Special edition this week. Late June news is quiet — summer slowdown — so we're doing something different: a first-half 2026 recap. Six months, fourteen Weekly issues, and a handful of earthquakes in the 3D printing world worth putting in perspective. We cover the five major storylines that defined the year, then close with three fresh news items from this week. Get comfortable. 🔥
📚 Mr Resin Special
🎨 1. The multicolor war has dominated everything
If we had to sum up 2026 in one word, it would be color. Every manufacturer has rushed to solve the same problem — printing in multiple colors without wasting half a spool of filament — and each has tackled it differently. Bambu Lab fired first with the A2L, their large-format bedslinger at €379 with a Cricut-style cutting module. Creality fired back with the KliTek, featuring a 5-second nozzle swap. Snapmaker integrated Full Spectrum mixing natively into their slicer, and even hired the developer who created it.
Then things really accelerated in the final stretch: Flashforge launched the Creator 5 with the 4-head FlashSwap tool changer, Prusa finally activated the INDX 8-nozzle changer with just 13 mg of waste per swap, and HeyGears made waves by announcing a desktop printer that prints in full color via UV inkjet. Three different architectures — optimized purging, tool changer, material jetting — all competing for the same dream: leaving single-color prints behind.
What does this mean for you as a resin printer? For now, the color revolution is still FDM territory. In resin printing, multicolor remains the holy grail yet to be claimed. But the pressure is so intense it's only a matter of time before it reaches the vat. We'll be watching.
🔓 Open vs closed
🔓 2. The battle for the soul of software
The saga of the year. It started when Bambu Lab sent a legal notice to the developer of an OrcaSlicer fork and all hell broke loose. The community responded with a boycott, figures like Louis Rossmann and Jeff Geerling got involved, and for weeks it was the issue dividing the industry: those who defend closed, convenient ecosystems versus those who stand for open-source software and user control.
What's interesting is how each side handled it. While Bambu tightened its grip, Snapmaker did the exact opposite: they hired the developer behind color mixing and integrated his work openly. Meanwhile, the legal battleground shifted from software to hardware: the patent war between Stratasys and Bambu Lab over technologies as fundamental as heated beds. The market has clearly split in two: high-performance closed ecosystems versus open, community-driven ones. This year, you had to pick a side.
🧪 Safer Resin
🧪 3. The resin industry is getting serious about safety and sustainability
This is the story that hits closest to home for us at Mr Resin. 2026 has been the year the resin industry started taking two things seriously: the health of the people printing with it, and its environmental impact. On the sustainability front, we saw the recyclable resin from Yokohama University that can be melted down and reprinted up to ten times, and Spanish company 3Dresyn with its circular resin that breaks down with heat.
On the chemical safety side, the biggest milestone was Prusa reformulating Prusament Resin Model+ to eliminate ACMO, TPO, and Bisphenol A — exactly the chemicals the community had been flagging for some time. This all ties back to the AmeraLabs safety guide we covered in our very first issue. The message from this half of the year is clear: the resin of the future will be safer to handle and less harmful to the environment. And that's great news for everyone. In the meantime, remember: nitrile gloves, proper ventilation, and correct curing are still non-negotiable with any resin available today.
🔬 Bioprinting
🔬 4. Bioprinting has been edging into science fiction territory
Pure "science WTF" — our favorite section for dreaming big. This semester the boundaries of bioprinting advanced at a genuinely staggering pace. Korean researchers 3D printed a viable human cornea. Switzerland's EPFL printed a human ear using holographic light, making the process 70 times more efficient than previous methods. And closer to home, the University of Alicante unveiled a modular 3D printed prosthetic.
The same core technology sitting on your desk — building layer by layer, curing with light — scaled up to the medical world is genuinely changing lives. It's not something you'll be doing at home, but it's a powerful reminder of just how far this thing we love can reach.
⚖️ Regulation
⚖️ 5. Regulation Is Starting to Show Its Face
The uncomfortable topic that's going to keep growing over the next few years. We covered how California passed AB2047 in committee — targeting "blocking software" in printers — and how that wave spread to New York and Washington. The core concern, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, is that overly broad definitions could end up making life harder for general-purpose printers, open-source software, and makerspaces — without actually solving the problem they claim to address.
Does this affect us in Spain? Not directly, not yet. But what happens in the US has a way of eventually shaping policy in Europe. This is an ongoing story we'll be watching closely.
