Trying to UNDERSTAND PRUSA PRINTERS - Prusa MK4S Review

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00:00 - Intro

[@Sembazuru]

17:26 A long standing joke in the Prusa community is you buy very expensive Haribo gummy bears from Prusa and get a free printer in the deal.

[@mark6302]

haribo gummies are the best in the world :0

[@Nemshire]

​@@mark6302 false

[@FauxHammer]

Ffs, that was gonna be my end joke too but I took it out so it didn’t cover the members scroll

[@mark6302]

@@Nemshire what's better then I must know :0

[@FauxHammer]

@@mark6302 I'm a Starmix guy myself. Specifically the Eggs! I know that's a more divisive topic than whether Prusa printers are overpriced. But yeah. I have the balls to say it. I like the Haribo Starmix Eggs!

[@whoees3953]

"It is an investment" They got him boys.

[@elexis]

As an Australian, I feel vindicated at just how often shipping costs are called out for once🤣🤣

[@lachlancooke]

Then gets a shady email from DHL asking for $250 when it arrives in the country

[@Neomaster67]

It's not just shipping that costs. Everything has an inflated price, even if you take into account the exchange rate. I think it's extortion.

[@mrsleep0000]

The VAT adds 20% on top of everything, made me stop buying products from Europe.

[@TomasPruzina-uw9ql]

​@@mrsleep0000core one costs 10% more in czech republic than in the US. And if you order now, you get it no sooner than in 3 months.

[@UncleJessy]

I bought my MK4 and it was my first MK series Prusa printer and it's still to this day one of the best printers I own and regularly use. Definitely not the fastest or fanciest but works amazing for what it is. Now.... where the heck is my MK4S upgrade kit that I ordered over 2 months ago!

[@FauxHammer]

I can completely see its reliability and quality and yep. Here’s another example of a user echoing its longevity! But I personally couldn’t justify the cost of it to myself, (and I’ll repeat for the people reading this reply “TO MYSELF”) but as I’ve said many times. I’m someone who likes a wider variety of modern simple-tech features to play with on a machine, and ease of use above all. I honestly think I’d have a better opinion of this if the MMU was a better design or if the printer had an official camera add-on (simple things) I like my bolt-ons rather than my make-dos. But I appreciate there is an audience out there for the latter.

[@EJTechandDIY]

Don't show this comment to Elegoo lol

[@robsonribeiro7552]

@@EJTechandDIY lol

[@EsoRimmer]

I would feel bad now when they have just announced the Core One. 😅 Was thinking about switching from MK2 to MK4s, but now I'll just wait for some reviews of the Core One and hopefully I'll decide I don't really need a new printer since even the MK2 I use just occasionally and non-commercially, so it definitely doesn't pay back, ever.

[@FauxHammer]

@ yeah! I’ll be honest, that’s impressed me greatly! I’ll 100% be getting that upgrade Kit!!!

[@adicsbtw]

When it comes to the slicer, many other companies in fact _base_ their slicer off of Prusa Slicer I don't even have a Prusa, and I still use Prusa Slicer, it's just a really solid slicer

[@Wang_Thunder]

Prusaslicer isn't original software either. They forked superslicer.

[@adicsbtw]

@@Wang_Thunder I'm aware. Prusa is heavily modified, and makes significant improvements to the slicer its based on

[@rockman1942]

Orca is better for me, even I have prusa

[@HackMonkey]

@@Wang_Thunder SuperSlicer forked off Prusa Slicer in 2018. PrusaSlicer forked off Slic3r in 2016, right about the time the final release of Slic3r was published, which was v 1.3.0, and why the first release of Slic3r Prusa Edition was 1.31.2. The beauty of open source is this whole history is public on Github. Except the part where Bambu tried to copy PrusaSlicer without publishing their initial work, and had to be called out in it.

[@Sembazuru]

@@Wang_Thunder Close... PrusaSlicer is a fork of Slic3r. Early versions of what is now PrusaSlicer were actually called Slic3rPE (Prusa Edition). They fully switched to the PrusaSlicer name once they had converted the source code from the original programming language (Perl) to the current one (C++). SuperSlicer is a fork of PrusaSlicer by supermerill. While SuperSlicer has a bunch of novel features (some of which have made it back into PrusaSlicer), it tends to lag behind the PrusaSlicer feature set. Prusa still credits the original Slic3r in the PrusaSlicer manual.

[@georgesomething]

Like a broken record I'm gonna say this on another video, but the main reason why Prusas are expensive compared to competition is them being manufactured in EU. They have cut costs on the printers by printing parts, using standard hardware, etc., but they still are subject to both self-imposed and required by EU law limitations, like being eco friendly, having to provide fair wages and working conditions in a country that has higher average living costs than in, say, China, and so forth. To use Bambu as example as it is now the main competitor to Prusa, Bambu being a Chinese company gets a bazillion tax exemptions when trading with other countries, has cheaper labour, cheaper manufacturing process, has cheaper access to raw materials and so on that lets them make high quality printers at much more agreeable prices. So at the end of the day I'd say the true reason to buy a Prusa printer right now is because you believe in the principles they have set forth like trying to boost home economy by manufacturing in EU and doing so with fair working conditions, or their eco goals or their open source and repairability commitment or their printer upgrade paths and you do get a really damn good printer with all that. But if it is performance per dollar that you are looking for, honestly, Prusa is not it. Bambu printers really are damn good and they offer more for same price, and when you need tens of printers for a business, the purchase cost and what you get out of it is an important consideration.

[@gcm3d]

Sadly it's not really manufactured in Europe, just assembled. It's the labor cost that is high, not the parts. They stated that their electronics are made by Delta Electronics, and that is from Taiwan, with Chinese parts since they manufacture in China. Their rods, bearings and fans are Chinese. Their motors are Chinese (LDO). If you buy motors from Prusa's website, it's twice as expensive. If you buy the wifi module, it's three times more than AliExpress and so on. You're paying for EU salaries but also for the brand. In comparison RatRig is also European but not as expensive as Prusa for what you get.

[@robblincoln2152]

And soon to be manufactured in the US of A.

[@Twm532]

The majority of it is made in Asia. Prusa inflates the percentage of parts they claim are produced in Europe by including the 3D printed parts

[@georgesomething]

@@Twm532 It's true that they don't make everything in EU, but the 3D printed parts are not an "inflation". It is part of the printer and it is manufactured in EU. Anyway, even if all of the raw parts are not made in EU, they are still at the very least assembled in EU. Still, doesn't really matter if the raw materials are not made in EU, they still can't compete with the tax exemptions and government subsidies for tech companies. No western based company can. Look anywhere in tech industry and Chinese tech companies are undercutting western ones in price to performance. Sure, some of these cases really are coming from western companies getting complacent and suffering for it. But in majority of cases it is simply because larger geopolitics related economical interference (from both west and east) are getting in the way of fair market.

[@Twm532]

​@@georgesomething Prusa is literally taking advantage of those unethical practices by sourcing most of their parts from china though? Bit hypocritical to claim they have some moral high ground when they're benefiting from it.

[@phasesecuritytechnology6573]

"... Plus shipping." Truer words have never been said.

[@DreitTheDarkDragon]

It was so weird hearing about shipping and overseas support for me, since I live in same country as Prusa. Like wait, overseas is other way! :D

[@irritatedlibrarian9057]

I'm a librarian and we just got in this printer. It's my responsibility to learn it and take care of it. After only a few days i love it! It may be my first 3D printer but that's irrelevant!

[@Erik0man]

I think one of the biggest reasons as to why they print their own parts is to show that it is possible, and if something breaks there is a chance you can just print the part yourself.

[@arquit3d]

Lol, you better print your spares while it works 😅 I know what you mean, I've been there before as well. Printing a broken piece with a semi-functional printer, hoping it turns out well enough for you to replace the broken one, so you can print the good one. Then, print a set of all parts that can break. Nice memories!

[@antonmymrikov5338]

What's the point of a dozen printed body components that can be ordered or printed from the nearest 3D studio if the most critical are the electronic components and motors. If your xBuddy or LoveBoard breaks, you have no alternative. Even a trivial breakdown of a thermistor or heating element nullifies the whole idea of printed components.

[@Queracus]

and you save 20e on a part that probably wont ever break. buy printer is 600e over price for that xD good math

[@AndoShy]

It is also for internal R&D. By printing their own parts on their own machines they have millions of hours of performance data on their printers. This is partly why Prusa printers are so reliable. It also helps them develop some of the more advanced software features and printer performance profiles.

[@Queracus]

@@AndoShy having owned prusas, and now also other printers much newer to th market - i have to say i tought prisa was reliable, untill i tried something better. and its interesting how someone wih less preformance data, can produce beter printers, for same price range with tons more features. Like even MMU is in their price and it comes to same total as only base prusa.

