If you’re looking for a reliable, professional, high-quality SLA 3D printer, look no further. The Formlabs Form 2 is a workhorse that delivers stunning results. But there are drawbacks, and they have to do with SLA technology itself. First of all, working with resin means you will have to do some post-processing. Formlabs offers a special post-production kit for the Form 2, which we found expensive but invaluable. Secondly, neither the printer nor the resins are a steal. For most people, the price of $150 for a liter of resin is too high, and over the longer term the cost of consumables will add up. Thirdly, the print dimensions are limited to 125 × 125 × 165 mm — if you are prototyping in bigger dimensions, you have to search for alternative solutions. But if you are looking for a 3D printer that just delivers with (nearly) every single print, you have found your match.

If you've drawn up something unique that you want to make, however, the Form 2 is an excellent machine to literally turn that idea in to reality. The Form 2 is actually the first that shares the same level of reliability and consistency as most regular non-3D printers. On top of that, its print quality is unmatched by any other 3D printer in its price range. I've seen other printers that can print even higher quality objects, but they're also significantly more expensive.

the Form 2 is a printer that boasts exceptional resolution and build quality. It allows you to fully automate the process, and the support team is absolutely fantastic. If you work in manufacturing or a medical field, there’s a lot of potential here. That said, only large organizations will be able to afford this model. The printer, its add-ons, and support options are all prohibitively expensive. If there’s room in the budget, though, and you really need finely detailed models, we’d advise going for it – simply, there aren’t many printers better than this one.

Unlike the huge selection of materials available for FFM printers when it comes to resin there are far fewer options. However, the material types available for SLA are generally tailored for specific uses or have certain properties such as being flexible or tough. This diversity of material type is in contrast to the huge variety of colours available with FFM filament and really does show that this printer is designed for use by businesses and high-end enthusiasts.

The Form 2 stands alone both in terms of price and ability. Print quality and resin mean that you can build almost anything but the price and SLA technology will not suit everyone.