Buying your first 3D printer: what actually matters
Thinking of a printer for Christmas or yourself? A recent beginner guide boils the choice down to a few things that matter. Here is what to check, and when it is cheaper to have a part printed.
Printer sales are about to start, and a lot of first-time buyers will be tempted by whatever has the biggest discount. A beginner guide published in mid October 2026 makes a simple point: the best first printer is one that works on the first evening and keeps working.
Here is how that advice plays out for a household buyer in Australia.
1. Pick ease over speed
The guide says to look for a printer that levels and calibrates itself, arrives mostly assembled and has a large community around it. Automatic bed levelling matters because most beginner trouble starts with the first layer. If the first layer is wrong, nothing else goes right.
Check each printer's product page for self-levelling. Do not assume a cheap machine has it.
2. Decide where it will live
You do not need an enclosure for PLA or PETG, which are the filaments most people print at home. An enclosure does help with ABS and ASA. It also keeps hot parts away from kids and pets and cuts noise, but it adds to the price.
The guide's view is that in a living room, the enclosure is worth paying for. If the printer is going in a garage or spare room, you can probably save the money. Our home printing safety checklist covers where to put it and how to ventilate.
3. Let multi-colour wait
Multi-colour units swap filament automatically during a print. They are fun, but they add cost and waste some filament on each colour change. The guide notes that many printers can add a multi-colour unit later, so a single-colour machine is not a dead end.
One example is a budget four-colour printer that launched in January 2026 at US$449. Its plain version is sold as "multicolour upgrade ready", with the colour module sold separately, according to the maker's US store. Those are US prices, so expect a different figure in Australia once currency and shipping are in.
4. Budget for more than the printer
The sticker price is only the start. The guide suggests planning for:
- filament
- a spare nozzle
- eventually a second build plate
Nozzles and plates wear out, so check that spares are sold where you live. A printer with a great price but no local parts is a poor buy.
5. Look at how open it is
Some brands restrict firmware, local control or third-party accessories more than others. The guide rates one popular brand as "mostly closed" and several others as "mostly open". Neither is automatically better for a beginner. A closed system can be simpler, while an open one gives you more freedom to tinker and repair. Just know which you are buying.
A quick checklist before you click buy
- Does it level its own bed?
- Is it mostly assembled out of the box?
- Do you need an enclosure for where it will sit?
- Can you add multi-colour later if you want it?
- Are nozzles and build plates available locally?
- Is there a big community with fixes and guides online?
Sales season warning
Discounts can make a printer look like a bargain, but a deal on the wrong machine is still the wrong machine. Our Black Friday guide explains how to check a sale price properly. Compare the final landed price in AUD, including shipping and any spare parts you will need.
Do you need a printer at all?
Honestly, maybe not. If you want one replacement knob, a cosplay prop or a Christmas gift, buying a printer, filament and spares is a lot of outlay for a single job. It also comes with a learning curve.
That is where Gyroid can help. Send us your design or describe what you need and we will print the part for you, so you can skip the setup and get on with the project. If you later decide a printer is for you, you will know exactly what you want to make with it.
Prices mentioned above come from the cited sources and are not Australian dollar prices. Check current local listings before you buy.