[@jabug_1144]

We got one of these mk4s’s at work recently, and my boss had me set it up with the mmu3 and enclosure. It was such a cool experience that I splurged on one myself (just the mk4s kit) without knowing a darn thing about the 3D printer market. Watching videos like this, I’ve come to find out it’s expensive relative to the rest of the field, but honestly I’m ok with it. I’m excited to get my hands on the thing when it comes in.

[@HairyTheCandyMan]

I have an i3 MK3S and building it was really fun! I think they're still relevant -even my 4 year old machine.

[@dotEXCEI_]

The video came just prior to the announcement if the Prusa Core One. There will be conversion kits from MK4S to Core One

[@fredp1665]

I'm looking at that too can't wait for it.

[@KennethScharf]

I've owned an Ender 3 for about two years now. I had considered buying a Prusa MK3/4 at the time, but the Ender came in at about 1/3 the price. I recently bought a second Ender 3 as a basket case, and have converted that to a Voron Switchwire. The total cost of that (spent over about a year) would have bought a Prusa MK4S kit. (I didn't see that coming when I started the project). I've been thinking about a Voron Trident kit, but now that Prusa has announced the Core One, it's likely I will be one of the first kit buyers when it becomes available. Yes, I think the Core One will be price competitive with a Voron Trident kit.

[@arthurmoore9488]

@@KennethScharf Very different market though. Prusa seems to be the high quality just works printer. Perfect for a business or someone who just wants a quality product. In that case the analogy would be between a cheap inkjet printer and a good laser printer. The only downside being the noted issue with the menus and slicer assuming technical proficiency. Yet, from a business standpoint, training for a high end product is expected.

[@KennethScharf]

@@arthurmoore9488 I'm familiar with the Marlin firmware based printer workflow (Prusa uses their own custom Marlin based firmware) and Prusa Slicer having built RepRaps with Marlin and Sl3cr, so that wouldn't be a problem. I'm now having to learn how to use Klipper.

[@stratos7755]

It is not worth it imo. You can either buy the upgrade kit and built the Core One from MK4S, or you can buy P1P and have 2 amazing printers...

[@davedempsey5282]

I think with Prusa if they don't innovate soon things will fall off. High quality, but being held back by the base design. Bambu has broken the Prusa/Creality lock on tiny incremental progress and moved the ball so far forward it can hardly be seen. Creality is now chasing Bambu along with all the also ran manufacturers. Prusa continues along as they were, but with all the corexy machines out there their market will go away. Shop Nation did a test and then explained why he was switching from Prusa to Bambu on his new machines. 3x the output with high quality and similar durability. But I also agree that Prusa is the standard bearer for quality. Ask IBM how that works out, they managed to lose a market they created to a bunch of cheap copycats, and held their ground over the value of quality just like Prusa does. That didn't end well at all.

[@windforward9810]

I’ve had not had a Prusa but for most users easy of use should be their goal than also have access to the higher end settings that can push to print to the next. Being open source in the end will kill this company on their competitiveness because of the easy that that can copy it.

[@MattHealey.]

Get the impression they’re trying to live on their reputation

[@AdventurePrinting]

Absolutely spot on.

[@rsilvers129]

That was two years ago. It is too late at this point.

[@boomerguy3368]

I've heard the "Prusa must innovate" argument in comparison to Bambu a lot. Bambu did not just spring up from nowhere the x1 series is basically a prepackaged and assembled voron with some (neat) software features. That's not to say Bambu didn't do some cool stuff like the lidar and most importantly the ams. But to say "Bambu changed the game" in a vacuum ignores the years of work from people like prusa, who made their slicer, and voron, who made their motion system (just like Rep Rap made the I3 motion system). Credit where credit is due bambus are fast and smart and the ams made multi color 3d prints available to everyone. Core xy printers are hands down the way to go. They're faster and have a smaller footprint. I'll agree that the I3 design is a little long in the tooth but prusa is still innovative. The nextruder on the mk4 and the xl and the 0.8deg stepper motors is a huge reason the prints look so good. The nextruder is a single gear extruder the reason being that a single gear eliminates play from two gears and delivers higher quality prints and the way they set it up means they don't need a bigger motor to drive the single gear. The XL being a toolchanger is already innovative enough I think E3D was the only other company to ever do it (not counting all the one off hobbyist printers that probably did it 20 years ago) and they are no longer selling that printer. Not to mention the XL's multi section bed. The MMU3 is in my opinion superior to the AMS it's faster and has less waste but has a ginormous footprint. And prusa brought input shaping to marlin firmware.

[@damot73]

There seem to be a lot of comments disappointed with Prusa here. I started with Prusa and then moved to Bambu. Let me tell you when the X1c is running its great but 2 years down the line i'm having to fit a new bed at less then 800 hrs print time. Bambu support is useless, you wont get answers and it takes them approx 2 days to reply. You wont find this out from you tubers as many of them have non disclosure agreements. Is the little Prusa still churning out good prints - yes, Does it produce strong prints - yes! has it broken - no! Do they have good customer service - yes! Do they pay their workers well - Yes! Do they do anything for the community - Yes! I cannot say the same for Bambu. Is the printer fast - yes! Only when if it's working though! All in all just do your research before you buy into any system and remember quality is remembered long after price is forgotten!

[@jeebus2118]

This comment is largely bullshit

[@BeefIngot]

@@damot73 This is a weird anecdote given the amount of spares they sell on their website. The other thing is, you act like Prusas don't break, and they absolutely do. Printfarms report similar uptime between both brands with Bambu coming ahead slightly too, so this is a case of "my one anecdote is what other should base their purchasing decisions on".

[@slowcyclist4324]

With the cost of ONE prusa combo unit, I can toss and throw away THREE a1+ combo unit when they do eventually spoil. Reliability is great, but not when it is more expensive than just throwing and buying a new cheaper product that is 90% of its performance. And no, I don’t have the time to spend fiddling to get it to work, nor do I care to. I’m a user looking for an appliance.

[@BeefIngot]

This is a weird anecdote given the amount of spares they sell on their website. The other thing is, this is said like Prusas don't break, and they absolutely do. Printfarms report similar uptime between both brands with Bambu coming ahead slightly too, so this is a case of "one anecdote is what other should base their purchasing decisions on".

[@akakakakakak3084]

It's a paradox that everyone wants very good products and very good customer services. If a product is very good without any problem, why needs good customer service？

[@InKevITrust]

Good use of the Bane quote!

[@FauxHammer]

it was almost the title of the video, but it was far too long. I'm proud of that line!

[@dextro3481]

I just moved from a prusa mk3 to the bambu lab a1 and man - that thing is something else. It’s almost a third of the price of the prusa but it feels like 10 years ahead. So easy and intelligent… I’m stunned

[@FauxHammer]

I can completely understand that. And it’s exactly the call I’d make too!

[@dnlzy]

​@@FauxHammer You started off well, but I think you ended up trying to please everyone just a bit too much for my taste. Truth be told, the A1 is superior in almost every measurable way, including build quality and looks (which are subjective, of course, but I doubt many would prefer the look of the Prusa) - all for around ONE QUARTER OF THE PRICE. I repeat: at the moment, you can get almost four A1s (not minis!) for the price of one MK4S, which is worse. That’s just insanity.

[@FauxHammer]

@@dnlzyummm. Respectfully. You’re saying the same things I said in the video…

[@jayreed289]

@@FauxHammer Bambu Fan boys 😂

[@FauxHammer]

@@jayreed289Sorry. But objectively, you must see that it’s a better deal for easier to use more feature rich machines. And more people will take ease of use over incremental difference in FDM print quality…

[@Zekealot]

The commitment to the shipping bit had me giggling each time and i LOLed loud enough to scare my cat at the bane bit

[@S.A.S.H.]

Superb review. Quite likely your best one.

[@FauxHammer]

Thanks man, I have been so nervous about this all day, but with the feedback coming in from both sides supporting these views. I am pretty made up right now and so proud of this work.!

[@emilcost8613]

Very open minded and fair review. That's why I love his channel.

[@fredp1665]

Just made my purchase, can't wait for it to arrive.

[@VonDiten]

I bought my first 3d printer, a Prusa MK2.5S, that I assembled myself, less than six months later, the MK3 went on sale with a discount for MK2.5 recent owners, so I took it, and I sold my 2.5S to a friend. My MK3 was also a KIT printer. witch was upgraded later to a MK3S+. A wonderful experience. At that time, my son had about 8 or 9 years old, some time later, Prusa started to sell also the Mini, I wasn't fully sure, several reviews later, I bought it, they send me the Mini+. Also in kit form. My kid (less than 10 years old) assembled probably 95% of that printer. And the printer worked exceptionally since its first print. Later I taught him how to unclog it, and even maintain the extruder. I love Prusa brand for the experience. And at that time, the price (for me) was about right. Right now, I already had those experiences (so my kid), I'm considering the next steps, I would like probably an enclosed printer, with possibility to print more exotic materials. I'm not printing for money, so I wouldn't make 10.000 hours on it, a Bambu Labs, or the Qidi Plus4 are looking right for me, for even less than the Prusa kit, and already enclosed. So, I still love Prusa brand, they do really great products with the best quality, but, at this time, I think others brands are offering me what I'm looking for. PS: I already sold all our Prusa Printers, and as long as I know, all of them are printing quite right, so no Prusa printer was left behind.

