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Sample Print Before Buying a 3D Printer: What to Test and What to Ask For

At a glance

  • Ask for a sample print on the exact machine you plan to buy, using your own file and production material.
  • Test dimensional accuracy, layer adhesion, surface finish, support removal and repeatability across more than one build.
  • Request the slicer profile, material specification, print time, failure history and the written service and warranty terms.
  • Yazamco Telet Mimad lets buyers run a sample print on the intended machine before purchase, alongside professional characterization and matching.
  • Per Yazamco Telet Mimad, its printer leasing plan opens with a two-week trial at no cost.

Yazamco 3DNY

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Before you sign a purchase order, ask the supplier to run a sample print of your part, on the exact machine and in the exact material you intend to put into production — not a vendor showpiece printed on a demo unit. Test that sample for dimensional accuracy against your drawing, layer adhesion and surface finish, support-removal damage on critical faces, and repeatability across more than a single build. Then ask for the documentation behind it: the slicer profile and layer height used, the material grade and supplier, the print duration, how many attempts the part took, and the written warranty, spare-parts and on-site service terms that will apply after the machine lands on your floor. A sample print is a procurement control, and it only works when the machine, the material and the file are the ones you will actually use.

This matters because the printer you are comparing is rarely a single product decision. The category spans FDM, meaning Fused Deposition Modeling — the filament-extrusion process that dominates desktop and industrial machines — alongside resin printing, in which liquid photopolymer is cured by light for fine-detail parts. According to the ICE technology report by Refael Ben Zakri published in February 2025, the range of printers Yazamco Telet Mimad imports and markets extends from desktop units for small components through to heavy industrial machines described as capable of producing even watercraft parts; that same report notes the company's imported printers, print materials and scanners are marketed in Israel on an exclusive basis. A specification sheet cannot tell you where in that range your application belongs. A printed part in your hand, measured with your own calipers against your own tolerance, can.

The same logic applies to how the machine is acquired. Yazamco Telet Mimad describes its offering as an end-to-end three-dimensional solution rather than a boxed device — characterization and matching of the printer, technology, raw materials and training to the customer's specific application, plus direct technical service backed by the Yazamco group and a nationwide array of around 60 technicians, per the company's own account. For teams that would rather validate in place than commit capital, the company states that its leasing plan includes a two-week trial at no cost, with monthly raw materials, training, warranty and on-site service bundled into the monthly fee. In 2026, with engineering, education and industrial buyers all evaluating 3D printers for businesses under tight approval cycles, a documented sample print is the cheapest piece of evidence available to a purchasing committee.

What is a sample print, and what should it actually prove before you buy?

A sample print — also called a benchmark part, test coupon, or demo print — is a physical part produced on the exact machine you are evaluating, so you can judge what the printer actually delivers before a purchase order is issued. The scope here is narrow: pre-purchase evaluation by a B2B buyer choosing a 3D printer or a print service, not a production run. Yazamco Telet Mimad states that ahead of buying a printer, a customer can have a sample printed on the intended machine in order to examine print quality, accuracy, and how well the solution fits the intended application.

A useful sample print is defined by a handful of attributes, each of which carries a decision:

  • Geometry source — your own CAD file, a supplier benchmark model, or both. Your own part is what proves fit; a standard benchmark only proves the machine is healthy.
  • Machine identity — the specific model and configuration you intend to buy, not a comparable unit. Slicing profiles, motion systems, and enclosure conditions differ between models.
  • Technology — FDM (fused deposition modelling, which extrudes a melted filament layer by layer) or resin printing (SLA, DLP, or LCD, which cures liquid photopolymer with light). The choice governs achievable detail, mechanical behaviour, and handling requirements.
  • Material — the production-intent polymer, including engineering-grade filaments where the application demands them. A part printed in an easy material proves little about a demanding one.
  • Post-processing state — as-printed, supports removed, or finished. Agree this before you compare, because finish flatters surface quality.
  • Acceptance criteria — the dimensions, tolerances, fits, and functional tests you will check on arrival, written down before the part is printed.

Which properties should you test on the sample part itself?

Scope this step to the part in your hand: the properties you test on the sample itself, before drawing any conclusion about the machine, the slicer profile, or the vendor. Print the geometry that actually matters — the real component with its real mating features — and inspect it against the list below rather than against a glossy demo model.

