Best Resin 3D Printer 2026: What I’d Actually Buy

I’ll level with you — the first time I pulled a resin print off the build plate, I genuinely couldn’t believe it came from a machine I bought for under £300. The detail is absurd. We’re talking readable text at 6pt, individual hair strands on miniatures, surface finishes that look injection-moulded. FDM can’t touch this.

Resin printers have come on massively in the last couple of years. Screens have jumped from 4K to 12K and beyond, print speeds have roughly doubled, and prices keep dropping. I’ve tested the best options you can buy in the UK right now, from budget picks at ~£220 to production-ready machines at ~£400.

Fair warning: resin printing is messier and fussier than FDM. You need gloves, ventilation, a wash-and-cure setup. But if you need detail — for miniatures, jewellery, dental models, or prototypes — nothing else comes close.

Quick Comparison

Printer	Resolution	Build Volume (mm)	XY Pixel Size	Speed	Price (approx.)
Elegoo Saturn 4 Ultra	12K	218 × 123 × 220	19 µm	150 mm/hr	£350-£400
Anycubic Photon Mono M7	14K	218 × 123 × 235	18 µm	170 mm/hr	£380-£430
Phrozen Sonic Mini 8K S	8K	165 × 72 × 180	22 µm	80 mm/hr	£280-£320
Elegoo Mars 4 Ultra	9K	153 × 77 × 175	18 µm	150 mm/hr	£200-£250
Anycubic Photon Mono M5s Pro	14K	218 × 123 × 200	18 µm	105 mm/hr	£350-£400

1. Elegoo Saturn 4 Ultra — Best Overall

Price: ~£370 | Resolution: 12K (11,520 × 5,120) | Build Volume: 218 × 123 × 220 mm

This is the one I’d recommend to most people. Elegoo has refined the Saturn line over several generations now, and the 4 Ultra hits the sweet spot — brilliant resolution, decent build volume, fast enough for regular use, and not ruinously expensive.

What makes it stand out:

• 12K resolution with 19 µm pixels — sharp enough that I can read 6pt text on my prints. Miniature faces have individual teeth. Seriously.
• Tilting release mechanism — reduces peel forces, so large flat prints don’t fail as often and your screen lasts longer
• 150 mm/hr lift speed — noticeably faster than older Saturns
• 10.1-inch screen — I can fit 8 miniatures per print, or a decent-sized single object
• Wi-Fi connectivity — send files straight from your slicer, no more faffing with USB sticks

Build quality is solid. Dual linear rails on the Z-axis, laser-etched aluminium build plate. Feels like a proper piece of kit, not a toy.

Downsides: the vat only holds about 400ml of resin, which is a pain on tall prints — I’ve been caught out mid-print having to top up. And the bundled slicer (Voxeldance Tango) is rubbish — use ChiTuBox or Lychee Slicer instead.

View the Elegoo Saturn 4 Ultra on Amazon.co.uk

Verdict: The best all-round resin printer you can buy right now. If you’re only going to own one, make it this.

2. Anycubic Photon Mono M7 — Best for Speed

Price: ~£400 | Resolution: 14K (13,312 × 5,888) | Build Volume: 218 × 123 × 235 mm

The M7 pushes resolution to 14K and backs it up with genuinely fast speeds. A bloke in my local printing group runs three of these for his Etsy miniatures business and swears the speed difference over the Saturn adds up to several extra prints per week.

Key features:

• 14K resolution — 18 µm pixel size, marginally sharper than 12K. You can see the difference on very fine details if you’re looking for it
• 170 mm/hr rated lift speed — fastest on this list
• Upgraded light source — more even exposure across the screen, so edges come out as sharp as the centre
• 235 mm Z-height — 15mm taller than the Saturn, useful for taller figurines or stacking models vertically

Print quality is outstanding. I printed the same D&D miniature on both the Saturn 4 Ultra and the M7 — the M7 was slightly sharper on hair and scale textures. Subtle, but visible under a magnifying glass.