[@AlexGGtau]

As someone that has owned a Prusa Mini+ and a Prusa MK3S+, both with E3D Revo Hotends, they have been hands down my best printers I've touched. Print quality wise. They however are not fast at printing at all. I purchased an Elegoo Neptune 4 pro, and it prints fast. It is cheap, yes, but I have to do maintenance and recalibrate it every few prints when I print high speed prints(unclog the nozzle, tighten the rubber wheels, relevel the bed, tighten the pulleys when they come loose from the stepper motor). Good for learning about 3D printing but just not reliable enough. I just got a Bambu Labs A1 with the AMS Lite system last week. $450 right now. Multicolor 3D printing. Great software. Great hardware. No calibration(does it itself). For starters, it prints 3 times as fast as my prusa printers with the same exact quality. Of course, the reason they are so much cheaper is because of the whole made in China thing. Which Prusa will never be able to compete with, or anyone for that matter. I wish that Prusa was able to be cheaper, but wishing that will never change that. They are not hurting business wise, and they still have people buying their printers like hot cakes. Also, the Prusa XL will be the next standard that the printing industry will need to make cheaper. The multiple print heads make it so you waste virtually no filament on swaps. However, at that price tag, it just isn't going to appeal to the majority of people who dive into the world of 3D printing. I have pretty well decided that if I scale up the amount of printers I have, I will alternate between getting Bambu labs primarily and the few and far between Prusa printers that I can justify. My opinion may change over time about Bambu labs printers, but as much as I hear about them, they seem to last quite a while.

[@JhustineProvido]

should've bought a bambu lab :D

[@AGuyWhoDosentKnow]

Before shipping

[@christopherorman5769]

@@JhustineProvido He did. He mentions it. Nothing like unrestrained fandom.

[@dokols]

I had lots of issues with my Prusa Mini+. No issues with my Bambu A1 Mini. And the A1 Mini was a lot cheaper. And has more features. Will not be trying Prusa again.

[@AlexGGtau]

@@dokols I had one hotend issue with my mini. I installed a e3d hotend on it. Other than that, it was fine. I believe that the mini is commonly a headache of a printer, but any issue its had, It's been an easy fix. I don't even know how many thousands of hours it has run. I have all e3d hotends on my prusas which helps. bought my mk3s+ second hand with an e3d hotend already on it for $300. its even better quality than bambu. I've only had my bambu a month, and I already have had to do more maintenance on it than I have had to do on the Mk3s+ in 6 months. Also, the bambu labs printer prints all things about 99.5% of the size of the stl. For dimensionally accurate parts, its a pain to have to dial that in every print. For most people that isn't a problem, but for me, 60% of my prints are functional prints that need dimensional accuracy. Never had that issue with prusa printers when it comes to that. With that being said, I still use my A1 for plenty of prints. I use the prusa ones for things that I need to be either dimensionally accurate, or if I want something that doesn't even look like its printed. Both of those things the Mk3s+ excels at. At the end of the day, there is going to be preferences. If I end up buying more printers in the future, I'd be more than happy to keep my printers diversified. I know its a headache when it comes to slicing things and whatnot, but that's not something that bothers me personally.

[@SethHenderson]

I've loved the running gag of "Before Shipping" being read the same way, with the same b roll each time. It made me smile.

[@FauxHammer]

I'm glad! I love it when people get the joke.

[@BeefIngot]

@@SethHenderson Truly their shipping can get insane. Like they have no warehouse forwarders at all.

[@knightsljx]

@@BeefIngot because they don't. This is why Chinese companies succeed, BL developed a supply chain, which allowed them to weather the recall saga, and allows for cheap parts and accessories ordered through their website. Prusa just lets you EAT the shipping fees

[@michaels3003]

​@@BeefIngot, "like" they have one in the U.S. (Printed Solid).

[@BeefIngot]

@@michaels3003 Even in the US shipping has often been awful. Its also still bad in Canada Other companies just use shipping forwarders

[@emilcost8613]

Prusa slicer is the absolute best slicer. I've tried them all and I always go back to Prusa slicer. Your review and comments are much appreciated. I agree with your conclusions.

[@petermikus2363]

Interesting, i on the other hand absolutely hate it, the UI everything. Ehh guess its just a matter of preference.

[@GodsFavDrunkDriver]

orca slicer >>>>>>>>>>>>

[@Sembazuru]

@@petermikus2363 It may be what you started with. I started back on Slic3rPE (which became PrusaSlicer) and know the work flow that it is second nature to me, and I know exactly where to find the features that I want. I never could get into Cura. I've looked at Orca Slicer once and got lost (yeah, based on PrusaSlicer, but the UI is completely organized differently). I stick with PrusaSlicer because that is what is comfortable to me, and I get the new features that Prusa adds to it usually by the time they start putting out Release Candidates (I usually skip the alpha and beta releases unless there is a specific new feature that I want). I suspect you are probably similar, but with a different slicer. As you said... "Ehh guess its just a matter of preference."

[@drstefankrank]

@@petermikus2363 I bet. Tried to switch from Prusa Slicer to Orca and I failed. It needs time to get used to the UI and for worse, with the provided profiles it prints way slower. Tried importing the profiles and this gave horrible results. I need a lot of time to tune profiles and get used to it.

[@timha4102]

I love that you can save and restore your entire settings. That makes working as a team so easy because you can always restore your exact setting without anyone having fiddled it.

[@jphakola]

For me the value is that if you have a machine that is build on printed parts (I manufactured my latest upgrage parts by myself) and if you have build it from kit you have machine, instructions and knowledge for a long lifecycle investment that can be repaired and maintained.

[@3DPM-1386]

The "plus shipping" short got me laughing so hard!

[@deniaxdeniax]

My Prusa came as a kit ! .. only that was worth it, hours of fun building (I love lego's and puzzles) ! [that and the gummy bears] .. once calibrated, it works like a charm, and keeps working for years, no questions asked. First thing I did: print sare parts for my printer (never had to use one).

[@Faux_Hammer]

All the entries from KZbin were counted in the giveaway, and you happened to be the winner of the giveaway, to text check notification bell

[@deniaxdeniax]

@@Faux_Hammer .. dunno what to say .. never won anything before .. except: 'Thank you' ! (What do you give away exactly ?)

[@deniaxdeniax]

@@Faux_Hammer so you're not @FauxHammer .. you had me there ..

[@4mb127]

I regret that I didn't buy a Prusa 10 years ago, instead went through so many flash in the pan printers that at the time seemed better value. Geeetech i3, Artillery X1, and now Bambulab A1. I wish I could turn back time. Would have had much better quality and spent less money if I bit the bullet the first time.

[@meadmaker4525]

Very timely video. I just finally pulled the trigger on my first printer (Bambu) and a truly stupid amount of filament (Black Friday Sale!!) after doing months and months of research on this stuff. I kept running into people who loved the Prusa printers, but couldn't really justify the price other than saying, "They're just great!" This video answered the question more completely for me and I thank you for that. The user experience, depth of support, ease of use, and reliability is what made me choose Bambu. I didn't want a printer that I had to constantly fix, tune, or mess with just to get it to print. I just wanted to print stuff. Arguably, Prusa seems to have the same thing...a great user experience, depth of support, ease of use, and reliability...okay, and maybe a slightly better/older pedigree than Bambu...but comparing as close to apples-to-apples as you can get between these two, the numbers just don't favor Prusa. If they were asking half that money, I'd be interested enough to look. But $1200 for a 210mm bed-slinger? I can't get there. If you told me it printed FDM in resin quality, I'd be first in line. But it doesn't. I completely understand why people love their Prusa machines now. I'm hoping to love my Bambu A1/AMS-Lite just as much. Thanks again for this one. Really great points all the way through. That black and orange is pretty tasty, though, isn't it?

[@AGuyWhoDosentKnow]

Before shipping

[@MrSirclint]

Honestly, Bambu is just a better printer anyway

[@mark6302]

I also got a bambu for black friday

[@thedudwiththehat]

TLDW summary: A very respectable machine made by a respectable company that you can get equal performance to for less than half the price.

[@AwesomeSaussage]

Thank you for this review! That was quite the love letter to prusa ❤ As a bambu user myself (well... the budget..🤷🏻‍♂️) I can totally understand the points you made.

[@paraphraze225]

I really appreciate all of the thought and care you put into each video. Thanks from Minnesota, USA!

[@RicArc]

How about the privacy concerns about the other printers? that worth something.