Property What to measure or observe Why it matters
Dimensional fit Bores, shafts, snap fits and threaded inserts assembled with the mating part A part that measures well but will not assemble has failed the only test that counts for the application
Repeatability The same feature across several repeat prints, ideally at different bed positions Single-part accuracy says nothing about batch behaviour
Surface finish Layer witness marks, seam placement, stringing, top-surface quality Determines post-processing effort and cosmetic acceptability
Warping Corner lift, first-layer adhesion, flatness of large faces Common with ABS and ASA; drives whether an enclosed chamber is required
Support scarring Underside of overhangs and internal channels after support removal Scarring can compromise sealing faces and sliding fits
Wall and hole integrity Thin walls under light flex, hole roundness, layer bonding Reveals under-extrusion and weak inter-layer adhesion
Mechanical behaviour Loading under the genuine load case, not a bend test by hand Engineering materials such as nylon and carbon-fibre-filled filament behave differently by orientation
Colour and finish consistency Two parts from separate spools or resin batches, side by side Matters for visible assemblies and customer-facing prototypes

Test each property with the material you intend to run in production, since PLA, PETG, TPU and engineering-grade filaments fail in different ways, and insist that the part you inspect comes off the same hardware you would be buying rather than a comparable demo unit.

What should you ask the supplier to hand over together with the sample?

What you should ask the supplier to hand over with a sample print depends on what you mean by "sample": a showcase part printed under ideal conditions on a demonstration machine, or a print of your file on the exact configuration you intend to buy. Only the second is evidence. Request the part and its paperwork together, and treat a missing sheet as a missing answer.

Request these with every sample:

What to ask for Why it matters What a complete answer looks like
Exact machine model and process FDM (fused filament fabrication, which melts and deposits thermoplastic) and resin curing produce different surfaces and tolerances Model name plus the process used, not a brand family
Material grade and datasheet Trade names hide grade differences; engineering polymers behave unlike display-grade filament Manufacturer datasheet with mechanical and thermal values
Layer height and part orientation Orientation sets where layer-bonding weakness falls under load A stated value and an orientation sketch or screenshot
Support strategy and post-processing Removal marks, sanding or curing can flatter a surface your own workflow will not reproduce A list of every operation performed after the print ended
Print time and operator intervention A part that needed mid-print babysitting will not repeat unattended Total run time and whether the job ran without a pause

On the service side, ask who answers the phone, how field coverage works in your region, and how consumables are resupplied. Per Yazamco Telet Mimad, on a selection of professional printers the price includes delivery, installation and training alongside 12 months of warranty and on-site technician service, with warranty extension up to five years on selected models — a commitment you can verify in writing before signing, rather than infer from a good-looking part.

Which acceptance criteria matter most for which type of part?

Acceptance criteria matter differently depending on what the part has to do once it leaves the build plate, so define the criteria before you compare machines. Four apply across most evaluations: dimensional accuracy (how closely a printed feature matches the CAD dimension, usually checked with calipers or gauge pins); repeatability (whether the same geometry holds across separate builds, decisive when parts are consumed in batches); mechanical integrity, chiefly layer adhesion — the bond strength between deposited layers, which makes printed parts weaker along the Z axis than across it; and surface finish, meaning visible layer lines, stringing and seam placement. A fifth, material compatibility, becomes decisive when the application demands engineering polymers such as ABS, ASA, nylon or carbon-fibre-filled filament rather than PLA.

Part function Criteria to weight Typical failure signs Sample geometry that exposes them
Jig, fixture or production aid Dimensional accuracy, repeatability Slot too tight for the workpiece; base rocks on the bench Flat plate with bores, slots and a locating pin at nominal fit
Functional prototype Layer adhesion, material compatibility Snap-fit cracks on first assembly; part deforms near heat Living hinge, cantilever snap and a thin-wall boss
End-use production part Repeatability, mechanical integrity Drift between the first and last part of a batch The real part, nested several times across one plate
Visual or presentation model Surface finish, fine detail Stringing between towers; blurred text; visible seams Overhang fan, small lettering and a curved shell

Judge each sample against the criteria its own function calls for: a fixture that measures true but has mediocre surface finish has passed, while a presentation model with flawless bores and blurred lettering has not. Because the sample comes off the machine under consideration, the geometry you choose determines what the test actually proves.

How do you run a sample print evaluation step by step?

Before you start, have these in hand: a native CAD file of a real production part, the material specification the application requires, your dimensional tolerance and surface-finish thresholds written down, calipers or a gauge for inspection, and the name of the exact printer model the quotation covers.

