Best Printer for Beginner under $1,000!

[Ward]

Walk in the unknown? Yep...I took that walk and BOY am I glad I did !!

I was EXACTLY where you were a month or two ago. Had NO CLUE what to get or even what I really wanted except for the short list like you posted.

I was 2 seconds from pulling the trigger on a Flash Forge Creator Pro ($1199.00).
On the suggestion of a community member, I looked into a MonoPrice.com Clone of the FFCP....and ultimately bought one ($699.00)

I can honestly say I could NOT be happier. The printing is superb, it's quiet, has all the LCD front panel functions I need and even has those beautiful internal LED lights that I wanted.

Could the $1100.00 FFCP print any better? Nope. From what I learned later, they are made in the same facility.

The ONLY thing on your list it doesn't have is a larger print bed. Mine is basically 6 x 8. Enough for me.
But if you definitely need bigger prints, get something with a bigger bed. Just don't be afraid of the clones. Remember, decades ago, IBM had the real mcCoy (computers) but the clones put an end to IBM's computer dominance.

Pay as much as you're comfortable with. Me? I bought myself a DJI Phantom with the savings. So now I have it all (figuratively speaking)