[@tony-mora]

Great honest video! Can't wait to hear your thoughts on the XL.

[@kylerhenson4097]

The reason I support Prusa is their dedication to upgradability and customer support. The fact that I can buy a kit and upgrade my mk4S into a core one for 1/3 the cost of a new core one is very pro consumer.

[@gregoryamer]

Great looking quality prints!

[@olivers1185]

I used to love my Prusa MK3s and bought a 2nd as it was a workhorse. However when I bought the Bambu P1P it made the Prusa obsolete overnight, and I never use either of them now; too slow for a start. If the Prusa XL was out sooner i'd have bought one, but not now and the MK4 is also too late to market and too expensive. Prusa dropped the ball and now IMHO Bambu are the ones to buy. You can go expensive/faster with Voron and others like that, but Bambu works from the box and no mucking about. Only downside is there is no large format Bambu yet.

[@9dvds]

I bet bambu's next printer will be a large format one. Whether its a A1 max or P1P or P1S max its hard to tell. The x1 will be updated last with a bigger version in my opinion

[@rwardenutube]

After years of flawless prints on my Prusa mini+, I upgraded to an MK4s and have been VERY happy with its performance. It just works every time. The only time I had a problem was quickly resolved thru online support within 5 min.

[@atomictree5000]

@fauxhammer This vid comvinced me to order a prusa yesterday. I live in Europe, so the shipping is cheap, and I would much rather have a printer that has good customer support, and was made in Europe. It will be my first 3d machine, and im really hoping that this review was right about it being a good investment, in a company that is doing good things for the hobby. ❤ Thanks for your videos man, always a pleasure. 👍

[@stevemccormack9948]

I have a thing for Orange and Black too.. Prusa strikes me as an outfit that is higher priced but delivers quality + reputation + reasonably priced parts and service + a few quirky habits. Just like what Mercedes used to be - it's true, they were (in my father's time at least).

[@Gryfang451]

For me it centers around the price / build volume. I'm not going to spend $1100.00 (US) for a Prusa bed slinger. For the price, you can almost get an X1C without the AMS or you can get three A1's, one with an AMS Lite. Build Quality and Print quality are really good on the A1. Hell, print quality (after some fiddling and adding my own accelerometer) is as good on my Elegoo Neptune 4 Pro (just keep the rods greased). But the point is, the print quality can be as good or better with a well built printer, and you can do it at 1/4 the price! Brand loyalty is one thing, but a brand that takes your money and gives you back less for your money than its competitors isn't doing you any favors either.

[@FauxHammer]

Completely agree, do I get better print quality here, yeah. Is it so much better that I should pay 3x as much whilst having fewer features… no

[@xRaptorScreamx]

Qidi Q1 Pro, is similar build volume, enclosed, active heater, can print high grade filaments, it's less than half than that Prusa, and as you said, with a bit adjustment/fiddling, you can get great print quality on most modern printers

[@17ronin]

The question is will those printers last the same as a Prusa or will Prusa last you 3 times longer

[@FauxHammer]

@@17ronin And whilst I also agree with that argument. I also see that for the time my others last me. Even if this does last 3 times longer. both technologies will be arguably obsolete by the time either eventually dies anyway. So, it;s a tricky one.

[@17ronin]

@@FauxHammer True dat ... Prusa does have the benefit of upgrades if you want new features, though admittedly the last one from 3s+ to 3.9 mostly didn't make sense financially. I guess a lot of it depends on how fast new "killer" features come to market.

[@ryanschott7732]

I bought a Prusa mini around 4 years ago and once a year I’ll update the firmware, clean it up, and do some basic maintenance. Every time I update it they have added some new features and made it print better/faster. For someone like me that prints something a few times a month it is perfect. With that said when it eventually gets too old or breaks I will be buying a bambu lab printer.

[@kyletaylor6942]

As an engineer who started printing to make prototype parts I honestly never thought channels like yours existed. Its a new perspective. Resin perfection, colors, and making no functional things is not my life and I almost clicked off during the changing spools gripe, but the rest the video i loved. I use them because i can bring strong materials, not for color. The prusa is a workhorse and thats what i need it for. Click print and have it just work. Also, $30 a kg is bad? Better check out protopasta. I would review a roll if i where you! There is nothing like it. When you need quality you pay for it is my mantra.

[@MrSpleenboy]

I have to say that the Elegoo PLA is pretty damn good, and at just over £8 per kg if you buy in bulk, it's exceptional value. I've not seen any difference in quality of print between the Elegoo stuff and other brands - in fact I'd say its bed adhesion is slightly better than Bambu filament, and it's £4 - 5 per kg cheaper. Also the Elegoo TPU is pretty good - it does exhibit a bit of stringing (show me a brand of TPU that doesn't!), but nothing that interferes with a print, just needs a bit of post processing to make it perfect. I have a Bambu P1S. I seriously considered the Prusa Mk4S, but when even the kit version is £300 more expensive that the base P1S, and more than £100 more expensive than the P1S/AMS combo, I just couldn't justify paying the extra

[@alejandroperez5368]

As an engineer you'd know that technical materials require enclosed printers with active heated chambers.

[@martinbernath]

As a fellow engineer, how are you okay with the printer costing 3 times as much as competition while being built from inferior materials? And yes, 30$ for 1kg spool is really bad considering the filament is nothing special.

[@kyletaylor6942]

@@martinbernath When you have a product that's been manufactured a curtin way for 10 years and consistently performs, I would not call it inferior. If you are using it as a personal machine the cost is a bit much I will admit, but as a production machine your equipment costs become minimal over time so the support and ability to purchase EVERY PART for repair validates it. Also, idk what filament you use but I pay the $5-10 more for material from protopasta and atomic filament because it just works. Esun, hatchbox, and filicube have given me shit product and cost me time. They haven't. It just works, prints better, better surface, unique colors for clients, and made in the USA not shipped around the world. If I was mass producing a part in black, sure I would go for bulk and reliable, but if you think PLA is all the same you are dead wrong. Some companies just buy better quality resin or have custom formulations and it shows.

[@elobiretv]

@@kyletaylor6942 It's the 10 year old design that makes it inferior. Bed slingers were great back in the day but the industry moved on ages ago and the new Core One shows that Prusa has finally realised that. The only advantage Prusa had over it's competitors is the idea that is the "just click print" thing but there are loads of printers out there like that now that are much cheaper than a Prusa.

[@Speakhardly]

Thank you for making this video! I find it crucial for new hobbyists to see where 3D printing is being developed and understand (or even respect) how and why the industry has developed to where it is now. So much of the technology market is based on proprietary technology and limiting accessibility to that technology for as long and as much as possible. When a company goes against the grain, it should be lauded and held up as aspirational for other, less-principled players. It's important to have different types of companies operating in any given industry for it to develop dynamically. By buying a Prusa you're contributing to the open source project and the ongoing development of 3D printing as a whole.

[@Faux_Hammer]

All the entries from KZbin were counted in the giveaway, and you happened to be the winner of the giveaway, to text check notification bell

[@010falcon]

To summarize: - Beautiful prints - Reliable prints - Accurate prints - Made in Europe - Open source - Customer support - Hosts sharing platform printables - Innovates 3D printing Don't know man, in this entire thing I can't help but think that they have been the good guys all along.

[@gcm3d]

It's not really made in Europe. They stated that their electronics are made by Delta Electronics, and that is from Taiwan, with Chinese parts since they manufacture in China. Their rods, bearings and fans are Chinese. Their motors are Chinese (LDO). Also since MK4 only their software is open source, as it's written on their website. Innovative 3D printing, well, I don't know about that.

[@Klaevin]

I think I'll buy this. Was gonna buy a bambu labs, but due to recent events... :/

[@RogerEssigArtist]

Yeah, It's super tricky to decide. I went from wanting a P1S to a QIDI Plus 4 and ended up ordering a Prusa Core One Kit.

[@Klaevin]

@@RogerEssigArtist actually, I might consider that one. I don't see in which ways it's superior to the 4KS, besides the larger printing volume. I guess the enclosure could be worth it, but I was planning on making my own anyway...

[@sascape]

I get it. I do have a Prusa MK4, bought it immediately when it came out and have upgraded it with housing, MMU3 and now to the MK4S since then. My first 3d printer was an Ender 2 Pro and then an Ender 3 S1. I learnt a lot about 3D printing by tinkering with those machines, breaking and fixing them repeatedly and I wouldn't have had it any other way. At some point I just wanted something reliable. It was exactly at the time Bambu hit the market and I considered my options for months. In the end I decided to support Prusa because I knew I would be able to upgrade the machine and get all the parts to repair it if needed. The support is excellent. After about a year my bed levelling didn't work anymore. I figured out what machine part broke on my machine and the support sent me the 50€ part, no questions asked. The online manual was all I needed to put the hotend apart and together again. And what's so fascinating: Everything just works. I couldn't believe the first time the MMU3 just worked after I had printed the parts and put it together from scratch.