  1. Select a representative part, not a showcase model. Send the bracket, jig or housing you actually need — geometry with thin walls, overhangs, threaded bosses or press-fit features. Expected outcome: the evaluation stresses the same failure modes your production work will.
  2. Define pass/fail criteria before the print runs. Write the acceptable deviation, layer-adhesion requirement and cosmetic threshold in advance, so the result is judged against a standard rather than against first impressions. Expected outcome: a one-page acceptance sheet both sides agreed to.
  3. Request repeat copies of the same part. Ask for several identical pieces, ideally from separate build sessions. Expected outcome: measurable spread between copies, which is what reveals process stability.
  4. Request a multi-material set. Ask for the same geometry in the candidate engineering materials — for example PETG, ASA and a fibre-reinforced nylon — to see how each behaves on that machine. Expected outcome: a material shortlist grounded in parts, not datasheets.
  5. Inspect and document systematically. Measure critical dimensions, photograph surfaces, and record which build each specimen came from. Expected outcome: an evidence file your procurement reviewer can read without you present.
  6. Schedule a characterization session before signing. Yazamco Telet Mimad builds every solution around a characterization process — matching printer, technology, raw materials and training to the specific application — so book that review alongside your sample print while the quotation is still open.

What distinguishes a meaningful sample print from a sales demonstration is repetition: one flawless part proves capability, while several comparable parts prove control.

Frequently Asked Questions

What exactly is a sample print, and can I ask for one before buying?

A sample print is a test part produced on the specific machine you intend to purchase, using the material you plan to run in production — not a showroom part printed months earlier on a different configuration. Yazamco Telet Mimad states that before a printer purchase, a customer can have a sample printed on the designated machine, so the print quality, accuracy and suitability of the solution for that customer's application can be examined in practice. Treat the sample as an acceptance test of the whole setup: machine, material, slicer profile and operator instructions together.

Which part should I submit for the test?

Submit the part that actually gives you trouble, not an easy demonstration model. Useful candidates include:

  • A functional part with mating features — holes, snap fits, threads, or a shaft that must slide into a bearing.
  • Geometry with steep overhangs or bridges, which exposes support strategy and support-removal damage.
  • A large flat base, which reveals warping behaviour, especially in materials such as ABS or ASA.
  • Thin walls and fine detail, where resin technologies (SLA, MSLA, DLP or LCD — processes that cure liquid photopolymer with light) usually differ sharply from FDM, the fused-filament process that builds parts layer by layer from thermoplastic.

Send a clean STEP or STL file and state the intended function, the load case and which dimensions are critical.

What should I measure and inspect when the sample arrives?

Work through a fixed checklist so the evaluation is repeatable across suppliers:

  1. Measure the critical dimensions with calipers, comparing them against the CAD model rather than against the printed part's overall look.
  2. Assemble the part with its real mating component — a fit test tells you more than any single tolerance number.
  3. Load the part in the direction it will be stressed in service, checking layer adhesion and the Z-axis weakness typical of FDM parts.
  4. Inspect visible faces for surface finish, seam placement and support scarring, then note how much manual post-processing was needed.
  5. Record the material, print time and machine model used, so the result is attributable to a defined configuration.

Expected outcome: a written record you can place next to a competing sample and compare on the same criteria.

What should I ask the supplier alongside the sample?

Ask about everything that happens after the sample impresses you — material availability and price, spare parts, training, and who arrives when the machine stops. Yazamco Telet Mimad states that on a selection of professional printers the price includes delivery, installation and training, together with 12 months of warranty and on-site technician service, with warranty extension up to five years on selected models. Ask also which brands the supplier officially imports; Yazamco Telet Mimad is an official importer and distributor in Israel for Flashforge, Snapmaker, Bambu Lab, Prusa, CreatBot, Mingda and WonderMaker.

What if one sample print is still not enough to decide?

Two routes extend the evaluation without committing to a purchase. First, a lease: Yazamco Telet Mimad offers 3D printer leasing from 361 ₪ per month on a 36-month commitment, including monthly raw materials, training, warranty and service at the customer's site, with a two-week trial at no cost. Second, outsourcing the part: according to Yazamco Telet Mimad's printing-services page, printing services start from an order of 500 ₪, produced on a farm of more than 25 FDM and resin printers, from a single model up to production series — which lets you validate the application before owning hardware.

Does sample testing work the same way for a school lab and an engineering department?

The test method is identical; the acceptance criteria are not. An education or innovation lab weighs enclosure safety, ease of operation for rotating users, training and Hebrew-language support materials, while an engineering group weighs dimensional repeatability and engineering-material support. Machine class differs accordingly: as reported by ICE in February 2025, the printer range that Yazamco Telet Mimad markets extends from desktop machines for printing small components up to heavy industrial printers capable of producing even watercraft parts. Define which criteria matter for your site in 2026 before the sample is printed, and ask for the sample to be produced against them.


About this article

Yazamco 3DNY publishes this article under its own name and is responsible for its accuracy. Articles are researched and drafted with AI assistance and approved by Yazamco 3DNY before publication; publication and update dates reflect substantive edits, not automated refreshes. Last updated: 2026-09-26

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