The first day of Black Friday deals is still a ways away, but there are some significant 3D printer deals happening early this year. It’s a great time to buy, whether you’ve been eyeing one and never taken the plunge or if you’re thinking of upgrading. 3D printing has really boomed in the last few years, and while it used to be a very niche hobby with a steep learning curve, a lot of modern 3D printers are easy to use and are essentially plug-and-play. You can check out our guide on “What is a 3D printer,” and for those who already know, then take a look at the early Black Friday 3D printers we’ve collected below, which include some of the best 3D printers on the market.
Phrozen Sonic Mighty 4K Resin Printer — $290 $500 42% off
It’s pretty rare to find a larger-sized resin printer, so this $210 discount on the Phrozen Sonic Mighty is a steal of a deal. It comes with a 4K Mono LCD Screen and has a 7.9 x 4.9 x 8.7-inch build volume, so you can do some relatively larger builds if you’d like.
AnkerMake M5 Speedy FDM Printer — $350 $700 50% off
Another great budget option is the M5 FDM printer from AnkerMake, which has a larger 9.25 x 9.25 x 9.84-inch print volume and is pretty impressive for this price range, and it’s even a whopping 50% off. It also has a few other great features, like auto-leveling and a camera that can auto-detect errors in the print and notify you.
FLASHFORGE Adventurer 5M FDM Printer — $379 $479 21% off
While the Adventurer 5M might have a smaller build size of 8.66 x 8.66 x 8.66 inches, it is enclosed, which means that the outside air, in the form of wind and humidity, won’t affect the build, giving you better and more consistent results. It also has a maximum travel speed of 600mm/s, support for the Flash maker App, and comes with a 21% discount.
Creality K1 FDM Printer — $400 $500 20% off
Another great enclosed option is the Creality K1, which has a similar print volume of 8.66 x 8.66 x 9.84 inches and is a great alternative if you want a slightly more polished experience. It has a nice 20% discount and features a 600mm/s print speed, automatic bed leveling, and a 4.3 color touch screen.
Phrozen Sonic Mighty 8K LCD Resin Printer — $540 $650 17% off
This Phrozen Sonic Mighty 8K printer is made for much more substantial builds, as it has a massive 21.8 x 12.3 x 23.5 build volume, so it’s great for those who have felt hampered by the smaller printer. It has an 8K Mono LCD screen, Wi-Fi connectivity, a 28 µm speed, and a solid $110 discount.
How to Choose a 3D Printer on Black Friday
When it comes to 3D printers, you generally have two options you can pick: An FDM printer or a resin printer. FDM printers tend to be the most common and easiest printers and work by pushing a filament made of various materials through a very hot extruder, with the shape printed out using various moving parts. In fact, a lot of modern FDM printers are plug-and-play and have things like auto-leveling and other features that make them really easy to use. The downside is that cheaper 3D printers don’t make very detailed prints, and even then, you’ll likely have to sand the external surfaces to give it a smooth finish.
On the other hand, resin printers are a bit more complicated because the resin itself is somewhat toxic, and you can slowly build an allergy to it over time. That’s why you’ll need to be wearing gloves, a mask, and eye protection whenever you interact with the resin or the printer, and you might have to have some form of fumigation. But the big upshot is that resin prints tend to have much finer detail and don’t need much processing after the fact, and they turn out very smooth overall.
If you’d like to know more, check out our guides on “What is 3D printing?” and “How do 3D printers work?”
How We Chose These 3D Printer Black Friday Deals
Luckily, there are a lot of great options for 3D printers out there, and while it can be a bit difficult to find a good deal if you don’t have a lot of experience with printers, we’ve done our homework. As reviewers and deal hunters, it’s our job to find not only the cheapest deals but also the best deals on 3D printers that are worth buying. As such, any deal on this list will give you the best bang for your buck, and some of them may have additional discounts for those who have Amazon Prime or My Best Buy Plus.