Your first 3D print is exciting, nervous, and often disappointing. You’ll probably fail. That’s normal and expected.
This guide walks through the entire process: what should happen, what often goes wrong, and what success actually looks like.
Before You Print (Preparation Phase)
Week 1: Unboxing and setup (4-6 hours)
Your printer arrives. Don’t just plug it in.
Checklist:
- Unpack carefully (remove packing materials, don’t lose bolts)
- Verify all parts are present (check against packing list)
- Assemble if needed (follow manual or YouTube video)
- Install software (download slicer: Cura or Prusaslicer)
- Level the bed (critical—single most important step)
- Load test filament (usually included)
Bed leveling (30 minutes, most important task):
This is where most first-print failures happen. Too many people skip it.
Process:
- Heat bed to 60°C (filament won’t stick to cold surface)
- Heat nozzle to 200°C (should drip a bit of material)
- Move nozzle to corner of bed
- Insert 0.1mm shim (paper or feeler gauge)
- Move nozzle down until you feel resistance
- Repeat at all 4 corners and center
- Goal: Consistent 0.1mm gap everywhere
Why this matters:
- Too high: Nozzle doesn’t touch, filament won’t stick
- Too low: Nozzle crashes, scrapes bed, clogs immediately
- Just right: First layer sticks, print succeeds
Pro tip: If you level correctly, 70% of first-print failures vanish.
Choosing Your First Model
What NOT to print:
- Complex model with 50 parts (too much for first print)
- Miniature figurine (requires experience)
- Functional part you need to work (test with less critical item first)
- Huge print (6+ hours on first try is stressful)
What TO print:
- Calibration cube (20×20×20mm, 20 minutes)
- Simple toy (Benchy boat, 1-2 hours)
- Decorative thing (vase, mini box, something fun)
- Test print from your slicer
Recommended: Print Benchy
Benchy is a tiny 3D printing community benchmark. Thousands of people print it. You can compare your results online. Free on Thingiverse.
Why Benchy:
- 1-2 hours (short enough to finish and learn)
- Tests all printer capabilities (bridges, overhangs, cooling)
- Small enough that failure isn’t heartbreaking ($0.50 filament)
- Community knows every Benchy outcome (you’ll get help if something’s wrong)
Your First Print (Hour by Hour)
Hour 0:00 - Preparation
- Load filament into printer
- Heat bed and nozzle (5 minutes)
- Watch first layer (don’t walk away during first 10 minutes)
Hour 0:10 - First layer printing
- Nozzle approaches bed
- Filament starts flowing
- Watch carefully:
- If squished (nozzle too low): Pause, adjust bed up
- If loose (nozzle too high): Pause, adjust bed down
- If perfect: Silently celebrate (you leveled the bed right)
Key observation: First layer tells everything. If first layer is perfect, print will probably succeed. If first layer is bad, print will fail.
Perfect first layer looks like:
- Thin line of plastic (0.2mm height, like spaghetti)
- Smooth surface
- Sticks to bed without oozing
- No gaps between lines
Bad first layer:
- Thick squished line (nozzle too low)
- Loose, beaded line (nozzle too high)
- Not sticking to bed (bed not hot enough, or not level)
- Dragging nozzle across previous lines
Hour 1:00 - Mid-print
- Print is running
- Nozzle is doing its thing
- What to do: Don’t hover over it
- Common mistake: Watching constantly, getting anxious, touching printer
Let it print. Go do something else. Hovering and stress won’t help.
Hour 1:30-2:00 - Print completes
- Nozzle finishes last layer
- Bed cools or is told to cool
- Model sits on bed
Don’t immediately remove it. Let it cool 2-3 minutes. Hot plastic is soft and can deform if you pull too hard.
That First Print: What Success Looks Like
Best case (probability: 40-50%):
- Model comes off bed cleanly
- Surface is smooth (maybe slightly rough)
- Details are visible
- Feels proud, immediately starts planning next print
- Model is completely successful, no failures
Good enough (probability: 30-40%):
- Model sticks but hard to remove (scrape gently)
- Surface is acceptable (visible layer lines)
- Minor defects (small gaps, slight seams)
- Feels okay, “it worked but not perfect”
- Usable as test, learned a lot
Partial failure (probability: 10-20%):
- Model fails partway through
- Part of model prints, rest doesn’t
- Nozzle clogged, lost adhesion, or other mid-print failure
- Disappointing but diagnostic (learned what went wrong)
Complete failure (probability: 5-10%):
- Nothing prints
- Model falls off bed mid-print
- Nozzle clogs on first layer
- Filament doesn’t load
- Frustrating but common on first attempt
Statistical expectation: Most first prints are “good enough.” Maybe 50% are great on first try.
