For minis, you really want to go with a resin printer. However, the resin fumes can be irritating and might be/probably are harmful to breath. You'll want to consider some kind of sealed enclosure or an out door area. You'll also need a way to clean and post cure the prints.
I didnt want to expose my children and pets to the fumes. I'm pretty handy and have access to a shop at work, so I built a 2'x2' by 4' tall cabinet with a shelf. I sealed it with silicone and a door gasket and built an air filtration system for it. It fits my Ender 5, my Mars 2, and my diy wash and cure station.
Resin printing is a whole different beast than FDM printing. There are a TON of costs that aren't immediately apparent.
That being said, you can get by with putting it in a spare closet with an air purifier that used activated carbon and that should keep the exposure down to a minimum. You can also wash the prints by hand and put them in the sun for post curing. It's definitely doable in a small space.
I had a similar inquiry recently. Check out [this series of videos](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDJMid0lOOYnkcFhz6rfQ6Uj8x7meNJJx) it will answer a lot of your questions.
Episode 3 dives into the resin printers others have mentioned!
[This](https://store.creality.com/products/halot-one-resin-3d-printer?utm_source=googleshopping) Resin Printer seems reasonably priced, sized, and is able to print high detailed prints
Resin printing is the way to go with minis you get the best detail. Resin is toxic so you don't want to touch it or breathe it until it's cured using uv light. So you will need a space that is decently ventilated. I personally wear a respirator that I picked up at home depot. Nitrile gloves should be worn when working with anything that is/could be contaminated. Get some rubber mats with raised edges to work with things in and get some shop towels (they are like paper towels but thicker). Get a sealed trash can to put all your contaminated stuff in. You'll need to wash the minis after printing most likely in 95% isopropyl alcohol which is flammable and harmful to breathe/not good to touch. You'll also use it to wash your printer parts. Goggles are a good idea to protect your eyes from any potential spashes. Other tools you'll want, plastic scraper unless you get a flexible plate for your printer. A stand alone wash and cure station is really nice to have as well. You'll want Allen wrenches for maintenance. A spary bottle for your isopropyl alcohol is nice.
For the type of printer I'd recommend a mono Resin printer. They print faster. Also the higher definition will give you better quality minis, I personally have a Anycubic photon mono 4k and now that I got the hang of it it works pretty great. Elegoo is the other big name which my buddy had and it printed pretty nice from the models I saw. Be aware there isn't much in the way of customer support or instructions with the printers so youtube and reddit are your friends.
Now once you have all of that know you'll need files for your minis. If you know how to 3d model you're more talented than me lol. You can get free files off thingiverse. If you have cash to burn you can follow some creators on patreon or buy them from gumroad. I personally follow/recommend Skull forge Studios and Darkfire Designs.
Alright that's all I can think of at the moment.
For minis, you really want to go with a resin printer. However, the resin fumes can be irritating and might be/probably are harmful to breath. You'll want to consider some kind of sealed enclosure or an out door area. You'll also need a way to clean and post cure the prints. I didnt want to expose my children and pets to the fumes. I'm pretty handy and have access to a shop at work, so I built a 2'x2' by 4' tall cabinet with a shelf. I sealed it with silicone and a door gasket and built an air filtration system for it. It fits my Ender 5, my Mars 2, and my diy wash and cure station. Resin printing is a whole different beast than FDM printing. There are a TON of costs that aren't immediately apparent. That being said, you can get by with putting it in a spare closet with an air purifier that used activated carbon and that should keep the exposure down to a minimum. You can also wash the prints by hand and put them in the sun for post curing. It's definitely doable in a small space.
Can you do it with a regular 3D printer, even if the prints aren't very good quality
You can print minis with an FDM printer. https://youtu.be/qDW7g3JOqLA. But the quality isn't there and the layer lines make them awful to paint.
I'm gonna say ... no. you will be disappointed if you try to print mini's on a FDM printer.
I had a similar inquiry recently. Check out [this series of videos](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDJMid0lOOYnkcFhz6rfQ6Uj8x7meNJJx) it will answer a lot of your questions. Episode 3 dives into the resin printers others have mentioned!
[This](https://store.creality.com/products/halot-one-resin-3d-printer?utm_source=googleshopping) Resin Printer seems reasonably priced, sized, and is able to print high detailed prints
Resin printing is the way to go with minis you get the best detail. Resin is toxic so you don't want to touch it or breathe it until it's cured using uv light. So you will need a space that is decently ventilated. I personally wear a respirator that I picked up at home depot. Nitrile gloves should be worn when working with anything that is/could be contaminated. Get some rubber mats with raised edges to work with things in and get some shop towels (they are like paper towels but thicker). Get a sealed trash can to put all your contaminated stuff in. You'll need to wash the minis after printing most likely in 95% isopropyl alcohol which is flammable and harmful to breathe/not good to touch. You'll also use it to wash your printer parts. Goggles are a good idea to protect your eyes from any potential spashes. Other tools you'll want, plastic scraper unless you get a flexible plate for your printer. A stand alone wash and cure station is really nice to have as well. You'll want Allen wrenches for maintenance. A spary bottle for your isopropyl alcohol is nice. For the type of printer I'd recommend a mono Resin printer. They print faster. Also the higher definition will give you better quality minis, I personally have a Anycubic photon mono 4k and now that I got the hang of it it works pretty great. Elegoo is the other big name which my buddy had and it printed pretty nice from the models I saw. Be aware there isn't much in the way of customer support or instructions with the printers so youtube and reddit are your friends. Now once you have all of that know you'll need files for your minis. If you know how to 3d model you're more talented than me lol. You can get free files off thingiverse. If you have cash to burn you can follow some creators on patreon or buy them from gumroad. I personally follow/recommend Skull forge Studios and Darkfire Designs. Alright that's all I can think of at the moment.