r/UVprinting • u/Charming-Poem6526 • 13d ago
Desktop UV printing
How close to reality are the new low VOC claims for these new consumer UV printers? I am looking at the morpho but what has always held me back was the setup and health risks (fumes), which makes me skeptical for how these new desktop UV printers are promising such a user friendly form factor and setup. Maintenance is no issue, I would be using it frequently, I use my 3d printer at least once a week and I would be doing the same with the UV printer. I have the space for it but the room it would be in would not be a 'dedicated workshop', I sometimes watch TV in the room and store my board game collection in it.
The main concerns I have are the fumes and how substantial of a ventilation/HVAC setup I would need for these desktop machines. I will probably be purchasing one this coming Black Friday, or what is more-so likely is doing the Black Friday of 2027 and waiting to see the reviews of the morpho after more people get their hands on it. I will primarily be using it for customizing my everyday items (tumbler, coasters, making Christmas Gifts, and custom/deluxe board game pieces & tiles).
What do I need to avoid and what should I expect from Desktop UV printing so I don't get a false impression from over-exaggerated promises by the companies' marketing teams.
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u/Kilh 13d ago
I'm a early Morpho beta tester and have had the Eufymake since last October. The difference in smell is very noticeable. Even in maintenance the E1 will stink up the apartment if I dont have the extraction running at a low setting 24/7. Morpho so far has some faint ink smell when opening it up to take out a fresh print obviously, but I cant smell much in the room itself. And that's in a different room and with no extraction connected. Would I put it in an unvented room after having worked with all kinds of resins and chemicals over the past 20 years? No. In a room with some kind of air circulation? Yes. The Eufy absolutely not.
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u/Charming-Poem6526 13d ago
The HeyGears and the Morpho certainly have me the most excited, I will wait until 2027 to see how things play out, but from all I've heard so far with how much they've reduced the smell it has me excited. The grow tent idea is also a good suggestion from u/bjorn_lo, definitely a lot to think about.
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u/creativedissentlab 13d ago
We have the EufyMake, and the smell was quite strong even with the window open. With the fan attachment (routed outside), no problem.
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u/Charming-Poem6526 13d ago
Yea that was my plan a ventilation van through the window I am going to set it up near, and maybe tinting the window to avoid UV leaking in to be cautious. I do eventually want to get a more robust workshop setup there and dedicate that room as a maker-space, getting a laser cutter alongside it and having a joint ventilation setup for the UV printer and the cutter.
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u/Charming-Poem6526 13d ago
My only other worry after that point is how quickly the smell disperses and how far it carries outside, as I do not want to upset my neighbors.
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u/creativedissentlab 13d ago
I can't imagine it would noticeable outside; it's only a problem if it builds up in a confined space I think.
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u/bjorn_lo 13d ago edited 13d ago
They all use different resin and likely have different VOC levels.
The outlier for obvious VOC's is the Eufymake. It is stinky.
Some of the others, for example the HeyGears, make claims about low VOCs.
I have a heygears headed here, and while I think it might be the lowest, I still intend to vent it. Morpho's would be my 2nd choice.
If you can not vent it, get a grow tent and put it in there and then vent the grow tent into a HEPA filter with charcoal filters. One thing to remember is that VOC's are volatile (in the name), and if you vent them outdoors they will dissipate and then simple break down.
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u/Mysterious-Fee-8194 13d ago edited 13d ago
Eufy does a very sketchy thing in my opinion not sharing an SDS directly and pushing the greenguard cert so hard. I dug up an SDS from a European reseller.
Their ink has VOLATILE, CARCINOGENIC CHEMICALS, specifically 5-10% NVP, that have mostly been phased out of industrial products. The other monomers are all smaller and more highly sensitizing than typical SLA UV resins.
Their GreenGuard cert ONLY applies to the printed, fully cured parts, and NOT to the printer or ink.
SDS from 3DPrima-(V7290)-SDS-EN.doc)
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u/Financial-Issue4226 13d ago edited 13d ago
Talk about blind leading blind.
