My 3D printer is now my favorite go-to tool. I used to dismiss 3D printers as only being capable of making Happy Meal toys. Now I make all kinds of parts for all kinds of problems and uses -- plumbing, photography, telescopes, household appliances. I mostly design the parts in Fusion 360 then export the parts in SLA format to the Prusa Slicer application to prepare them for printing.
I bought the Prusa i3 as a kit. Most of the build is straightforward, but assembling the extruder is tricky. The whole assembly process took two days. But I love these sorts of things, and the kit comes with treat rewards.
After I got the printer assembled and working, I figured out the extruder's autoload feature was not working. (It's not essential for operation.) I had to debug what was wrong and fix it. (It was a little sensor switch mechanism in the extruder assembly. And with help from the Prusa support articles, I was able to diagnose and fix it so that it would properly sense when filament had been inserted into the extruder. I ground a part down a bit with a Dremel tool to make it work.) It was a bit of trial by fire, but I now feel confident that I could fix or tinker on anything in the kit. (Note: one of the improvements in the newer model i3 MK3S+ is an improved filament sensor. Hopefully, the trouble I had is a thing of the past for builders of the new model kit.)
The i3 is also available fully assembled and tested for $250 more. The non-kit also includes more tech support. But the kit includes live chat support and their forum which I've found extremely responsive.
I ended up getting both the textured and smooth PEI flexible steel sheets. These sheets are the surface on which the printer builds your models. The Prusa sheets are flexible steel and are attached with magnets. The magnets make it easy to remove your printed parts by removing and flexing the sheet. Each Prusa i3 printer includes your choice of one of two types of sheets: textured and smooth. Each type has advantages with different filament types. I've been using various PLA and PETG filaments. I think one would be fine with just the textured sheet.
[There is a catch to ordering both sheets. The cost of the Prusa i3 kit is $749 plus $50 shipping. If your invoice exceeds $800 you may be subject to an import duty of about $30. So if you are buying the i3 kit and want both of the PEI sheets you should order the second sheet separately.]
There is a sales backlog for some models. The i3 kit took about a week to ship last October, but the Mini wasn't available until late Dec.
If you are new to 3D printing I highly recommend Thomas Sanladerer's 10 part "3D printing basics" YouTube series.
Also, if you are thinking of buying the Prusa i3 kit I'd recommend going through some of the assembly instructions before choosing to do so. Make sure you're comfortable with what is required of you. Assembly Instructions for the Prusa i3 MK3S+ kit are online (a printed copy of the instructions comes in the box.) The E-axis (extruder) chapter is the hardest part of the kit, but by the time you get to it you will have had practice building 3 other assemblies.
I enthusiastically recommend the Prusa i3. It may cost more than some of the copies and entry-level 3D printers available, but it delivers in terms of consistently excellent print quality, reliable operation, straightforward troubleshooting and a dialed-in software/hardware experience. It is a super solid device and a super solid choice.
New Original Prusa i3s are only available from Prusa3d.com in Prague in the Czech Republic.
