EufyMake E1 test: UV printer for makers and creatives?

For a long time, UV printing was a technology that was more familiar from advertising technology, personalization or smaller production environments. The idea behind the EufyMake E1 is correspondingly exciting. The device aims to take UV direct printing out of this niche and into an area where small studios, makers or ambitious hobby users can also work with it in a meaningful way. In the test, the EufyMake E1 therefore had to show above all how easy it really is to use, how good the results are on different materials and where the limits of the system lie.

Technical data of the EufyMake E1

The product	EufyMake E1
Printing technology	UV direct printing with relief printing
Maximum print area	330 x 420 mm
Maximum object height	60 mm
Maximum relief height	up to 5 mm
Color system	CMYK, white, gloss
Positioning	Camera and laser measurement
Connection	WLAN, Ethernet, app and desktop software
Maximum print load	up to 1.5 kg
Price (RRP)	2.299 €

The demand is not small. Applying paint to wood, plastic, metal, felt or acrylic is one thing. It gets exciting when the E1 wants to do more than just place a motif on a surface. Relief printing, camera-supported positioning and a workflow that should remain manageable even for beginners make the system very interesting on paper.

Scope of delivery and first impression

The EufyMake E1 leaves a well-rounded impression as soon as it is unpacked. The box contains not only the printer itself, but also the accessories that are actually relevant for the first prints. This makes a pleasantly well thought-out impression and saves unnecessary improvisation, especially at the beginning.

The scope of delivery includes

• EufyMake E1 UV printer
• Charging or power supply unit and connection cable
• Ink set including cleaning cartridges
• UV safety goggles
• Air filter
• Mini flatbed (33.5 × 9 cm) and standard flatbed (33.5 × 42 cm) including matching adhesive mats
• 3 test magnets for the first attempts

The first impression of the device itself is good overall. The E1 is stable, has a clean finish and gives a coherent overall impression. However, the acrylic glass surfaces are quite susceptible to scratches, which is something to bear in mind in everyday use.

The EufyMake is quick to set up (although not completely foolproof!)

Overall, the commissioning process in the test was pleasantly relaxed. Assembly and set-up were completed quickly, the first steps are not only well guided by the Quick Start Guide, but also by the app – everything is self-explanatory.

Basically, the E1 is not a device that requires you to struggle through menus and manuals for hours on end. This is a real plus point, especially for a UV system.

But it wasn’t quite so intuitive after all. We initially had the problem during calibration that we removed the white reference surface on the small flatbed too early. This made the process unnecessarily difficult and we had to make do with suitably cut white paper. It said that this should only be removed after the test print.

The bottom line is that it worked in the end. However, this was also a good indication that although the E1 appears to be beginner-friendly, it still requires clean work in the first few steps. Once the calibration is done properly, using the device becomes much easier.

Software and positioning in a practical test

Much of what is quickly convincing on the E1 depends directly on the software. The printer can be:

• via the desktop application
• and via the app

Preparation, scaling and exact placement are of course easier on the computer. However, the app is often more than enough for simple jobs.

The process after the scan is particularly successful. The object is captured, the usable area is visualized and the motif is then placed directly on the workpiece. This makes the E1 much less complicated than you might expect from a UV printer.

In the test, this worked pleasantly uncomplicated for most objects. The workflow is particularly helpful for small to medium-sized surfaces because you can see the real position of the workpiece directly and can immediately assess how the motif will fit in the end. It wasn’t always flawless down to the last tenth of a millimeter, but overall the system is pleasantly reliable and very close to the real thing.

Motifs and materials in the EufyMake E1 test – how the UV printer performs in practice

The printer only really became exciting for us when the first real prints were made after setup and calibration. With a UV printer in particular, the quality is not only shown by a single demo, but also by how different designs, materials and print modes come together in practice.

Accordingly, we not only worked with the test objects supplied, but also experimented with our own materials. It is precisely at this point that the EufyMake E1 test quickly reveals where the system is particularly strong and where there are some hiccups.

The first test prints as a good indicator

The first test prints have already shown quite clearly that the UV printer not only produces vibrant colors on the material, but also does a lot right in terms of detail reproduction. The magnets supplied with the printer were a particularly useful starting point, as they show how well the printer handles different types of motifs.

