<p>I've made a few 3D prints at school on what I assume are very low-end 3D printers, but they seem cheap, flimsy, and pretty ugly.  How much better quality can I expect from professional-level 3D printers (those commonly used by online printing services)?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-12T20:33:50.370Z
This depends too strongly on the technology, as they can be either much stronger (nylon) or much flimsier (sandstone/zcorp). "Cheap" and "ugly" are too subjective, and we don't know what printers your school uses. If they're really that cheap, flimsy and ugly perhaps the people at your school don't know what they're doing?
Tom van der Zanden
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-12T20:38:29.273Z
Also, cost isn't correlated with quality. We replaced a $2000 printer that was a horrid mess with DIY ~$500 prints (kit, but the manufacturer "donated" to us assembly labor as we are a school). Print quality was far better after, without a huge timeframe between the old and new printers.
nanofarad
<quality><resolution>
Home vs. Professional Print Quality
James
# Home vs. Professional Print Quality

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-01-12)

I've made a few 3D prints at school on what I assume are very low-end 3D printers, but they seem cheap, flimsy, and pretty ugly. How much better quality can I expect from professional-level 3D printers (those commonly used by online printing services)?

**Tags:** quality, resolution

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: This depends too strongly on the technology, as they can be either much stronger (nylon) or much flimsier (sandstone/zcorp). "Cheap" and "ugly" are too subjective, and we don't know what printers your school uses. If they're really that cheap, flimsy and ugly perhaps the people at your school don't know what they're doing?  
> **username_2**: Also, cost isn't correlated with quality. We replaced a $2000 printer that was a horrid mess with DIY ~$500 prints (kit, but the manufacturer "donated" to us assembly labor as we are a school). Print quality was far better after, without a huge timeframe between the old and new printers.  

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## 0 answers