[@mjordan812]

Are you me? 😁

[@sascape]

@@comentator4481... You do understand that ich have the MK4s already, right? And that I like having easy access to spare parts, support and upgrades? My experiences with creality were horrible when something broke. And repairing my Bambu A1 Mini was a horrible experience although I like the little guy.

[@icenode]

I had the same Bambu/Prusa quandry. (Nothing against Bambu, not a shill, just made the choice based on MY preferences here.) The S tier support and absolutely unique upgrade kits sealed the deal for me - not having to buy a whole new printer when they release an XL2 is just huge for me.

[@some19872003]

My reasoning for loving Prusa is because my only printer is a MK2s i purchased in August of 2017. My experience is so good with the printer I do plan to buy another one when i can afford it (im pretty broke). In the years i have owned my 2s only 2 things gave me issues. 1 the bearings in the extruder stepper went out but I found replacements on Amazon for very cheap, and number 2 the wires that went to the heated bed would break due to being lower quality lower stranded wire. after figuring out that issue and putting on a high strand count wire I have had no issues. Now when you look at their competitors like Bambu I have been seeing some people talk about reliability issues with theirs vs Prusa also repairability and customer service is another huge issue with other brands. You absolutely get what you pay for with a Prusa and thats why ill always go back to them.

[@Kosaro1234]

I agree with your conclusion. Although there are fantastic options at much lower prices, I am willing to pay the premium for a Prusa because of their ethos. I also absolutely love that they use 3D printed components because they showcase that well designed 3d printed parts are as good or better than alternatives. One thing you notice as you assemble the kit is that a lot of the parts are very well thought out with complex geometries that would have been prohibitive to manufacturer any other way.

[@TekuSPZ]

What I love about 3D printed parts, is upgradability, you can print any newer revision of parts Průša releases, or community made, and upgrade your printer, for free.

[@drstefankrank]

The nice thing about having a lot of 3d printed parts is when you start adding your own stuff with 3d printing, it doesn't look out of place. I have mine in their original enclosure with the MMU3 and all 5 spools inside the enclosure and only the buffer on top of it which required a lot of self printed parts and you cannot distinguish it from factory parts. Just from the looks and when you just want a printer on a budget that works of the box, the Prusa isn't the printer for you. It did well over 1000 print hours with minimal problems and I'm happy with it. I'm from Europe, like to support European companies and I'm in the fortunate position that not every Euro spent will hurt me. Still, I like to see Prusa catching up with more affordable Core-XY designs. They have to do something to compete with BambuLab, Sovol, Creality and all of the others. Their high reputation won't last forever.

[@isaackvasager9957]

I think we also need to think about the real world economic/society level implications of all of this. Prusa costs more because it supports well paying jobs in countries where people are treated well. Other printers are cheaper because they take advantage of human rights/labor. We aren't just paying for a printer. We are voting with our wallets what kind of society we want for our future.

[@joeydemento]

as much as I’d like to praise Prusa, it’s just not feasible for me. Whether you’re putting together the upgrade kit or buying the MK4S outright, the assembly process can be quite a headache. It’s an older machine with limited innovation, which is why I decided to sell my MK3 and switch to the A1 Combo and T1Pro. The combination of faster print times and multicolor capabilities has been a game-changer for me.

[@lettucedogg]

wdym limited innovation? you seen the core one? bambulabs doesn't have upgrade kits and they haven't made a new printer in years.

[@kozakm]

I've alway found assembly to be fun thanks to the great instructions.

[@FGhStudiosHD]

Finally an honest review of a prusa machine, no one else is willing to do it. Subscribed!

[@BRI.Hecato]

Prusa it's not worth the price - just those are EU costs in comparison with China - BUT also prusa have better QC, better support, and their printers are better in work matter (stability, longevity) They just need to improve speed to match competition. Unfortunately bambu drama reduced pressure over prusa to develop faster and cheaper device.

[@Repkord]

Excellent overview. Really enjoyed watching this and welcome to the party. I always love seeing new user experience and feedback and I wish I had a dollar for every time I heard "Ok I kind of get it now" 😂 Is it perfect? No, no printer is. Is it incrementally working towards tangible real world performance improvements? Yes, I think so. Is it giving you an affordable path to unlock your investment and continue to improve? Again, I think so. I hope you continue to see that the more time you spend in the ecosystem. 👏

[@Faux_Hammer]

All the entries from KZbin were counted in the giveaway, and you happened to be the winner of the giveaway, to text check notification bell

[@simong1975]

Maybe others have said this, but there are a few things you need to consider: 1. You save $400 by getting the kit instead of it fully assembled. You learn a heck of a lot about the printer when you build it from the kit. Fully assembled in EU is expensive, plus shipping costs are higher, etc. 2. Assuming they keep doing it, Prusa is the only company that give you a solid upgrade path from one printer to the next, at a reasonable cost. I originally bought a Mk3, then updated it to the mk3S, then added the MMU2. Then when the Mk4s came out i was able to upgrade to that, reusing a substantial amount of the original printer. Similarly the MMU2 got upgraded to the MMU3. This ultimately was far cheaper (and frankly better for the enviornment) than buying a new printer and throwing away the old one. They are even offering an upgrade path to the new Core One from the Mk4S, at substantially less cost than buying a whole new CoreXY machine. And no, I don’t have space or the print volume to need multiple printers. 3. Support Support Support. Any time I’ve had any issue, their chat help was there, immediately accessible and extremely knowledgeable. Even for weird situations like when I burned out the temp sensor input for the hot end and I was able to use the other input on the motherboard, with a minor change to the firmware code (which is accessible) and keep the printer running, vs buying another controller board. Let me know what other company will support you at that level, in multiple languages… 4. I like the fact that I was able to print the parts for these upgrade kits instead of having to buy them. It’s cheaper for me, less shipping costs, etc. And less things shipped is better for the world in general…

[@FauxHammer]

Thanks, i think i said all of thes ething in the video apart from point 4?

[@simong1975]

@@FauxHammer to be fair, yes you did. Recent events with BL technology access changes also highlights the other thing you said - Prusa is one of the few fully open source printers. So part of the premium is the insurance that they won't wake up one morning and change access policies to lock you into their toolsets...

[@FauxHammer]

@@simong1975 yep. And I can see more people flocking this way right now too.

[@Slurgical_3D_Terrain_Channel]

I do respect Prusa, I dream of one day to have one. It would be a perfect platform for my design and prints with tabletop gaming because of the details and quality of the prints.

[@FauxHammer]

What is it that’s pushing you toward them over every other brand?

[@Slurgical_3D_Terrain_Channel]

@ I am disabled with limited income. I can’t afford their printers. My focus is to launch my digital store to design and print tabletop terrain and eventually miniatures. Once I can establish income. I will be buying their brand. I no longer have the time to tinker and modify printers. I need to be productive. I am unemployable due to my disability. So my only chance of getting out of being on disability support is to reinvent myself. After long search and learning about CAD, 3D Sculpting and 3D printing I found a way. I can earn a passive income by selling digital files and make my design when my health permits it. It’s a scary balance as I generate income I will lose support. So I have to make sure I have a solid base of product to make that leap. I took a gamble on a Bambu X1C. It’s about the same price, but if anything goes wrong is cheaper to fix. I know I will make it, but until then I’m walking on a tight rope.

[@Slurgical_3D_Terrain_Channel]

@ sorry…didn’t answer your question. The open source and their history with print quality. I know enough now about 3D printers that I could easily build my own. So if anything goes wrong it’s easy for me fix. There is not a lot to fix on them since they are true work horses with proven track record. They are just not attainable for me at this juncture.

[@KetaFPV]

I love the things Prusa has done, but I just cannot justify spending that amount on something that is essentially the same as it was 7 years ago, but with slightly newer hardware. Like many others have said, if they don't innovate soon, they're definitely gonna be the next RIM/Blackberry

[@RiyadhElalami]

It isn’t the same as it was 7 years ago. It is many times faster and many times more reliable. In my engineering lab it is a work horse that will spit out parts around the clock no complaining.

[@KetaFPV]

@@RiyadhElalami bro, put the copeium down.

[@RiyadhElalami]

@@KetaFPV For me it is worth every penny. I cannot find another printer on the market that is as good as this printer

[@BenTheEpicGamer]

​@@RiyadhElalamiWhat do you mean??? Corexy printers like the P1s and P1p are miles better in every category across the board

[@RiyadhElalami]

@@BenTheEpicGamer Not true, also they are not open source and they require stupid interent. I am okay, I will keep buying my prusa for its amazing support super and reliability. Also not it isn't that much better anymore, not even close.