The flat motif with the watercolor-like dog was a good test for softer transitions, fine contours and an overall rather painterly template. The print appeared cohesive without the softer color gradations becoming muddy.

The moon from the test program showed what the E1 is capable of in a different way. Here it was easy to see how cleanly the brightness gradients, contrasts and smaller structures were reproduced. It is precisely motifs like these that are helpful because you can quickly see whether a print only looks neat at first glance or whether it is also cleanly constructed on closer inspection.

How much does relief printing really achieve?

Things got really exciting with the flowers as a photo motif with a relief structure. Here it quickly became clear that the 3D function is not just a nice effect for product demos. The E1 does not simply apply the structure over a flat area, but actually extends the image effect plastically. Especially with a motif like this, the height build-up ensures that the result no longer looks like a pure surface print, but appears much more tangible and spatial.

It is practical that EufyMake offers several options for relief printing. In addition to a simple mode that builds up height for free, there are also AI-supported variants that focus more on image details and work out structures in a more differentiated way. It was precisely this AI function that was used for our flower motif and cost 5 credits.

This is not entirely unimportant, because although credits are not a problem right from the start, they are not an unlimited freebie either. The purchase of the EufyMake E1 currently includes twelve months Plus membership for Make It Real, including 600 AI credits per month. If you experiment a lot with the AI reliefs, you should still keep this in mind, as such experiments can of course add up over time.

However, the free mode should be sufficient for many motifs. It also builds up structure, but remains coarser and less detailed. If a basic relief effect is sufficient, this is often the more sensible choice. If, on the other hand, you want visibly more depth and a stronger focus on motif details, the AI version will give you the more exciting result.

How does the EufyMake E1 perform on different materials?

The printed acoustic panel made of felt was one of the strongest practical proofs of the print quality of the EufyMake E1 in the test. The slightly rough, textured surface is not an easy substrate, as color transitions can quickly become uneven and fine details can lose precision. However, this was hardly noticeable here.

According to the manufacturer, the printer supports up to one million colors, and even if this cannot be verified numerically in the test, the visual impression is surprisingly good. The background shows many differentiated color gradations that appear strong but not clumsy, while logos and lettering remain sharp enough to stand out clearly from the surface. On this material in particular, it became clear that the E1 not only delivers high color saturation, but also works convincingly in terms of color separation, edge reproduction and surface smoothness.

The EufyMake E1 also cut a fine figure on wood in the test. The acacia wood coasters were not a completely neutral surface, but had their own surface structure and material feel. Nevertheless, the print image remained clean, the ink transfer appeared even and even finer contours were reproduced properly. This shows quite well that the UV printer not only works on smooth standard materials, but can also handle more natural surfaces.

The situation was similar with plastic, as long as the geometry of the workpiece was not a problem. A lid with a low rim could be printed cleanly and showed that the E1 can cope with such shapes without any problems. The decisive factor here is not so much the plastic itself, but rather the accessibility of the print area.

This is where the printer reaches its limits

As convincing as many of the jobs looked, the E1 naturally cannot manage without clear limits. This was particularly evident in the case of food can lids with a special geometry. The actual print area was recessed, while the surrounding edge was comparatively high. In other words, the surface to be printed on sat in a small trough, so to speak.

It is precisely shapes like this that are unfavorable for the print head. In the test, instead of a clean result, only a puddle of color remained at the end. This was not an outlier, but a pretty clear indication that although the E1 can handle many materials, it cannot process every object shape properly. As soon as edges, borders or deeper areas make the print area geometrically too complicated, things become critical.

A second point concerns very smooth surfaces in combination with particularly filigree motifs. Here, the results were not consistently bad, but not always as convincing as on more structured or somewhat more grateful materials. The E1 can do a lot, but still remains a system that benefits from sensibly chosen substrates and realistic motifs.

White and gloss drive up printing costs

When it comes to consumption, it quickly becomes clear that CMYK is not the main cost driver for the E1. White and gloss are the main cost drivers. It is precisely these two channels that increase noticeably as soon as relief, underlay and finish come into play.

