3D Printing InfoPrinter comparison
Formlabs Form 4L vs UltiMaker S8
Compare hardware, build volume, printing specifications, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
Open these two in the interactive comparisonMore Formlabs Form 4L comparisonsMore UltiMaker S8 comparisons
| Property | Formlabs Form 4LRESIN | UltiMaker S8INDUSTRIAL |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Brand | Formlabs | UltiMaker |
| Class | RESIN | INDUSTRIAL |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Manufacturer & exact marketed model name (verify the exact product identity first) | Formlabs Form 4L[1] | UltiMaker S8 3D Printer[2][3] |
| Release date (announcement and actual shipping) | Not documented | Launched March 2025; the technical-specification and pricing announcement is dated 14 March 2025[3] |
| Street price (USD; dated snapshot per entry) | Not documented | Starting at $8,999 at MatterHackers, in stock, checked Aug 2026. The launch announcement quoted approximately $9,000[2][3] |
| Variants & sibling models — and how to tell them apart (spec-contamination risk) | Same Low Force Display engine as the Form 4 but a different machine on every physical figure: 353 x 196 x 350 mm vs 200 x 125 x 210, 46 um vs 50 um pixels, 58.5 kg vs 18.3 kg, 900 W vs 480 W, two resin cartridges vs one. Formlabs lists Basic, Premium and Complete packages, whose prices are not printer-only prices, and no printer-only USD figure was found on a live listing[1] | Sold as printer-only or as a Pro Bundle. The bundle is not a trim level but a different machine footprint and weight: 495 x 500 x 1210.5 mm and 47.7 kg with the 6-spool Material Station, versus 495 x 585 x 800.5 mm and 30 kg for the printer alone. Print cores AA+ 0.40 x2 are included; BB, CC+ and DD 0.40 are separate purchases[2][3] |
| Physical & Frame | ||
| Build volume X×Y×Z (mm) — advertised vs actually usable | 353 x 196 x 350 mm (Formlabs quotes 24.2 litres)[1] | 330 x 240 x 300 mm[2][3] |
| Machine footprint (mm) & clearance needed (cable/spool overhang) | 664 x 528 x 794 mm[1] | 495 x 585 x 800.5 mm printer only; 495 x 500 x 1210.5 mm as the Pro Bundle[2][3] |
| Net weight (kg) | 58.5 kg[1] | 30 kg printer only; 47.7 kg as the Pro Bundle[2][3] |
| Frame construction & material | Not documented | Fully assembled, made in Europe[2] |
| Enclosure: open / enclosed; panel material; door/lid | Enclosed cabinet with a UV-blocking cover. Operating temperature 18-28 C[1] | Enclosed, with an Air Manager UltiMaker says removes up to 95% of ultrafine particles[2][3] |
| Passive chamber temperature reached (if enclosed; measured values preferred) | Not documented | Build-volume temperature under 50 °C with open-loop control (manufacturer figure)[2][3] |
| Kinematics & Motion Hardware | ||
| Kinematics (bedslinger i3 / CoreXY / other) | Masked stereolithography (MSLA) with the Low Force Display engine; straight-lift peel[1] | Dual-extrusion print head with auto nozzle-lifting, flood detection and inductive probing. UltiMaker's Cheetah motion planner uses third-order continuous motion with corner blending[2][3] |
| Speed & Acceleration | ||
| Max print speed (claimed, mm/s) | Not documented | Up to 500 mm/s in XY (manufacturer claim)[2][3] |
| Max acceleration (claimed, mm/s²) | Not documented | Up to 50,000 mm/s2 (manufacturer claim)[2][3] |
| Jerk / square-corner-velocity setting (exact value) | Not documented | Jerk up to 100,000,000 mm/s3 (manufacturer claim)[2][3] |
| Max volumetric flow claimed (mm³/s) | Not documented | Up to 35 mm3/s extrusion flow (manufacturer claim)[2][3] |
| Extruder | ||
| Type (direct drive / bowden) & design name | Not documented | Dual gripper feeder with tension adjustment, release function and filament feed-rate control[2][3] |
| Filament diameter | Not documented | 2.85 mm[2][3] |
| Hotend & Nozzle | ||
| Hotend design (proprietary/standard; quick-swap mechanism?) | Not documented | Swappable print cores; AA+ 0.40 x2 included, BB 0.40 / CC+ 0.40 / DD 0.40 sold separately[2][3] |
| Max nozzle temp claimed AND firmware max temp limit (both values) | Not documented | Up to 340 °C (manufacturer claim)[2][3] |