[@ibeginge113]

Hands down the best opening line in any of your videos 🤣🤣

[@Shoikan]

Love the video. IMHO it is the old 'what is the definition of best' question. What is best for me, may not be what it is for you. Best in one area usually means worst (or at least less good) in the flip side of that. And I think Prusa printers embody that. As you rightfully state, they appear to be pretty bulletproof, solid workhorses, high quality, etc, etc. But.... You pay for that privilege, and you have to concede a few other aspects in return (speed is an example, and if you're a bit of a tinkerer like me, it is less 'tinkerfriendly' than say a Voron). But does that mean a Voron is better? That entirely depends on your definition of best... And agreeing with your opinion: I VERY highly respect Prusa for their printers. But I am not in the market for their products. For now. Who knows what will change in the future :)

[@kimmotoivanen]

If "shipping" means from EU to, IDK, UK perhaps, well, brexit was not _our_ idea 🙄 Prusa assembly + service and Prusament manufacturing in US have begun or will be begin in near future. If Bambu Lab had used their A1 printers to turn out parts for their printers, they would had found out their bed wire issue before shipping to customers. (Basically any testing procedure should have had revealed that 🤔) Prusa must have most test hours on their printers and their slicer profiles of all companies. Luckily for Prusa, cheap consumers are not their main income. Prusa is the only 3D printer manufacturer in EU and Europe (that I know of). US has how many? Canada, Africa, Australia, South America, how many? Do we really want *everything* to be made in China? We send money there, we lose jobs and economy here. Not because *they* make stuff cheap, but because *we* want to buy stuff that seems cheap on the surface. Subsidies and *human rights* that make cheap prices possible *do make difference* but we are very good at looking away. TLDR: you get what you pay for, in several meanings.

[@Noneofyourbusiness2000]

I just purchased my first 3D printer to give to my family for Christmas. I went with A Bambu Lab's P1S as it has an enclosure, is a faster core XY printer, has a good reputation, and cost me only $550(I actually got it with the AMS for $750) on one of their black Friday sales. Now, that I've seen the tape on the box of the MK4S, I'm starting to question my decision.

[@FauxHammer]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Best comment I've ever read! Thankyou for understanding a joke!

[@rsilvers129]

@@FauxHammer I just ordered one of those gummed tape machines. Had to have it after seeing how impressive the tape was.

[@taza99]

It's amazing how cheap the bambu printers are! I just hope it's not ccp backed, selling-at-a-loss type of deal like all other amazing chinese products. Just look at dji, they made sexy drones for so cheap that no other company could match them, all thanks to the support of ccp! I do wonder what the guys who started dji are doing today!! Yay!!!!

[@Noneofyourbusiness2000]

@taza99 I'm more worried about my own US government than the Chinese. I wish more people realized that the war drums are directed at China and Russia because they are the two most powerful countries in BRICS, making them the greatest threat to the US dollar's status as the world's reserve currency.

[@fitchaj]

Stupid bloody comment. If you could wake up tomorrow as a citizen of USA, Russia, or China...you're not changing your passport​@Noneofyourbusiness2000

[@amdreallyfast]

All valid points. I fall into that technically minded category, and part of the appeal is the feeling of accomplishment of the assembly. In America, it's quite common for people to buy the kit because the import tariffs trigger north of $800 (at time of writing; this may change very soon), which is right where the MK3 and MK3S kits were priced (not sure about earlier kits) including shipping, and as a result there is a large customer base that has learned their printers inside and out, the good, the bad, and the ugly, and it can be hard for me to too hard on something that I put together and understand myself. Thanks for this perspective.

[@guilhermecarvalhotrindade2625]

I think Prusa no longer offers a competitive entry in the hobbyist market, but still offers excellent entries for the professional/industrial market. I wish them the best -- and if they ever (somehow) return to the hobbyist market, I'll happily consider them.

[@AGuyWhoDosentKnow]

Before shipping

[@oscarbanana6159]

This is my take also. A hobbyist can get a great deal more for a great deal less these days over Prusa. It makes a lot more sense for a business.

[@anguismemes1666]

Even for industrial use prusa mostly isn't something

[@FrIoSrHy]

Prusa Pro is their industry brand then they have prusa regular for prosumers and print farms.

[@MakerAventuras]

@@FrIoSrHy I would consider myself a Prosumer (90% of what I 3Dprint is for my business). I own a Prusa MINI (with 2.5k printing hours) I bought before Bambulab was a thing. I need to buy another printer in the coming months, and I honestly fail to see why I should buy an MK4. My MINI has had a fair amount of problems (specially after reaching 1k hours) and while Prusa support has been fast and friendly, they have mostly failed to solve my problems and I have had to buy almost an entire hot end to just start replacing parts until I found the culprit. It is not designed to print that many hours. It is not designed to replace the nozzle often, it is not designed to change filament types often. All this things can and will cause you trouble with this printer. They are still selling it for 2.5 times the cost of a Bambulab A1 mini that is a considerably better machine. They designed a whole new bowden extruder and hotend to avoid putting the motor on the hotend so it would be lighter and faster with the cantilever design. The Bambulab A1 Mini has a direct drive that's way more reliable, can print flexible filaments and is considerably faster. Sorry, their prices are just not reasonable, not for a hobbyist and not for a small business.

[@ovarb12]

Another great video Ross. Honest and transparent. I feel this way army bamboo m. Cost allot at least to me $1500. However I pewss the print button and it works. I spent almost 4 years trying to get my ender 3 to work. Now I can print 3d stuff.

[@wiesman2613]

One thing I'm getting from a ton of these comments are that people are making them from the perspective of having or used an mk3. While the mk4 does look similar, it doesn't share much with the mk3 (which is 7 years old at this point). This printer is definitely up to 2024 standards. It's the best i3 (bed slinger) 3d printer ever made. Obviously core xy is the next generation, and is overall the better design for new and future printers. Can't wait until PRUSA makes a single core xy machine.

[@rsilvers129]

How can it be up to 2024 standards when it doesn't even have a camera and the MMU seems home made?

[@lucasaltenau]

​@@rsilvers129The camera thing is related to their target audience. Prusa Printers are bought not only by end consumers, but also companies and public institutions like libraries. Some of them don't want or can't have a device with a camera, likely because of security concerns. Prusa still offers the camera as an add-on for those who want it

[@poostoon]

@@rsilvers129 this is best multicolor system because it is not producing so much purges as AMS, is faster and more economical. With Bambu AMS on multicolor print up to half of filament come to purges.

[@_Culling_]

I have not read all the comments so I am not sure if this has been answered. From my background in IT and selling into large enterprise, my guess is one very good use case for the NFC reader would be a "pay to print" concept, where you use your employee id to beep the printer to get it to print. This could also be helpful for workgroup printing where you can send to a printer pool. Then either have someone prep a printer or do it yourself tracked by the ID so when its ready it prints your plate. Also priority queuing and on and on.

[@IndianaDiy]

I looked at that printer but then the Core One came out. So since it’s more of a direct competitor to Bambu P1S and Prusa solved some of the issues I have with the P1S, I’m looking at Trying the Core One with the MMU3 later.

[@gepetotube]

Josef Prusa definitely likes having his name printed everywhere (plate, USB, filament, etc.).

[@hillbillync655]

You got a newer model where most of the printed parts are PC-CF so they look high quality. Imagine paying for a MK4S a year or more ago that looked half as good. The $5k Prusa XL I got from early 2024 is filled with PETG parts that look they were printed on a $79 Amazon knock off of a knock off. But looks are secondary, the PETG parts are known to creep over time and cause feeding issues in the print heads of the XL so that's a functional failure (again, $5k all in). And if you decide to pony up the $800ish (import, shipping, tax) for the enclosure, not another whole printer, then a couple dozen PETG parts need to be swapped out to accommodate the chamber temps. Because of the ability to swap between 5 print heads, it can be considered worth the above hassles, but print quality is still sub Bambu. Other than the 2-5 heads, does Prusa have anything else that other manufactures haven't had for a while or currently are introducing? The K2 has a very similar build volume to the XL, has an enclosure, 2 cameras, multi-color / multi-type filament (albeit a less efficient purge style) and several other features that the Prusa doesn't have and the price difference is $5k vs $1500.

[@saliston]

they are incredible machines that last forever with second to none build quality.

[@knightsljx]

Similar to many comments, I'm someone who moved from a Prusa (MK3S+) to a Bambu Lab A1. And F**K THAT. There's no way Prusa can justifies it price, and it's not just about the machine, which is NOT a consumer product unlike the A1 in that you can just fire and forget. Another issue is distribution chain, you can't get anything directly from Prusa without exhorbitant shipping fees. If you do not have a local Prusa distributor or able to get stuff shipped to you cheaply, stay away. If you want your hobby to be 3D *printers*, get an Ender or build your own Voron. If you want your hobby to be 3D *printing*, get a Bambu Lan

[@EG-MAN]

quite an interesting review +shipping

[@mriley4955]

I have the MK4S and needed a part due to a misalignment when I installed the fan, they sent me the .STL file and I just printed it. Saved the time, money and shipping. Their support rocks!