The acoustic panel is the best example of this. With 1 hour and 39 minutes of printing time, a total of 30.85 ml was used, the majority of which was accounted for by white and gloss. The actual color inks, on the other hand, played a much smaller role.

The same picture emerged for the smaller motifs:

• the moon magnet with slight elevation was at 1.66 ml total consumption
• the flower magnet with relief at 3.17 ml
• while the flat photo motif was almost restrained at 0.12 ml

In all cases, it was clear that white and gloss were the main deciding factors.

The bottom line is that the most spectacular prints are of course not the most economical. If you work with strong relief, a strong white underlay and full-surface gloss, you will get a lot out of the EufyMake visually, but you will pay for it with higher material usage. Flatter prints on suitable substrates remain significantly cheaper. Above all, the E1 rewards a conscious workflow and not just blindly using the maximum effect mode.

Something to bear in mind when using a UV printer: The finished prints smell distinctly of

The clearest negative thing we noticed in the test was the smell of the finished prints. This is not completely unusual with UV printing, but it was noticeable in our results and, above all, was surprisingly persistent. Not only immediately after printing, but also days later, something was clearly perceptible on all printed materials. Even after a week, the odor had not completely disappeared.

However, it is important to know that this is not a problem specific to the EufyMake E1, but rather a characteristic of UV prints. In practical terms, this means above all that the finished parts should be allowed to air out after printing before they are given away, placed permanently in the living room or used directly. This makes everything much less dramatic, but it’s still something you should know before you buy.

Is there currently competition for the EufyMake E1?

The EufyMake E1 is not the first desktop UV printer ever, but it is probably one of the first systems to clearly target this technology at makers, small studios and ambitious individual users. This is precisely where the special feature of the device lies. EufyMake is positioning the E1 not just as a compact UV printer, but as a personal 3D texture system with relief printing, app connection and a comparatively low entry-level price. This is something different from the classic UV world, which until now has usually been geared more towards advertising technology, personalization and small series production.

If you look at the competition, you quickly end up at Epson and Roland. They have been offering compact UV flatbed printers for some time now, which are technically sound, but are in a completely different league in terms of price or have a much more classic production focus. With the SureColor V1070, for example, Epson relies on an A4 format with CMYK, white and varnish. Roland covers the segment with models such as the small BD-8 and the larger BF-16, which are aimed more at professional personalization, advertising materials and small production environments.

This is exactly where the E1 sits between two stools, in a positive sense. It is much more accessible than many classic desktop UV systems from the professional sector, but clearly wants to be more than just a gimmick for craft projects. A3 print area, camera-supported positioning, relief printing and the fairly simple app/software workflow give it a pretty unique role at the moment. Anyone looking for a classic production printer will find alternatives on the market. On the other hand, anyone looking for a comparatively affordable UV system with a strong creative focus and 3D texture function will quickly end up back with the E1.

A strong entry into UV printing with clear limits

After a week of repeated tests, one impression in particular remains: The EufyMake E1 makes UV printing much more accessible without artificially simplifying the subject. Setup, software, positioning and the first prints are quick enough that you don’t have to spend weeks learning before you get something presentable. This is exactly what makes the device so exciting for makers, small studios and creative workflows in which not only flat printing but also playing with structure, material effects and surfaces is required.

The EufyMake E1 always had its strongest moments in the test when the material, motif and geometry matched. The printed acoustic panel was the best example of this, as the color effect, sharpness and material character came together particularly well. Wood, smaller plastic parts and the magnetic motifs also showed that the printer is not only convincing on ideally smooth surfaces. The system becomes really interesting when relief printing is added and a surface becomes more than just a colored motif.

However, this does not work entirely without limitations. It becomes problematic with unfavorable object shapes, recessed print areas or very special surfaces. In addition, white and gloss increase consumption significantly more than the actual color inks. And the smell of the finished prints is also something you should be aware of before buying. This is not a specific E1 problem, but in practice it is clearly part of the overall assessment.

All in all, the EufyMake E1 is not a perfect device for us, but it is a very exciting system with real creative potential. If you just want to print something colorful, there are other ways. However, if you are looking for a comparatively accessible UV system that combines color brilliance, material variety and relief printing in a compact format, you will find a tool here that can achieve very impressive results after just a short time.