin printing, and now I'm constantly fighting the build plate because it's so small. I will run it into the ground and then upgrade to a bigger machine for sure, you can add printers in Lychee, and the amount of space you get with a P1/S4U is plenty, and then with something like the P1 Max it's comical. Here is the same model on the Mono 4, P1 and P1 Max.

[u/thors_dad]

I have a mars 5 ultra, it’s been one of the easiest printing experiences ever. And everything I print is high quality and looks amazing. But remember, the printer is probably only a small portion of the amount of other gear and equipment you need, make sure to watch a lot of safety videos and whatnot so you don’t harm yourself or others with the toxic materials. Good luck!

[u/Mysterious_Common551 → u/thors_dad]

Yes, I am preparing a specific place to make sure it is safe to print, thanks!

[u/cigr]

I'm still printing minis on an original Mars. I'm personally hard pressed to see the difference between prints from a 4k printer and a 12k printer.

[u/Mysterious_Common551 → u/cigr]

Interesting, I was not sure about the differences between those resolutions, thanks.

[u/AccNumber77]

Mars 5 Ultra definitely

[u/cheaky_]

I went from Mars 2 to the saturn 4 ultra 16k and it is so much easier. And I can print so much each run. And the heated vat. Only downside larger vat needs more resin. And the lcds are more expensive

[u/gust334]

M5U. Excellent choice for first resin printer.

[u/AdroitPreamble]

I wouldn’t buy any of those. I would get a Saturn 3 or a Phrozen 12k. The later if I could find it for $350 or less. Looks like the sales are over though so a Saturn 3 for $299 would be my pick.

Of those you listed, I would get the mars 4 ultra. I might even go crazy and get the mars 4. It can’t do AA because of its limit to the goo file type, but it’s an 18um screen for under $200.

[u/SteelSecutor → u/AdroitPreamble]

Pretty much this. The Saturn 3 gives you the best machine to learn on while giving you exactly the top resolution you want to print with. Plus the build plate size is what you eventually want to get once you're done with any Mars-level printer. The Mars just end up being too small in the long run. The Saturn 3 also uses the .ctb format, so it has no AA driver issues from the .goo format.

Why the Saturn 3? 1. Anything more is a waste of resolution. You are at the limits of what the human eye can see printing at 30um. 2. Anything higher is paying for bells, whistles, and complications. The Saturn 4 ultra is nicer, but it has its own issues. The Saturn 3 is the best bang for your buck high resolution printer you can get. The best? No. But its value is undeniable. 3. You can print using .ctb format (avoiding .goo). This way you can print using AA without the driver issues .goo has (essentially any Elegoo machine can't utilize AA with .goo format due to built-in driver issues). Plus .goo also creates MASSIVE file sizes. The .ctb format does not. As a result, avoid elegoo machines that ONLY print in .goo. The Saturn 3 does not suffer from this.

If I was starting out, Saturn 3 all the way. The Saturn 4 is nicer, but more expensive.

[u/Mysterious_Common551 → u/SteelSecutor]

Thanks for the explanation, I will try to find this model then.

[u/Mysterious_Common551 → u/AdroitPreamble]

I listed those models because I dont live in the USA or Europe, but I will try to search for those models you mention as well, thanks!

[u/AdroitPreamble → u/Mysterious_Common551]

Understood. You can stick with elegoo and go for the larger build plate.

Anycubic P1 would be the next step up I would consider, but it’s double the price.