// blog
Deep dives on how much 3D printing costs, 3D printer price ranges, filament cost planning, and Etsy margins for makers running real businesses.
44
articles
Prefer everything in one place? Open the resources hub.
// latest
Newest first. Each article links to related calculators where it helps.
A practical 2026 guide to setting your 3D printing hourly rate: machine time, labour, depreciation, electricity, failures, minimum fees, and worked examples for Etsy sellers and print farms.
Read articleReal income brackets, full unit economics on a typical print at May 2026 UK rates, and the patterns that separate the 10% who profit from the 65% who never break even. No survivorship bias.
Read articleHonest comparison of LayerMath, 3D Print Desk, and free spreadsheet calculators for 3D printing in 2026. Same print tested in all three — accuracy results, feature comparison, pricing, and which tool wins for each use case.
Read articleTotal 2-year cost of ownership for Bambu A1 Mini, P1S, Prusa MK4S, and Creality K1 — purchase price, electricity, filament, maintenance, and depreciation all included.
Read articleThe true cost of 3D printing in 2026: a 100g PLA print costs £3.50–5 all-in. Full cost tables by print size, material (PLA/PETG/resin) and country (UK, US, EU). Filament is only 35% of the real cost.
Read articleCurrent PLA filament price per gram for every major brand in 2026. UK and US prices, spool size cost comparison, PLA vs PLA+ vs Silk pricing, and how to calculate cost per print.
Read articleNeed tighter tolerances, metal parts, or batch runs? On-demand manufacturing services like Justway offer instant quotes, 100+ materials, and 3–5 day delivery with no minimums.
Read articleThe real monthly cost of running a 3D printer - electricity, filament, depreciation, consumables, and failed prints. Worked examples for hobbyists, Etsy sellers, and small print farms with UK and US figures.
Read articleReal electricity, depreciation, and cost per print for every current Bambu Lab model. Includes AMS purge waste costs and which Bambu makes sense for an Etsy business.
Read articleExact electricity usage and running costs for Bambu, Prusa, Creality, and more. Includes print farm power costs and how to reduce your electricity bill.
Read articleComplete cost comparison of PLA, PETG, ABS, TPU and resin. Cost per gram, failure rates, print difficulty, and how to price each material for maximum margin.
Read article
Latest 3D printing news for March 2026: Bambu A1 Mini gets a price cut, OrcaSlicer 2.3 adds new features, Stratasys merger closes, and new multicolour CoreXY printers arrive in Q2.
Read articleFull comparison of Bambu Lab, Prusa, and Creality 3D printers in 2026 — print quality, speed, reliability, running costs, and who each brand is actually for.
Read articleWhich filaments survive outdoors? PETG, ASA, ABS, and PC compared for UV resistance, heat tolerance, and weathering. With cost-per-kg and print difficulty ratings.
Read articleThe complete formula for pricing 3D printing services in 2026. Covers all 5 cost layers — material, electricity, depreciation, labour, and platform fees — with worked examples for 5 common prints.
Read articleHow to price custom 3D printing jobs — design time, prototyping, material markup, rush fees, and client communication. Includes a pricing worksheet and real examples.
Read articlePrusa MK4S vs Bambu A1 Mini vs P1S — full comparison for 2026. Print quality, speed, reliability, running costs, repairability, and total cost of ownership.
Read articleUK tax guide for 3D printing hobbyists and small businesses in 2026. Covers self-assessment, allowable expenses, the trading allowance, sole trader vs limited company, and when to register.
Read articleUS tax guide for 3D print sellers — self-employment tax, income tax, sales tax nexus, what Etsy collects for you, deductible expenses, and quarterly estimated payments.
Read articleFull running cost comparison: electricity, depreciation, and throughput for Bambu A1 Mini vs Creality Ender 3 V3 SE. Which is cheaper to operate per hour and per print?
Read articleReal cost-per-gram comparison of Bambu Lab PLA Basic vs eSUN PLA+, Polymaker, Sunlu, and Overture. When is Bambu filament worth the premium — and when is it just burning money?