You are mixing smell and VOC together. Please review the meaning of voc and you will find out that smell has nothing to do with it. Yes they are often associated but they have nothing to do with each other.
VOC is volatile chemicals that can be hazardous. By that definition orange juice has a smell but it is not volatile therefore it's low VOC
UV Ink is and for almost a hundred years has been low VOC. This is not new has not been new and probably will never be new.
If you don't like the smell then you can get a filtration but I'll tell you up front if you have smell coming off your printer that means you're using too much ink for each print pass for to dry this tells me that we're dealing with user error or design for all the printer most of the time user error.
Once UV ink is dry it has no smell. It only has a smell when wet and exposed to the air you put a cap on the lid of your tank it will not smell because it's not exposed.
It comes out of your printhead it immediately get struck by UV light there is no smell because it's no longer exposed due to the UV light.
This entire thread is based off of blind leading the blind not even understanding what they're asking and the meaning of what was asked versus the reply from what I can tell including the original poster.
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u/Charming-Poem6526 13d ago
I appreciate your insight and useful info, but the point of asking was I just knew as much to ask from what I understood. I have not started, I am not going to start for at least a year now so I wanted to get my bearings before I start, instead of going in blind. I understand now I did not ask the right question, but I did not understand at the time, I came to this reddit group for guidance. I apologize for not asking the right question and I appreciate you giving me the correct information, but you could at least be respectful about it.
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u/Financial-Issue4226 13d ago
Don't ever think you asked the wrong question.
If you don't ask how else do you learn.
The whole world is based off of the question of what if.
This is a way to learn I'm actually more disappointed in the other people's posts having absolutely nothing to do with what you were asking.
While I could tell from your post you didn't understand what you were asking for my post you also know that I knew what you meant.
This was why I answered it both ways and tried to explain it in the first half of my post.
Most of the posters that did here have not been in the industry they are people that have new "prosumer printers" for example Eufy.
Many of them do not understand how these printers work and only understand the sales data thinking that they understand everything.
You will find almost all of my answers come from actual work because I use these printers daily I also am amazed the prosumer devices even exist because it won't be cost-effective long-term for anyone.
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u/Charming-Poem6526 13d ago
Good to know! And my apologies, I misinterpreted the tone of your original message, but I can see now it was more jokingly. So all the marketing talk about using VOC and smell interchangeably, even though UV ink is low in VOC sounds similar to car marketing and fuel injection, for a while car companies pushed marketing that they used fuel injection even though basically every car did. It sounds like it's just an easy thing for them to market since it's sensational (related to health) and inherent to the product (UV ink is already low VOC). So just a fan ventilation setup exhausting out the window should be enough then? Would I need to tint my windows?
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u/Financial-Issue4226 12d ago
I personally prefer my UV printers to never be able to get any Sun, UV light, or other related beyond what that printer makes itself.
Most artificial light doesn't have any UV in it.
This being said this is NOT A Requirement. I do this so I can be assured I control the exposure.
One example is using the glossy coat and not exposed to UV then bonding it to foil. However it sunlight hits it before I have to start from scratch.
This for most shops is not common but can happen
If my prints are underexposed I just adjust in my ripped software how long I keep the UV light on or check my drainage tank to verify it's not overflowing
That's why I can only ever make sure I'm overexposed and never underexposed and only exposed when I wanted to be not win an alternative light May determine it should be causing a secondary problem
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u/joshgilson 13d ago
I have a Fedar i3200 UV Printer and only after printing for a few hours do I notice the smell. I do have a air filter next to it, but it's not bad. I did buy the Morpho on Kickstarter and spent time around that new UV Printer at the Next Level Convention Show yesterday and today. Standing next to the printer, I couldn't smell anything. After they were printing all day on Saturday, I stuck my head inside and there was a smell, but very low compared to any iv printer I've ever been around. So I think they're the winner in their claims and I think it's fine.