So in that case, Bambulabs P1P is probably the printer you want, despite it’s proprietary nature.

I probably should have asked what you were looking for in a printer before starting to recommend stuff, but at least we figured it out in the end.

does that change your recommendation at all?

Not Really.

I’d get maybe $300 worth of printer, and then save the other couple hundred bucks for filaments and modifications that you’ll want after spending a while with the machine. That’s where the Ender 3 S1 fits right in.

I don’t really recommend spending more as a beginner, because you wont know what you actually need until you start printing stuff.

Though, if you don’t like to fiddle with stuff at all, the Bambulabs P1P ($599) is a thing that makes good parts. I still don’t recommend it, especially for a beginner. But for someone who just wants stuff to work in an Apple sort of way, (expensive, locked down, a bit contrived, but mostly seamless) that might be the best choice.

If I were starting printing today, I’d probably get an Ender 3 S1. You also can’t go wrong with Prusa printers, but you’ll pay a bit (a lot) more for them.

Really anything from those “best beginner printer” lists will work, as long as it has ABL (auto bed leveling).

Regardless of what anyone else says, you’ll want ABL at some point, so just get it right off the bat. Because adding an ABL sensor afterwards can sometimes be super annoying.

But I wouldn’t recommend anything from Bambulabs. Lots of gear on those printers is proprietary, and you will need to buy parts at some point.

With other printers you can get cheap parts everywhere. With Bambulabs printers though, enjoy waiting months for a $180 part that’s $20 on every other printer.

The plus and period thing isn’t difficult to filter out in their email check.

But I do agree that requiring emails is a non-issue for spammers.

I mean, look at any other platform that requires email, and they’re all covered in spam.