Choosing your first 3D printer in 2026
26 October 2026
A 3D printer is a lot less fiddly than it was a few years ago. Most of today's printers level their own beds, tune themselves and print well out of the box, so choosing one is less about avoiding a bad printer and more about getting the right one for what you'll make. Here's how we'd think about it, for the things people make on Filamora Studios.
The three things that matter
1. How big a plate
Most of our templates are made for a 256 mm plate, the size of the Bambu Lab A1, P1S and P2S. A smaller printer, like the A1 mini's 180 mm plate, still prints nearly nine in ten of them: keyrings, clickers, tags, magnets and most gifts. It's the bigger organisers, lamps and signs that need the room. The designer tells you straight away if something won't fit your printer, and most things can be made a little smaller.
2. Colours
Many of our designs are two colours or more: a name in one colour on a base in another. You can print those on any printer by pausing at the right layer and swapping the filament by hand. A printer with a colour add-on (Bambu's AMS, Anycubic's ACE) does the swapping itself, which is what makes multi-colour prints easy. If you think you'll want colour, buy the "Combo" version with the add-on now: it costs less than adding it later.
3. Open or enclosed
Open printers print PLA and PETG perfectly well, and that's most of what anyone prints. An enclosed printer keeps the heat in for tougher plastics like ABS and ASA (for things that live outside or in a hot car), and keeps the noise and smell down. Nice to have, not a must for a first printer.
The ones we'd start with
- Mostly small gifts, on a budget: the Bambu Lab A1 mini. Small, easy, and the cheapest good way in.
- A bit of everything: the Bambu Lab A1, ideally the Combo for colour. A full-size plate that fits nearly all our templates.
- Enclosed, without the price: the Bambu Lab P1S. Still a favourite, and cheaper than the newer P2S.
- Printing a lot, or selling what you make: the Bambu Lab P2S. Faster, enclosed and built to run all day.
- Multi-colour for less: the Anycubic Kobra 4 Combo or Kobra X, both with four colours for less than most.
- Really big pieces: the Bambu Lab A2L, about twice the A1's plate, for cosplay pieces and big signs in one go.
Our 3D printers page has all of these side by side, with their sizes, rough prices and how many of our templates each one prints in one piece, and three quick questions under Help me choose if you'd like a nudge.
What else you'll need
- Filament. A 1 kg reel of PLA in a colour or two you like. Most printers come with a little to start.
- A pair of flush cutters for trimming, and a scraper for the odd stuck print.
- Somewhere to put it: a steady table, near a window if you can, away from bedrooms if it's an open printer that'll run overnight.
That's it. You don't need to learn 3D modelling: every design on Filamora Studios is made by changing a few settings and downloading a file that your printer's software opens.
Your first prints, free
Four free templates that make good first prints, and show off what your new printer can do:
- Flexi Keyring: a name that bends, printed in one piece.
- Christmas Clicker: a little character that clicks when you press its head.
- Gridfinity Bin: the start of a tidy drawer.
- Plant Markers: a name for every pot, printed as a batch.