Troubleshooting Your First Print
Problem: Nothing comes out of nozzle
Causes:
- Bed too hot for nozzle temp (metal expanded, blocked)
- Filament not loaded
- Extruder not pushing (mechanical jam)
Solutions:
- Cool nozzle, reload filament
- Insert filament (hear click from feeder)
- Do “cold pull” (heat to 200°C, pull while cooling)
Problem: Filament sticks to nozzle, makes blob
Causes:
- Bed temperature wrong
- Nozzle temperature wrong
- Bed not level
Solutions:
- Check bed temp is 60°C (too hot = blob, too cold = won’t stick)
- Check nozzle temp is 200-210°C (too hot = oozes)
- Re-level bed (most common cause)
Problem: First layer doesn’t stick
Causes:
- Bed not hot (use at least 60°C)
- Bed not level (nozzle too high)
- Bed surface dirty (dust, oil prevents adhesion)
Solutions:
- Check bed temp 60°C
- Re-level bed (very carefully)
- Clean bed with isopropyl alcohol (remove dust/oil)
Problem: Nozzle crashes into bed
Causes:
- Bed not level (nozzle too low at corners)
- Hardware failure (loose calibration)
Solutions:
- Stop print immediately (hit pause)
- Carefully raise nozzle
- Re-level bed
Problem: Print falls off mid-print
Causes:
- Bed not hot enough
- Bed not level
- Model has poor adhesion footprint (small contact area)
Solutions:
- Increase bed temp +5°C
- Re-level bed
- Reorient model for bigger first layer contact
What Success Actually Feels Like
After first successful print:
- Relief (“it worked!”)
- Pride (you made a physical object from nothing)
- Immediate idea for second print (now you have inspiration)
- Confidence that it wasn’t a fluke
Reality: Your second print will probably be better than your first. Your fifth print will be much better. By print 50, you’ll be amazed at what you learned.
Common Beginner Mistakes
Mistake 1: Not leveling bed
- “It looks level enough”
- Reality: 0.1mm differences matter
- Cost: Almost every first print fails
Mistake 2: Trusting default slicer settings
- “The software figured this out”
- Reality: Default settings are generic, not optimized for your printer
- Cost: Settings that barely work (poor quality)
Mistake 3: Watching and touching during print
- “I’ll watch carefully and adjust if needed”
- Reality: Touching printer causes more problems than it solves
- Cost: Print failure from interference
Mistake 4: Printing too fast
- “Let’s see how fast it can go”
- Reality: First prints should be slow and careful
- Cost: Failed print, wasted filament
Mistake 5: Not understanding filament needs
- “All plastic is the same”
- Reality: PLA (200°C), PETG (240°C), ABS (250°C) have different requirements
- Cost: Clogs, failures, frustration
Your 10-Print Plan
Prints 1-2: Benchmarking
- Benchy boat (standard test)
- Calibration cube (geometry test)
- Purpose: Understand your printer, compare to others
Prints 3-5: Experimentation
- Simple objects (vase, box, mini figurine)
- Different settings (varying speeds, temps)
- Purpose: Find your printer’s reliable speeds and temps
Prints 6-10: Confidence building
- Projects you care about (gifts, useful items)
- Proven designs from community (Thingiverse, Printables)
- Purpose: Successfully complete things you wanted
After print 10:
- You’ll have basic competence
- First-layer failures drop to <5%
- You’ll understand your specific printer
- You’ll be ready for intermediate projects
The Long-Term View
Your first print probably won’t be perfect. That’s okay.
First-time buyers often feel disappointed. “I spent $250 and the print is ugly.” Reality: You’re learning, and 3D printing has a learning curve.
Comparison:
- First time cooking: Meals taste mediocre
- First time drawing: Pictures look amateurish
- First time 3D printing: Models are okay
But after 10 meals, 10 drawings, 10 prints? You’re competent.
After 100? You’re skilled.
Success is Measured By Progress
First print: “It printed!” Fifth print: “It looks good!” Fiftieth print: “I can print anything.”
Your first print isn’t the goal. Your 50th print is. Focus on learning, not perfection.
Your first 3D print will probably be somewhere between “wow, it worked!” and “okay, what went wrong here?” Either way, you’ve joined the community. The rest is practice and incremental improvement.
Print Benchy, learn from it, then print something you actually want. That’s the path from beginner to confident 3D printer owner.