[@backtoearth1983]

So you are telling us you spent over a grand on a defective product they made you fix by your self and with your own material.....

[@mriley4955]

@ read my comment again and then ask yourself if you still want to post your question. If I was installing the fan, would it not make sense that I bought the kit?

[@thijstriemstra]

people making the point that their support is great: the fact support was needed is not a good look for prusa

[@dimen363]

16:10 Mom, come look, I am in a video 🙂

[@FauxHammer]

Yep, I really liked this point you made! Thanks so much!

[@PerMejdal]

To get the full Prusa experience, you really need the buy it as a kit, and spend the +10 hours assembling it. You will get an electromechanical course which would have cost more than the printer. For the first 2 years of the MK3 life, it was an easy recommendation. Too bad Prusa wasted their R&D on the Mini, trying to compete with the budget printer. Good to see they finally are making a cheaper core-XY. 3 years later that they should have.

[@brennonwilliams9181]

Thanks for answering this question Ross. I see the comments of folks who clearly are supporters of Prusa, but even they appear to acknowledge that the price point against a lack of innovation is starting to sour. It's for each person to consider the value of such a purchase and in the end, something is really only worth the price people are willing to pay for it.

[@redshiftz8520]

Clearly has the best build extruder on the market. That lovely plantery gearbox all metal, no plastic cogs like bamboo. The components are of far higher build quality. Have you seen a teardown of the A1 its cheap as you can get. Look at the print beds heaters, the a1 like a cheap chinese house heater. prusa is their own built custom heater system thats so clean. You do pay more for one of these machines but they will live longer, breakdown less, you can only really appreciate it when you build a kit model. I run a print farm, mostly vorons, i have also owned a bamboo x1. It had faulty bearings in its liner rail. the rails was like a 6 hour job to replace. The voron and prusa are like four screws lol. If you want long term reliability, easy repairs if something gos wrong, and a machine designed specifically to be a easy workhorse for a print farm, you wont find a better machine. you dont want to loose 6 hours fixing something when you should be earning money instead. Thier designed in two totally different ways. Thier almost a Elon musk thing, the best part is no part. In a print farm you don't want an enclosed machine that's harder to access components unless it's necessary. If 80 percent are printing pla and petg it's better to have a open simple high quality machine that simply works. For the jobs that need an enclosed machine well you have a few of those. Thier designed for totally different use cases, prusa is designed for a business case use.

[@overcaffeinatedengineering]

On the other hand, the Bambu A1 prints faster and higher quality...

[@rsilvers129]

First, Bambu gears tend to last about 6000 hours. Then you can replace them for $30 whether they are worn out or not. Second, I doubt you had a Bambu since you spelled their name wrong. Third, you can buy 3.8 Bambus for the price of one Prusa - so even if the Prusa does last longer, it doesn't matter. Fourth - all Chinese print farms are moving to Bambu.

[@redshiftz8520]

@@rsilvers129 I doubt you ever built a boring from scratch, I have 14 of them. Thier higher quality, sturdier and you can get help to issued in seconds from true geniuses on the siboor voron forum. Thier open source, infinetly upgradeable. My voron already taken over tech in the bamboo. Like the inductive bed leveling. Bamboo I consider a game console, voron the hand built pc version. Yes bamboo great, but the pc voron will always be ahead as new tech comes out. You never need a new voron ever. I have had bamboos. And I refuse to use them in my print farm now. Useless support, bad wattentee parts. The machines are Chinese mass produced for the lowest pos cost. The bed heaters are basically the same out of a old kettle lol. Moulded plastic annoying to repair, cust support rubbish. I'm sorry Thier great value for home users, but Thier really just disposable if in a print farm. Your not going to bother paying someone hours to repair one. It cost more than the machine. Which is why prusa and vorons make sense.

[@michawasiljew6620]

I got a1 and Prusa mk3s, prusa prints better quality prints. ​@overcaffeinatedengineering

[@ZoltanGaal]

I've been 3d printing since 2016. Started with Prusa Mk2. I learnt everything thanks to them. Since then I rebuilt the first printer to a Bear vecrsion, bought a Prusa Mini+ with enclosure, A 5 tool head Prusa XL with enclosure. I love them all with their all issues. What I hate are manufacturers who are stilling know how and then patenting their additions. Then taking full software and hiding its origin. They are not fair player. Right bamboo? I've got bad experience too, when Orca too my original temp tower model without any credit and made it ORCA heat tower. Little shame, when people are ignoring effort put into open source.

[@markgebert2541]

I bought the Prusa MK3S+ (kit version ) in 2021 and it's performed flawlessly since I got it. I got this printer mainly because the company I worked for at that time (an Alphabet medical device firm) had a small print farm of a dozen Prusa's (all of this same model MK3S+) which were used to make medical device prototypes. I saw over two years how these printers were running close to 24 hours a day during the work week and required little maintenance so that was proof to me they were reliable. If I was going to buy a new printer today, I would definitely take a close look at some of the higher end Bambu models .

[@Stevieboy7]

Bought an assembled Prusa MK3S+ in 2022, and had nothing but problems with print quality and consistency. Replaced the hotend and thermistor 3 times and still was throwing errors, and I'm a handy person.... Upgraded to an A1..... it's 5x the speed, 1/4 the price, and MUCH more reliable. The software is about a DECADE ahed of Prusa.... which uses the same type of firmware in the first printer I built in 2012... it's night and day.

[@markgebert2541]

@@Stevieboy7 Your experience is the exception to the rule. I know several Prusa owners and have never heard about reliability problems from them. Also, many commercial print farms have used Prusa's and post on You Tube with no mention of poor reliability.

[@TheSloppyDingo]

It's a disappointing fact that not many 3D printing hobbyists know about the contributions Joseph Prusa has made to this hobby... From redesigning and halving the time it took for the mendel to complete a print, to designing the first heated beds, to the original i3 design which almost all current bed slinger designs are based on... IMO Prusa is one of the godfathers of the 3D printing hobby.

[@nilsappeldorn9146]

You only can get other printers with the same quality for half the price, because all of them are from China, while Prusa refuses to outsource and mainly still does everything in their headquarters in Prague, which I find very admirable too. Besides that, I'd add to the list of positives: Their documentation is excellent and extensive, which is the backbone of every professional company. They have detailed guides for pretty much everything, including every kind of material. On top of that, I still get firmware updates with detailed descriptions of the changes for my Prusa i3 Mk3, which is now six years old and still kicking.

[@a.d.marshall2748]

Yes, when looking for my first printer my first decision was nothing from China simply because Chinese people are slaves under unspeakable tyranny. Supporting China in any manner would cost me far more than any amount of money.

[@HeikosGarage]

Good review. I for once feel like I was not bamboozled.

[@Faux_Hammer]

All the entries from KZbin were counted in the giveaway, and you happened to be the winner of the giveaway, to text check notification bell.

[@abileneaugie8961]

My kit built MK3S+ has close to 5000 hours on it as a hobbyist non commercial. I just bought the 3.5 upgrade kit and the MK4S kit. I thought about Bambu for months. Anyone who owned an early Ender product should be comfortable enough with tinkering to build a kit. But honestly you don’t tinker much once it’s up and running. Super reliable. One thing you should also consider is right to repair. The fact that a company warranty’s their product even when you build it is pretty unheard of and a great success for this company.

[@darrenconway8117]

I am an engineer and as a FDM noob, I purchased a Prusa Mk3S kit because I wanted a printer that was reliable enough to do overnight, lights out printing. It was expensive but reliable. I have no regrets. With the benefit of the Prusa experience, my second printer will be a Voron Trident. I am still a Prusa fan.

[@deltacx1059]

I don't agree with their pricing but their machines don't look cheap by any means and to be brutally honest it should be expected that a printer can make it's own parts, that's the entire basis of machining technology, the first lathes were eventually used to help make lathes better than them and so on

[@rmp5s]

The tape IS kinda baller. If they're going to pay THAT MUCH ATTENTION to friggin TAPE, I can rest easy knowing everything else is most likely pretty damn well thought out. EDIT...11:17 - OH MY GOD, that is AMAZING!!!

[@jamesgates1074]

I bought the MK4 for a few reasons. Reliability, Quality, Support, Repairability longevity And you really have to value Non-Chinese manufacturing. Also I bought the kit, I like kits and the build is fun if you like that sort of thing. All those factors make the price worth it to me.

[@backtoearth1983]

HAHAHHA. no

[@rawbeartoe_AK]

Yep! And don't forget privacy (Looking at you Bambu Labs). Ordering my kit later this month. Hoping to score free shipping or filament on Black Friday.

[@jamesgates1074]

@@rawbeartoe_AK Yeah, I totally forgot security. You can completely air gap this machine and still use it's full capabilities. You can even do software updates via usb sticks alone. If you have sensitive information on your network (home or business) this may be the only safe printer for you.