Read articleUK VAT guide for 3D print sellers in 2026 — registration threshold, how Etsy handles VAT for you, B2B rules, zero-rated exports, and reverse charge explained.
Read articleExact fee comparison for Etsy vs Shopify for 3D print sellers in 2026 — listing fees, transaction fees, payment processing, and what you actually keep on a £25 sale.
Read articleThe real cost comparison between resin and FDM filament printing — including FEP degradation, IPA wash, UV curing, and failure rates. Side-by-side worked examples for miniatures, brackets, and large prints.
Read articleTested budget PLA, PETG & TPU filament brands under £20/kg for consistency and print quality. Sunlu from £12/kg, eSUN from £16/kg. Which cheap filaments are worth buying in 2026?
Read articleComplete resin print pricing guide: material cost per gram, IPA wash, FEP film, electricity, labour, and failure rate — with a full worked example and pricing formula.
Read articleMonthly P&L breakdown for a small 3D print farm with 4–6 printers. Fixed costs, variable costs, realistic revenue at 70% utilisation, and net margin targets.
Read articleReal numbers from a UK Etsy seller making £2,400/month: cost per print, pricing formula, Etsy fees, and how they hit 65% margin on 120 orders/month.
Read articleHow a maker scaled from 1 printer to 8 over 18 months using a profit reinvestment model. Decision criteria, pricing changes at scale, cash flow lessons, and a month-by-month revenue table.
Read articleUK VAT guide for 3D print sellers: the £90,000 threshold, what counts as taxable turnover, what changes when you register, and how Etsy handles VAT for marketplace sellers.
Read articleTop ABS filament brands for 2026 ranked by warp resistance, layer adhesion, and value. Includes ABS vs ASA comparison, print settings guide, and cost-per-gram table.
Read articleWe ranked 7 PETG filament brands by real-world strength, layer adhesion & cost per gram. Polymaker, eSUN, Prusament, Sunlu compared with UK & US prices and print settings.
Read articleTop TPU filament brands for 2026 ranked by flexibility, shore hardness consistency, durability, and printability. Includes shore hardness guide, print settings, and cost-per-gram table.
Read articleReal cost breakdowns for 4 common 3D prints: phone stand, miniature, vase, and functional bracket. Covers material, electricity, labour, and depreciation with UK and US figures.
Read articleElectricity cost per hour for every major 3D printer — Bambu, Prusa, Ender, Voron. UK, US, and EU rates. Formula, daily cost table, and tips to reduce running costs.
Read article
The complete Etsy 3D printing pricing guide for 2026: every fee explained, back-calculation formula, worked examples, and a pricing checklist.
Read articleComplete guide to running a profitable 3D print farm in 2026: per-machine hourly cost, batch pricing, income models by farm size, and when to scale.
Read articlePlatform-by-platform comparison for selling 3D prints: exact fees, what you keep on a £20 sale, and which platform suits which seller type.
Read articleWe tested LayerMath, OmniCalculator, 3DPCC, and Printpal on the same print. See which is most accurate, what each misses, and which one is best for Etsy sellers.
Read articleReal Etsy profit margins for 3D print sellers. Full 2026 fee breakdown, pricing formula, margin targets by product type, and how to improve margins without raising every price.
Read article
I tested 8 PLA filament brands for print quality, diameter consistency & cost per gram. Polymaker, eSUN PLA+, Prusament, Bambu, HATCHBOX, Sunlu — clear winners for every budget. UK & US prices.
Read articleThe complete formula for pricing 3D prints in 2026: material cost, electricity, labour, machine depreciation, and platform fees. Worked examples with real numbers.
Read articleEvery Etsy fee explained for 3D print sellers: listing, transaction, payment processing, and Offsite Ads. Includes worked example showing what you actually keep.
Read articleHow to extract filament weight and print time from PrusaSlicer, OrcaSlicer, Cura, and Bambu Studio — and use G-code import to auto-fill your 3D print cost calculator.
Read article