I am a complete noob to 3D Printing and at the moment I haven’t bit the bullet and purchased a printer yet. I’m doing my due diligence performing extensive research to help aide in my decision. I’m an all around tech nerd creative so I’m into mech keebs, digital art (not AI) and pretty much anything tech.
Welcome aboard! We all started out without any direction or knowledge, Research is good.
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P.S. keep us informed of what you do in picking a printer.
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Thank you, I definitely will keep y’all updated. I’m really excited about starting out on this journey.
Once you go down the 3D printing rabbit hole it can become an obsession. A 3d printed monkey on your back. Many of us are lost to it and there is NO WAY BACK. WAH HA HA! 
I came to this rabbit hole via another of my rabbit holes mech keebs.
for your location either get a lulzbot or a prusa just keep in mind i understand lulzbot costs a premium but will last years & requires minimal maintence , built like a tank for a lulzbot the textured sheet lasts me 6 months which is about triple the product life span of the sheet vs others
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My knowledge is limited to Creality only as a printer of purchase.
I have a CR10 Smart Pro and two K1 Max printers.
The CR10 needs a little more knowledge to keep printing clean etc. but the K1 Max’s are very smart and do much of the setup for you. They are basically load and print in the Creality Print software. Learning the software is the Key to good printing.
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I agree 3DP, I’m more prusa (support 24/7) and always upgradable.
That’s fine just keep in mind prusa has often has a lead time if not in stock especially the latest models take time
I really appreciate all the suggestions. I have a couple printers in mind. My current budget limits my choices. I’ve had my eye on the Flashforge AD5X or the Creality K1SE I figured they’d not break the bank and be a good starting point. Basically I want to print for me I don’t plan on doing it for profit. I want to print functional pieces with a little bit of cute trinkets or decorations.
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Everyone has their favourite brand or model and tend to push them. I don’t know of any of the more popular ones that somebody here hasn’t bitched about it for some reason or other, even Prusa and Bambu. Pick the one that is best for you. You can bitch about it later.
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I definitely had a good chuckle from that last part. Nothing is perfect when it comes to hardware 
Welcome to the madness!
I can tell you what I own, but you can’t buy it anymore, and if I do purchase a second unit, I’m more likely to go towards Prusa - less of the proprietary walled garden issue than what seems to be the new norm for 3D printers, but even that may not last it seems.
If you really want to dive in, and love to hold what feels like half a billion variables in your head, go opensource, open-hardware.
I’m learning I dislike v-wheels - the stock ones on my CR10 Smart are starting to break down, which means yet another overhaul, retune, etc. I don’t think the cost is worth converting from v wheels to linear rails, and I’d only get x and y for that.
My only advise is buy the best feature/reliability you can afford now. Identify early what are the consumables that you can replace, and shop for them on sale, and lay some in for later. (Think nozzles, hot ends, etc., and in the case of the Creality sprite extruder - the ribbon cable - seems designed to tear itself apart)
Nothing worse than Friday night, 9 pm, your hot end dies, for some reason or another, and you were 50% into a long print job, and now you’re down as long as it takes to find, order, and get delivered whatever element failed.
And as Loosenut says, belly aching comes later. I can get a good electric blue storm going pretty quickly these days - esp. now that some parts are getting harder to find. 
Hey @artist78
welcome to the forum, Hope to see you here often.
We were all Noobs once and sometimes the questions like this just have to be asked, We appreciate you posting it here.
The First printer can be the most intimidating purchase, Everyone here will give you feedback good and bad.
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Hello @Jason
I have seen so many good and bad things about most printers. The model that keeps catching my eye is the FlashForge AD5X my only issue is the slicer software they of course have their own spin of Orca-Slicer but my only true issue is that I run Linux on all my household computers and their software isn’t available for Linux but stock Orca does but it has its caveats with the IFS. That is what is making my decision so much more frustrating.
I am definitely glad to be here surrounded by people like y’all.
Hi @artist78
That is an interesting question, Not one that gets posts here alot. I am pretty new to Orca itself but I am on windows. What kind of issues are there with Orca using IFS? You have me curious now
I have watched videos where the IFS isn’t recognized by stock Orca Slicer so doing multi color prints is a bit tedious and adds extra steps since it can’t read the device info on filament types or even color. There are also known issues with the actual printer not showing up in Orca Slicer. But I am going to be hopeful and purchase one here soon.
I’m sure it’ll all work out on its own. I do quite enjoy a challenge. Plus everyone’s experience with things are different.
Agreed 100% with you there. Its why I like the forums like this because everyone’s experience is different. together we can share the experience.
let us know what you decide on and how it works out for you. Especially on Linux any tricks you find would be greatly helpful to the group I am sure.
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Most definitely will be reporting back my experience. I whole heartedly agree forums like this are extremely helpful. We as a community can help and overcome obstacles in our way.
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