| Heated Bed & Surface | ||
| Max bed temp claimed AND firmware limit | Not documented | Up to 120 °C on a flexible PEI plate (manufacturer claim)[2][3] |
| Bed surface (material, texture, coating), single/double-sided | Not documented | Flexible PEI plate[2][3] |
| Leveling & Z-Offset | ||
| Auto bed leveling: probe technology (inductive / strain gauge / load cell / touch probe) | Not documented | Inductive probing, integrated into the print head[2][3] |
| Filament Handling & Detection | ||
| Spool holder location & max spool size; drybox compatibility | Not documented | Dual spool holder with NFC recognition on the printer; the Pro Bundle substitutes a 6-spool Material Station with NFC and a dual-geared abrasion-resistant feeder[2][3] |
| Cooling & Air Handling | ||
| Chamber/exhaust fan & filtration (activated carbon / HEPA) | Not documented | Air Manager, which UltiMaker says removes up to 95% of ultrafine particles[2][3] |
| Electronics & Power | ||
| Input voltage (110/220 V, switch or auto) | 100-240 VAC, 9 A, 50/60 Hz, 900 W[1] | Not documented |
| Total rated power draw | 900 W[1] | Not documented |
| Firmware & Openness | ||
| Firmware base & current version (Klipper fork / Marlin fork / proprietary) | Proprietary; print preparation is PreForm[1] | Not published; print preparation is UltiMaker Cura 5.10 or newer, fleet management via UltiMaker Digital Factory[2][3] |
| Connectivity, UI & Camera | ||
| Display: size, type, touch? | 7-inch interactive touchscreen, 1280 x 800 (control panel — not the masking LCD, see W1)[1] | Not documented |
| WiFi (band/standard), Ethernet, USB ports, SD/flash-drive | Dual-band Wi-Fi, Gigabit Ethernet, USB-C 2.0[1] | Wi-Fi 2.4 and 5 GHz (802.11a/b/g/n/ac), Gigabit Ethernet, USB 2.0[2][3] |
| Camera: built-in / optional? Resolution & framerate (verify — marketing often omits real fps) | Not documented | Full HD HDR camera[2][3] |
| Materials Support | ||
| Officially supported filament list | Formlabs resin range as for the Form 4; biocompatible materials require a B-series machine[1] | UltiMaker cites 301+ compatible materials including its own PLA, PETG, ABS, CPE, CPE+, PC, TPU and PET-CF, plus third-party grades[2] |
| Noise & Power Consumption | ||
| Noise: claimed dB and independently measured dB (distance/method) | Not documented | Under 50 dBA operating sound, manufacturer figure. No independent measurement; distance and method not stated[2][3] |
| Reliability, Support & Ecosystem | ||
| Warranty length & support reputation (evidence, not vibes) | Not documented | 12 months, extendable to 5 years with an UltiMakerCare plan[2][3] |
| Independently Measured Performance | ||
| Dimensional accuracy measurements (third-party, with numbers) | XY dimensional tolerance +/-0.15% — a manufacturer specification[1] | Dimensional accuracy +/-0.15 mm +/-0.15% of feature nominal length (manufacturer specification, not an independent measurement)[2][3] |
| Resin & MSLA | ||
| Masking LCD | Low Force Display masking LCD with a 46 um pixel size. Formlabs does not publish the screen diagonal or pixel count[1] | Not documented |
| Light source | Backlight unit with uniform-wavelength LEDs behind collimating lenses, with integrated cooling[1] | Not documented |
| Layer height range | 25-200 um[1] | Not documented |
| Resin vat & feeding | Two next-generation resin cartridges. No vat capacity published[1] | Not documented |
Manufacturer claims, independent measurements, packages and test conditions retain their source wording. FDM linear speed and resin vertical speed use different units and are not directly comparable. Unknown values are marked “Not documented”. Prices and source dates remain historical snapshots; check the linked guide for product details. Differences highlight text, not a universal winner.
Sources for this comparison
- Formlabs resin printer technical specifications (Form 4 / 4B / 4L) formlabs.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- UltiMaker S8 3D Printer listing matterhackers.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- New UltiMaker S8 high-speed 3D printer: technical specifications and pricing 3dprintingindustry.com · 2026-08 · review