Resin or filament: what is the difference?

What is the difference between resin and filament?

The difference lies in the material and in the way the printer turns it into an object. Filament is a solid thread, usually PLA or PETG, on a spool. The printer melts that thread and draws each layer with it. Resin is a liquid in a vat; a screen exposes exactly the shape of each layer, and where light hits, the resin turns hard.

That one difference runs through everything. A molten thread is thicker than an exposed pixel, so filament shows layer lines where resin stays smooth. Resin cures into a stiff, glass-like material, so it breaks sooner than tough PETG. And liquid resin calls for gloves and ventilation, a spool of filament does not. Below, the difference between resin and filament is worked out property by property.

How does filament printing work?

A heated head pushes out a thin thread of molten plastic and draws each layer with it; the layer below is already hard. The material is filament, PLA or PETG at Huedcast. You pick the layer height per print: 0.24 mm is economical, 0.16 mm is the standard, 0.08 mm is high detail. Thinner layers give smoother curves and cost more print time.

FDM is strong in size and sturdiness. The largest FDM printer at Huedcast builds up to 250 × 250 × 250 mm in one piece. The surface shows layer lines you can see and feel, especially on soft curves. Overhangs need support material that leaves marks where it sat. We print filament on request only: you ask for a quote through Print my file and we look along with you at which printer and material fit.

How does resin printing work?

A vat of liquid resin sits on an LCD screen that exposes exactly the shape of each layer with UV light; where light hits, the resin cures. The platform pulls the piece up out of the vat layer by layer. This technique is called MSLA. We print in layers of 0.05 mm; the printer can also do 0.03 mm, but online we print at 0.05 mm. That brings fine edges, faces, text and texture out sharply.

After printing, a resin print is not finished yet. The piece is washed to remove the wet resin, the supports come off and then it post-cures under UV light. At Huedcast that finishing is included in the price: you receive a piece that is dry, clean and fully cured. The limit of resin is size: up to 127 × 80 × 160 mm in one piece, larger can be done in parts. Everything about the technique and the size classes is on Resin 3D printing.

Resin or filament in one table

Seven properties side by side. The layer heights and build volumes are those of the printers at Huedcast; the material prices are retail prices from outside, checked on 11 October 2026.

Read the table as a direction, not as law. A large, flat piece shows its layer lines in filament but loses nothing by it; a three centimetre miniature loses its face in filament. Choose on what the piece has to show and has to carry.

Is resin brittle?

Yes, resin is more brittle than filament. Cured resin is stiff and glass-like: it does not flex but breaks, certainly under a knock or a fall. Thin parts under half a millimetre, such as a small sword, an antenna or a protruding finger on a miniature, break in normal use. Resin is therefore not meant for load-bearing parts: no hook, no snap fit, no hinge.

For a figurine on a shelf, a bust, a pendant or a model detail that is no problem; they stand and are not loaded. If the piece has to lift, clamp or be handled often, filament in PETG is the better technique. In doubt, make thin parts in your model thicker, or print the piece in two techniques: the detail in resin, the carrier in filament.

How to choose: FDM or resin per piece

One line per situation, with an example:

• Miniatures, busts, pendants, anything with fine detail under a centimetre: resin. A 32 mm knight with a face and a shield with relief.
• Terrain, buildings, enclosures and anything larger than a hand: filament. A house for a model railway or a case for a circuit board.
• Something that has to carry load, click or bend: filament in PETG. A wall hook, a tool holder or a clamp for a cable.
• Something that gets painted and has to stay sharp under the paint: resin, raw grey. An eight centimetre dragon with scales.
• Large and detailed: filament at high detail, or print the piece in parts. A twenty centimetre bust in four resin parts.
• A replacement cap or a plug that has to fit: filament in PETG, with some margin in the design.

Which of the two filaments fits is covered in the article PLA or PETG in this knowledge base.

Odour and safety when printing at home

If you want to print yourself, this difference weighs heaviest. Liquid resin irritates the skin and can cause an allergic skin reaction; the manufacturer advises wearing gloves at every contact and not breathing the vapours, according to the product page of Prusament Resin (checked 11 October 2026). So you need a room you can air, gloves, a bath of isopropyl alcohol or another wash liquid to wash prints, and a UV lamp to post-cure.

Filament is simple by comparison: the spool is dry, you pick it up with bare hands and the print comes off the bed finished. Mind the hot head and the heated bed, and put this printer too in a room you can air. Those who want to start at home therefore usually choose filament; those who want the detail of resin without the resin in the house have it printed. What a printer of your own costs is covered in the article What does a 3D printer cost in this knowledge base.

What applies to both at Huedcast

Every print is one colour. More colours in one piece we do not do in a single print; we do as separate parts, each in its own colour, that click together. We supply resin tinted (petrol, violet, magenta) or raw grey to paint yourself; tinted and untinted cost the same. And every piece is printed only after you order it, without a mould and without a minimum run. Online you order up to 20 units per file; more, up to fifty, on quote.

Frequently asked questions

Is resin always finer than filament?

Yes, in layer height: 0.05 mm against 0.16 mm to 0.24 mm. Whether you see it depends on the piece; on a large flat piece it hardly matters, on a two centimetre face it is everything.

Can a large piece be done in resin?

Up to 127 × 80 × 160 mm in one piece. Larger can be done in parts that you glue, or in filament up to 250 × 250 × 250 mm.

Which material is the strongest?

Of what we print, PETG is the toughest: it bends before it breaks. PLA is stiffer but more brittle, resin is the most brittle and not meant for parts that carry load.

What do resin or filament cost as material?

A 1 kg spool of PLA costs 15 to 30 euro per kg, a 1 kg bottle of standard resin 17 to 40 euro per kg and branded resin up to about 75 euro. If you have it printed, you do not pay per kilo: at Huedcast a resin print has a fixed price per size class on height, from €23.95.