📰 And Here's What's Fresh This Week
Just because it's a recap week doesn't mean the world stood still. Here are the three stories that actually broke over the past few days:
🎲 Miniatures
🎲 Games Workshop Is Hiding the New 40K Minis in the Cheapest Box
Games Workshop revealed its new Warhammer 40,000 11th Edition Starter Sets during its Sunday Preview, with pre-orders going live this Saturday. There are three entry-level boxes at three price points: a full Combat Patrol-sized Starter Set, single-faction Getting Started boxes, and a 12-miniature Introductory Set. And here's the twist GW didn't put in flashing lights: the new edition's exclusive miniatures are hiding in the cheapest box.
That's right — the new Space Marine Lieutenant and the new Orks (Nob and Boyz with rocket launcher) make their debut in the Introductory Set, not the flagship box. A clever move to get even veterans reaching for a beginner box that was never supposed to be aimed at them. The set also includes pre-painted Armageddon terrain (28 pieces) and three paint sets. For anyone printing terrain and proxies, a new edition always means peak season — here's your detail resin, paint, and Artis Opus brushes for the occasion. Read the full breakdown at Spikey Bits →
🧪 Materials
🧪 Bambu Lab Launches PLA Pure — a Filament Designed with Kids in Mind
Continuing the material safety thread, Bambu Lab has introduced PLA Pure, a reformulated filament made from just five ingredients — all verified under EU 10/2011, the European regulation governing plastics in contact with food. The key engineering decision: removing the impact modifiers and flow agents typically used in standard PLA, which forced Bambu to rebuild the material chemistry from scratch.
According to Bambu Lab, the result is less stringing even without drying the filament, better surface finishes, and—most importantly—GREENGUARD UL 2904 certification for low particle and volatile compound emissions. In their tests, PM2.5 and PM10 levels during a four-hour print stayed below what you'd typically find in a regular kitchen. It retails at $24.99 with spool. One honest caveat: the certifications apply to the filament itself, not automatically to every printed object. Even so, it's another sign that safety is becoming a real selling point. Read the full coverage on 3D Printing Industry →
🤖 WTF Science
🤖 Researchers 3D Print Electronic Circuits Directly onto Living Tissue
We close with a piece of science that's genuinely mind-blowing. A research team published a paper in Science describing a method to 3D print electronic circuits directly onto living tissue. The technique uses light-based 3D printing to process "mechanoluminescent" hydrogels onto tissue, using a material that contains bioluminescent microorganisms (dinoflagellates) and remains compatible with living cells throughout the printing process.
In plain English? This is a huge leap toward body-integrated electronics: sensors, interfaces, and medical devices printed directly onto biological tissue. It follows the bioprinting developments we've been tracking all semester. The line between living and printed keeps blurring a little more every month. More 3D printing science on ScienceDaily →
💬 Our Six-Month Recap
Six months is a lot of ground to cover. If one thing has become clear, it's that 3D printing is having a golden moment: more color, safer, more sustainable, and more accessible than ever before. The multicolor war has driven innovation at a relentless pace, the community has fought hard for open source, resin has gotten cleaner, and science has edged toward the magical. And in the background, regulation reminds us that this is no longer a niche hobby—it's a technology the world is taking seriously.
For makers, there has never been a better time to print, paint, and create. Thank you for following along through these fourteen issues. We're back at it for another semester: resin, filaments, paints, free tools, and this newsletter every Monday. See you in the second half. 💪
❓ Frequently Asked Questions From This Semester
Is there a multicolor resin printer available in 2026?
Not really. The multicolor revolution of 2026 has happened primarily in FDM (filament) printing, with systems like Bambu's AMS, Prusa and Flashforge's tool changers, and Snapmaker's Full Spectrum color mixing. In resin printing (SLA/DLP/LCD), multicolor remains an unsolved challenge. The closest thing is the HeyGears G1X announced in June, but it uses UV inkjet technology rather than a vat resin system, and it hasn't been independently tested yet.
What is the safest resin for printing at home?
The 2026 trend points toward reformulated resins without the most problematic chemicals (ACMO, TPO, Bisphenol A), such as Prusament Resin Model+. Even so, any uncured liquid resin is still toxic: the essentials are nitrile gloves, proper ventilation, and thorough curing of both prints and waste. The safest resin is the one you handle with the right precautions.
Is it worth waiting for the new multicolor printers, or should you buy a resin printer now?
It depends on what you print. For miniatures with maximum detail, an MSLA resin printer remains the best value for money in 2026 — and will continue to be for some time. The new multicolor releases are primarily aimed at FDM and users who prioritize color over fine detail. For minis, terrain, and figures, resin still rules.
When will 3D printing regulation reach Spain or Europe?
For now, there is no specific legislation underway in Spain regarding "software lockout" provisions like those being introduced in several US states (California, New York, Washington). It's an evolving and unresolved issue, but one worth monitoring — US regulatory trends often end up influencing the European Union over time.