Downsides: is the £30 premium over the Saturn worth it? Honestly, for most people, no. Unless you specifically need the extra speed or height, the Saturn gives you better value. Community is also smaller than Elegoo’s.

View the Anycubic Photon Mono M7 on Amazon.co.uk

Verdict: The speed champion. Buy this if throughput matters — running a small business, batch printing for customers, or you’re just impatient (no judgement).

3. Phrozen Sonic Mini 8K S — Best for Miniatures

Price: ~£300 | Resolution: 8K (7,500 × 3,240) | Build Volume: 165 × 72 × 180 mm

If you’re a Warhammer painter or D&D enthusiast, this is the printer everyone in the hobby recommends — and they’re right. The smaller screen means those 8K pixels pack together tighter, giving you incredibly fine detail on miniatures.

Why miniature painters love it:

• 22 µm pixel size on a compact 7.1-inch screen — smaller screen = tighter pixels = finer detail at miniature scale
• Mono LCD — 2-3 second exposure times, so prints are fast despite the slower lift speed
• Excellent Z-axis precision — Phrozen’s linear rail gives you consistent layers down to 10 microns. Ten microns. That’s basically witchcraft.
• ParaLED 2.0 light source — very even illumination, which matters more than people realise

The build volume is small (165 × 72 mm), but who cares? For 28mm-scale miniatures you can fit 6-8 per print. Less resin waste, faster cycle times. I printed an entire Gloomhaven set on one of these over a weekend.

Downsides: if you want to print anything bigger than a miniature — cosplay parts, prototypes, larger models — you’ll hit the build volume wall immediately. This is a specialist tool, not an all-rounder.

For more on miniature printing (including FDM options), see our best 3D printer for miniatures guide.

View the Phrozen Sonic Mini 8K S on Amazon.co.uk

Verdict: The miniature specialist. Unbeatable detail per pound if your prints fit on the plate.

4. Elegoo Mars 4 Ultra — Best Budget Option

Price: ~£220 | Resolution: 9K (8,520 × 4,320) | Build Volume: 153 × 77 × 175 mm

How Elegoo sells this for £220, I genuinely don’t understand. 9K resolution, 18 µm pixel size — matching the per-pixel sharpness of printers costing nearly twice as much. I bought one as a backup and it immediately became my main machine for individual miniatures.

What you get for the money:

• 9K resolution on a 7-inch screen — 18 µm pixels at this price is frankly ridiculous
• 150 mm/hr lift speed — same as the much more expensive Saturn 4 Ultra
• Tilting release — same mechanism as the Saturn, reducing peel forces and failed prints
• ACF film compatible — optional upgrade that further improves screen life
• Compact footprint — sits happily on a desk corner

Print quality punches so far above its price point it’s almost unfair to the competition. For individual miniatures, small batch production, or learning resin printing, this is where I’d start.

Downsides: the build volume is genuinely small — 153 × 77 mm means you can fit maybe 3-4 miniatures per print. If you’re producing items for sale, you’ll outgrow it quickly and want a Saturn-sized machine for batch efficiency.

For FDM options at a similar price, see our best 3D printer under £500 guide.

View the Elegoo Mars 4 Ultra on Amazon.co.uk

Verdict: Best value resin printer in 2026. If you’re on a budget and want to try resin, start here. No contest.

5. Anycubic Photon Mono M5s Pro — Best for Reliability

Price: ~£370 | Resolution: 14K (13,312 × 5,888) | Build Volume: 218 × 123 × 200 mm

The M5s Pro isn’t the fastest or the cheapest — but it might be the most hassle-free. Anycubic designed this around reliability features that make failed prints genuinely rare. If you just want to load resin, press print, and come back to a finished model without drama, this is your machine.

