Background: I just got my first printer (Bambu Lab A1 mini) last year. I am also not an engineer and, like you, don’t want the printer itself to be the hobby.

Based on my experience, and what I’ve seen others say online, Bambu Lab is still the king of “it just works”. If you’re not as ideologically motivated by right to own as I am, I’d say go with Bambu.

While I have zero experience with the company, Prusa seems to be the most consumer friendly, though they have their own issues. If I buy a second printer, it’s likely going to be the Prusa Core One.

Thanks. Not sure if this is what you meant. The shape is distinct but the colors are similar. My avatar is from a worldbuilding project I work on as a hobby.

I forgot about dev mode. How does that compare to pre-enshittified firmware?

I’m definitely an “it just works” guy, and I am by no means an engineer. For me the printing is the hobby, not the printer.

Multimaterial would be good, but only if it doesn’t have to purge between colors. I bought the AMS lite along with the mini, and while it’s convenient when I want to print something in a different color, only having one nozzle means a truly multi-color print takes orders of magnitude longer to finish unless the print itself is completely designed around the limitations of the single-nozzle setup. Having said that, if the MMS can also act as dry storage that would be a plus even if I primarily use one filament per print.

It’s less about specific build volume and more what I can fit into the existing space while providing more build volume than the Mini’s 7x7x7 inches. I’d say the overall footprint of the printer has to be less than 60 cm on a side, since the table my current printer is on is 60 cm deep.

Enclosure is also a must-have.

I was going to say about 10x10x10 inches, but after recalculating the dimensions of the latest thing I’m making (a pill bottle organizer) I may be able to squeeze it onto the mini, so the thing that prompted this post may be a non issue, at least for now. Continued suggestions are welcome though.

What exactly does the mini do that makes it worth keeping if I get a larger printer? I’m not sure I can justify owning more than one.