[@backtoearth1983]

@jamesgates1074 You can do that with Bambu too. Jesus Prusa fanboys are tedious.

[@backtoearth1983]

@jamesgates1074 I'm sure Bambu want to make millions with your self designed coffee pod adapter.

[@xManzi]

Oh boy... Just wait to see all the DIY community and all the 3d printed 3d printers 🤣🤣

[@FauxHammer]

i;ve sene them lol

[@bartz0rt928]

I use a MK3S from work, I think this assessment is pretty spot on. They're very solid machines with lots of support available, but if you just want to get printing on a reasonable budget it's pretty hard to recommend over a Bambu A1 even though the Prusa may be the better investment in the long run, especially if you're not in mainland Europe.

[@beepboop8184]

And if you support Uyghur's forced labour, right?

[@freaxbox4610]

Wonderful Video. 3D printing today would not be the same without Prusa. But You are right. For a normal home user there are better options. For a business/printfarm i would get on Prusa. because they are what they are: long lasting, upgradable, easy repairable, well build work horses.

[@Pyrichia]

I'm supporting a European manufacturer, who pushed the tech forward for a decade, providing a printer which makes dead-reliable accurate prints without fuss. Not having to fight the machine or the software is hugely valuable to me.

[@Kay0Bot]

Everything you said about prusa applies to bambu. That's why so many jump to bambu

[@FrIoSrHy]

Except the supporting a european business that pays workers fairly and sources as many components as they can from within europe.

[@Pyrichia]

@@Kay0Bot Bambu Lab is a Chinese company. I didn't say anything about the rest not applying to other brands as well. However, when I bought my Prusa, Bambu had not yet hit the market, when I upgraded Bambu had not been thoroughly tested. So I chose Prusa. Would I do it again? I don't know, I'm not buying a printer now. As far as whether Bambu Lab pays their workers a fair wage, and behaves fairly in the market? I don't know. I trust Prusa is.

[@LilApe]

@@Kay0Bot bambu has literally done nothing to push 3d printing. All they did was take pre existing open source innovations and slap on a proprietary label. There are more prusa innovations in every bambu printer than there are bambu innovations lol.

[@Redhotandblue89]

Let's just shoot straight. It's overpriced as hell for what you get. It has 3d printed parts, the shipping costs are obscene, and the cost vs build volume and lack of multicolor options is just... really a poor ratio. I'm not a bambu fanboy by any means, but when you can go out and buy an A1 for $300-$400 shipped that does everything this printer does, and 99% as well for 1/3 or 1/4 of the cost, it's hard to argue in favor of a Prusa. You're paying a premium for a Toyota Corolla, when you can get a Tesla Model 3 with all the bells and whistles for a 1/3 of the price. Why? Bambu's work. They always work. Just like Prusa. They're easy to set up, and you don't pay a premium for a mostly assembled printer. And shipping is free. Why pay more for less when the reliability is extremely similar? They're overpriced. Plain and simple. At half the price and shipping being free, they'd be an attractive alternative for people who want something specifically not made in China. But's that's all it would ever be. An alternative with a lack in build volume and features. Maybe that's why they're priced so high? Because they know they cannot compete with the offering of Bambu, so instead of trying, they stick to their market even as the Prusa buying demographic shrinks in favor of mainstream consumers.

[@JSparrowist]

I have cheaper printers that perform just as good if not better in ways for half the price. There's no way in hell I am paying the prusa tax for a printer. If you want to, go right ahead! I just cannot justify it.

[@andljoy]

I think your views are about right. I do love the idea of prusa, the support the attention to detail the openness and so on but i think the i3 has just had its day (i also love its made in the EU and they control almost all there supply chain now). They need an enclosed Core XY or better yet a moving gantry CoreXY (think voron 2.4). I hope that the prusa XL is a preview of where the mainline prusa is going. I know for that support and the company ethos i would be happy to give up my X1C in a heartbeat, assuming it had a more modern multi material system. Its just too dam convenient to just have all the spools in a magic box that makes them work, and i hardly do any multi colour or multi material. To borrow a line from the old top gear when Clarkson is comparing the M3 to the i8. " There must have been a moment in history when everyone had typewriters (an i3), and typewriters had been around for years and they where brilliant and then someone came along with a laptop". That is how i see the old bed slingers vs the more modern offerings mainly from bambu.

[@barneybarney3982]

we have at work x1 carbon and mk4, and based on experience with both i got myself a mk4s and im happy with my choice. at the end of the day both are 3d printers and its only about small details that make one better than the other and these small details are mostly subjective. for example i really love the knob approach on prusa, i don't use touch functionality at all, because its just faster to use knob.

[@WhatsTheWordBozo]

I really loved Prusa for a long time, however, I also realized that for many, many years they completely ignored the landscape. I mean for god sakes the MK4 didnt even release with input shaping. If they want the quality price they have to also produce a superior product. I am sorry but even creality is beating them... a company that has been renowned for their entry level kmart type printers. Meanwhile, where is Prusa? I am in these slicers and I still dont see multi-layer for infill (something creality has had for like 5 years), I also only see bed slingers that have an abysmal z height. Their flagship is 3k and its not even an enclosed machine. The printers have no lighting, and they havnt really innovated all that much in a long time. I want to get excited about them but I look at a Prusa Mk4S and the price of a X1C and they are the same price... how does that make sense.

[@kbyethx]

I have a ton of respect for Prusa and I want them to thrive. My first printer was the 155th Cupcake kit and I’ve done custom builds etc since. Lately I’ve bought several Creality printers and I think they’re in the sweet spot at the moment for balancing price, features and openness… and shipping. Bambu has real appeal too but the closed aspect is a major negative when Creality and Prusa are so open. The Prusa XL looks really appealing too, but those prices just kill me. There’s an awesome printer store in my city and the guy running the place does an outstanding job running the place. He told me Prusa won’t let him be a reseller and that there are no Prusa resellers. I think if they changed their tune about resellers, the shipping aspect could be somewhat mitigated. I live about as far from Prusa headquarters as one can get. Anyway, I love it all. I just got a K2 Plus and it seems great, could be my one printer to rule them all. After this I may get a K1C or P1S. Because, printing’s fun. Great video and thank you!

[@bjf10]

Prusa is indeed 100% worth supporting. Top quality, made in the EU, and as you say, their openness. The Prusa instructions are SUPER good. I built a mk3s+ from a kit and upgraded it to a mk4 (which was pretty much a complete rebuild). These took time, but the Prusa instructions make it extremely straightforward. These machines are not only designed to be built by users, they're designed to be maintained by us as well. Much of it being 3d printed of course means that you can print replacement parts or mods if you need/want them. The openness really shines here. Can you not get free shipping on prusament over a certain price? We can here in the US when ordering from Printed Solid, which Prusa acquired (they are now manufacturing prusament here in the US there as well).

[@longfang98]

None of those points are something I would pay extra for.

[@bjf10]

@@longfang98 then don't buy one. Just like how I won't be buying a bambu or elegoo FDM printer.

[@lennymanny6364]

We can say it´s a FDM printer for Hipsters.

[@thijstriemstra]

😂

[@BeefIngot]

Prusa is not fully open and I actually am quite annoyed they get their cake and to eat it. The XL isn't open, the Mk4 doesn't include a full step file, etc etc. They also do misleading marketing frequently (not worse than some brands but more than other high end brands). Also, their big problem in my opinion is that they design in such a way that requires so much manual labour vs more automated more mass manufactured techniques. People talk about labour costs but Chinese wages are only ~25% lower (based on official stats from each respective government from 2023) so that can't account for the price difference.

[@Gepstra]

How do you think we get "free shipping" on €10 orders on Aliexpress etc, it's not about labour alone.

[@BeefIngot]

@Gepstra The loopholes that apply there to do with small packages getting funded by various governments isn't related. While yes their government can be friendly to their businesses, there are many ways that's true for various businesses. For example, Bambulab has no direct connection with their government.

[@Gepstra]

@@BeefIngot Ah yes of course, they are the exception.

[@BeefIngot]

@@Gepstra That's an idea yes, but what I've found the more I look into it, it's more like there are a minority of favoured companies and industries (like Ev manufacturing) and it's not quite the "everything is subsidised to high hell" that people think. it's not just them, but I believe Sovol, Qidi and others simply exist as normal companies. For sure once again, they do have systems which lift all boats (make life easier for corporations) but so do all sensible countries to some degree. I picked Bambulab just because they're the commonly brought up example and I'm kinda irritated that people will make up anything to avoid calling Prusa on what they need to be called on, which in my opinion is their underbaked releases, half hearted/misleading opensource efforts and overly manual labour intensive design choices resulting in expensive to manufacture machines.

[@Gepstra]

@@BeefIngot "Prusa is not fully open source, I'll pick Bambulab instead" My God.