Reliability features:

• Smart resin sensing — detects if the resin level drops too low and pauses. Saved me from at least two ruined prints already
• Laser-engraved build plate — excellent adhesion without needing to sand the plate (which I always hated doing)
• Self-cleaning mode — exposes and cures a thin sheet to catch debris from the vat. Genuinely useful, saves messy manual cleaning
• 14K resolution — 18 µm pixel size, same sharpness as the M7

The 200 mm Z-height is 20mm shorter than the M7, but sufficient for the vast majority of prints.

Downsides: print speed (105 mm/hr) is noticeably slower than the Saturn 4 Ultra or M7. And at a similar price to the Saturn, the Saturn offers better overall value unless you specifically prioritise those reliability features.

View the Anycubic Photon Mono M5s Pro on Amazon.co.uk

Verdict: The safe choice. If you want a machine that just works with minimal fuss, this is it.

Essential Accessories

Wash and Cure Station

You can’t skip this. Resin prints need washing (usually in IPA) and UV-curing after printing. You could use sunlight and a tub of isopropyl alcohol, but a proper station makes it so much easier — and more consistent.

• Elegoo Mercury Plus 2.0 (~£70 on Amazon UK) — fits prints from the Mars and Saturn lines, two-in-one wash and cure, adjustable timer. I use this daily and it’s been brilliant.

Resin

Budget around £25-£40 per litre. Here’s what’s available:

Resin Type	Cost/Litre	Best For
Standard (grey/white)	£25-£30	General printing, prototyping
Water-washable	£28-£35	Easier cleanup — no IPA needed, which is genuinely nice
ABS-like	£30-£40	Functional parts, higher impact resistance
Plant-based / low-odour	£30-£38	Printing indoors without your family complaining about the smell
Castable	£50-£80	Jewellery casting, lost wax process

Safety Equipment

Don’t skip this stuff. Uncured resin is genuinely nasty if it gets on your skin or you breathe the fumes.

• Nitrile gloves — essential, every single time you handle uncured resin. Keep a box next to the printer.
• Respirator mask (3M half-face with organic vapour cartridges) — wear when pouring resin. About £25 from Screwfix or Amazon UK.
• UV-blocking safety glasses — if your printer doesn’t have a full cover
• Silicone mat — protects your desk from resin spills. Trust me, you’ll spill eventually.

How to Choose the Right Resin Printer

For Miniatures and Figurines

Resolution is everything here. The Phrozen Sonic Mini 8K S or Elegoo Mars 4 Ultra are your best bets — small build volumes don’t matter for 28-32mm scale models, and every micron of XY resolution shows at that scale.

For a Small Business

You need build volume and speed to batch-print efficiently. The Elegoo Saturn 4 Ultra or Anycubic Photon Mono M7 give you enough plate real estate to run 6-10 miniatures or medium-sized items per print, with fast cycle times.

For Prototyping

Build volume first, resolution second. The Saturn 4 Ultra’s 218 × 123 × 220 mm handles most prototype sizes. Pair it with ABS-like resin for functional testing. For anything larger, you’ll need FDM instead — see our best 3D printers for prototyping guide.

On a Budget

The Elegoo Mars 4 Ultra at ~£220. You lose build volume but get resolution and speed that matches printers costing 60% more. Absolute no-brainer if budget is the priority.

Final Thoughts

I’ll be honest — I wasn’t a resin convert at first. The mess, the smell, the post-processing. But the print quality won me over completely. Even the budget options now produce results that would’ve been considered professional-grade just two years ago.

The biggest decision is build volume. Smaller printers give you better per-pixel resolution at lower prices. Larger machines let you batch-print efficiently. Pick based on what you’ll actually be printing, not the spec sheet.

For most people, the Elegoo Saturn 4 Ultra is the sweet spot. If you’re mainly printing miniatures, the Mars 4 Ultra saves you £150 with no meaningful quality sacrifice.

Whatever you choose, budget for a wash and cure station, decent resin, and proper safety gear from day one. The printer is only half the equation — and your lungs will thank you.