I’m a 3D printing wanna-be, not even an amateur. Have seen a few printers, helped assemble one long time ago, played with the software a little, though I have never actually printed anything myself yet. I decided to spend some saved money on a printer for myself.
My goals are getting hands-on experience with printing and being able to use it as a tool in projects/everyday life. I’m considering an FFF one rather than SLA one, mostly due to the toxicity of resin (and costs). Printing speed is unimportant. Print quality matters, but only to some satisfactory degree and it’s not paramount. I imagine I might buy another one in a few years, so I don’t need a printer for life, but it needs to serve sufficiently for this period. I’m open to the possibility of repairing/upgrading it, if it can be done reliably by an amateur.
I’m strongly considering Prusa MINI+, but it’s not a final decision and I’ll be happy to hear your feedback. I’m posting this here in hopes that if I’m making a mistake, people more competent than me will stop me. If there’s anything else you think I should know, I’ll be happy to hear it.
Do note that there are two things to consider: do you want 3D printing to be a hobby, or a 3D printer?
The former points you toward things like Prusa, who has an excellent track record on reliability and being a work horse. They give support if need be and just high quality.
The latter means things like Ender 3 etc. They have perhaps a larger user base and lots of places to find info on what upgrades to do, and how to get most out of the machine. But they might not perform as worry free as the other kind. It is not that they won’t give you a beautiful print, it is more that they are more prone to problems and can be lacking in certain aspects, hence, problems / necessary upgrades are most likely expected at some point.
The former is roughly speaking 2-3x as expensive as the latter kind, assuming similar print space.