The 6 Best 3D Printers for Cosplay

The Prusa i3 MK3S+ is a RepRap-style printer that you can purchase as either a kit or fully pre-assembled. The i3 MK3S+ is known for producing high quality prints even when assembled by a beginner because of its self-correcting calibration technology.

With the use of a SuperPINDA probe, the i3 MK3S+ boasts a fully automatic mesh bed leveling system. The probe travels to gridded points across the build plate before each print to map the height of the bed at each point. This allows the printer to adjust to differences in bed height while printing for perfect bed adhesion.

A built-in filament sensor allows the Mk3S+ to auto-load filament and pause the print if the filament breaks or runs out. This is particularly useful for keeping down wasted material and preventing your prints from being ruined halfway through.

The i3 MK3S+ has a power loss recovery function that resumes a print after the printer suddenly loses power. This is another great feature for minimizing waste that is especially handy for 3D printing armor, 3D printing a helmet, or other printing large prop pieces, since they have the potential to use a large amount of filament before they’re complete.

Ultimaker printers have long been considered the standard for professional-quality 3D printing solutions, and the S3 is no exception. A smaller version of the S5, the Ultimaker S3 is built for users who want an easy and high-quality experience with less hassle.

This is a dual extruder 3D printer, so you can easily create two-color prints or pair your PLA model with dissolving PVA supports for easy support material removal.

One of the best features of the Ultimaker S3 is its advanced automatic bed leveling system. It uses a probe to gauge the bed height and automatically adjusts it to where it needs to be. This is easily the biggest time-saver you can have in 3D printing, since leveling the bed (even with some assistance) can be time-consuming.

The Ultimaker S3 has swappable print cores to easily change your nozzle diameter. Smaller nozzle sizes can drastically improve the quality of a print, while a larger nozzle forms more obvious layer lines but prints your model much faster than usual.

If you want an affordable printer that will get you started quickly and easily, the Flashforge Adventurer 3 Lite is a great option. Fully assembled and pre-calibrated out of the box, the Adventurer is perfect for beginner or intermediate users looking for consistent print quality.

The Adventurer 3 Lite (and its slightly beefier parent model, the Adventurer 3) has a one-click removable nozzle for easy cleaning. Since nozzle clogs are one of the most common (and annoying) issues that arise with a 3D printer, this is a big time saver.

On the other hand, since the Adventurer 3 Lite uses a special quick-release nozzle, you have to buy all replacements from Flashforge, which is far more expensive than typical printer nozzles. You are also far more limited in terms of what size nozzle you can use and what material your nozzle is made from.

Flashforge’s product description for the Adventurer 3 Lite claims that “no bed leveling” is required, which is a bit misleading since you do have to occasionally level the bed.

The printer uses the manual leveling technique of gauging the distance between the nozzle and bed using a piece of paper, but you adjust the gap with on-screen controls rather than knobs.

The build volume for the Adventurer 3 Lite is 150mm on all three axes, which translates to approximately a 5.9” x 5.9” x 5.9” build plate. This is a bit small for printing things like prop weapons, armors, and helmets, so any larger models would need to be printed as multiple pieces before you glue the 3D prints together.

For those of us who need to 3D print cosplay prints with fine details, the Phrozen Sonic Mighty 4K resin printer comes to the rescue. It creates high-quality pieces that show far more detail than typical FDM prints.

While most resin printers have a small build volume, the Phrozen Sonic Mighty 4K boasts an impressive 200 x 125 x 220 mm (7.9” x 4.9” x 8.6”) print capacity and fast LCD printing.

Because of how resin printers work, they are able to tackle far more complex and high-detail models than traditional FDM 3D printing. This makes the Sonic Mighty 4K one of the best resin 3D printers for pieces that have high-fidelity designs, asymmetry, gaps, overhangs, and other features that FDM printers struggle with.

When it comes to getting you printing your cosplay props quickly and efficiently, the Dremel Digilab 3D45 has you covered. With little maintenance and setup needed straight out of the box, it is well-suited for beginner users.

It uses an open material system, meaning that you can use third-party filaments with it without issue. However, when you use Dremel-brand filament with the printer, it automatically detects and uses the best print settings for that filament.

The 3D45’s enclosed case isn’t just for temperature control—it is also designed for safety. Coupled with a carbon filter, the printer keeps any microparticles and strong odors contained. So if you are planning to set up your printer indoors in high traffic areas, this negates the need for complicated ventilation systems. This is also the reason why the 3D45 scores high in our list with the best enclosed 3D printers.

Leveling the build plate is fast and easy with the 3D45’s two-point assisted bed leveling system. A probe gauges the height of the build plate and directs users on how far to turn the knobs to level the bed.

Speaking of the build plate, it has an approximate print area of 254 x 154 x 170 mm (10” x 6” x 6.7”) that is perfect for long, thin prints like armor vambraces, wands, and prop daggers.

If you want a generous-sized build plate to print your armor, helms, and other cosplay props in one piece, the Qidi Tech X-Max gives you just that.

The Qidi Tech X-Max has an impressive selection of supported filaments, including carbon fiber, Nylon, PC, PETG, TPU, PLA, and ABS. Since most of these filaments have different needs for optimal printing, the X-Max set up two distinct environments for them.

Cool-temp filaments like PLA, TPU, and PETG are fed from a spool holder at the top of the printer into the main extruder.

High-temp filaments like carbon fiber, PC, and nylon stay in a temperature-controlled chamber and use a more durable extruder that can easily be installed in place of the default extruder.

Like the Flashforge Adventurer 3 Lite, the X-Max uses machine-assisted bed leveling, so you can use the on-screen controls in place of the usual knobs.

The Qidi Tech X-Max has a build volume of 300 x 250 x 300 mm (11.8” x 9.84” x 11.8”). For a fully-enclosed printer capable of using advanced filaments, this is a generous build size. While some larger models may still need to be printed in pieces, you will have significantly less gluing to do with this printer.