Anycubic Photon Mono 4 Review: Is 10K Detail Actually Worth It?

The Anycubic Photon Mono 4 is an entry-level MSLA resin printer from 2024 with a 7-inch 10K mono LCD (9024×5120), a 17 µm pixel, a 153×87×165 mm (~2.2 L) build volume and a $189 starting price. It's one of the cheapest printers at this resolution — but that low price came with a few trade-offs.

The 30-second verdict

If you want a cheap printer for highly detailed miniatures, figures and models, the Photon Mono 4 earns its money. It's simple, reliable and prints well out of the box. But the '10K' in the name is marketing: the screen is really 9024 pixels wide, and the older matrix light source doesn't make the image look noticeably sharper than cheaper, lower-resolution machines. No Wi-Fi, no app, no sensors — that's the trade-off for the low price.

Specifications

What's in the box (and what isn't)

Standard Anycubic kit: the printer, a resin vat, the laser-engraved Print Platform 2.0, two scraper spatulas, a set of Allen keys, leveling paper, a screen protector kit, a USB drive with test files, the PSU, gloves, a funnel and an illustrated manual. Assembly takes 10–15 minutes, and you're printing in under half an hour.

What's not in the box: resin, safety gear (get a proper respirator and nitrile gloves) and the activated-carbon air purifier — Anycubic sells that separately. Resin printing also requires a wash-and-cure station; without it your model stays sticky and toxic. See our post-processing guide for how to wash and cure prints properly.

Resin smells and emits VOCs, so print in a ventilated space. The Anycubic AirPure 2.0 purifier mounts on the body and noticeably cuts the odor — if you print at home, it's close to essential. For more on resin fumes and ventilation, see our fumes and ventilation guide.

The 10K screen: marketing vs reality

The Photon Mono 4's headline feature is its 7-inch screen at 9024×5120 with a 17 µm pixel. Against the older Photon Mono 2 (4K, 34 µm pixel), the pixel is exactly half the size, so you do get more detail on a model. Two caveats, though. First, 9024 pixels wide is closer to 9K than a true '10K'. Second, this high-res screen pairs with an older parallel matrix LED (LighTurbo), not the better COB light source — which only shows up on the Ultra.

Reviewer FauxHammer, who tested it on miniatures, put it bluntly: the jump in sharpness over lower-res machines is "not especially obvious in practice," and recessed details can look slightly "bloated." The takeaway: a 17 µm pixel is great, but chasing '10K' for its own sake isn't worth it — the image won't be noticeably sharper than lower-resolution printers. For miniatures, there's detail to spare.

Print quality

In practice, the Photon Mono 4 prints cleanly and with good detail. Reviewers agree the miniatures come out "presentable and detailed enough to satisfy the vast majority" of hobbyists. Fine transitions, scales, cloth and engraved text all read well. On miniatures, the detail gap between this 10K machine and top-end 14K printers is barely visible to the eye, so paying up for more 'K' makes little sense.

Layer exposure depends on the resin: about 1.8 s for high-speed, 2.6 s for standard and up to 4 s for High-Clear (at a 0.05 mm layer with 5 bottom layers). Anti-aliasing is built in and works from level one. Reliability gets praise: independent 30-day tests and dozens of jobs ran with zero failures — an excellent result for a budget machine.

Speed, noise and reliability

Resin printer speed is measured in millimeters of height per hour. The Photon Mono 4 does up to 50 mm/h on standard resin and up to 70 mm/h on Anycubic High-Speed Resin 2.0 — fine for the class, though the COB-equipped Ultra hits 120 mm/h. It runs quietly: you only hear the board and light-source cooling fans. Worth a mention: the 4-point manual leveling is rock-solid — set it once and it holds through dozens of prints.

Build volume

The 153×87×165 mm build (up to 2.2 L) is a plus: that's roomy for a budget printer. You can fit a large figure or a whole squad of miniatures in one go. By flagship resin standards it's still modest — full-size busts or helmets have to be split into parts. One more thing: the plate is rigid (not flexible), so you remove finished models carefully with a scraper rather than flexing them off a steel sheet.

Software and controls

Control is via a 2.8-inch touchscreen, and files come off a USB drive. No Wi-Fi, no app, no cloud: want to print? Copy the file to a stick and plug it in. For some that's a downside; for others it's a plus — offline, no accounts, no 'smart' fuss.

The stock slicer is Anycubic Photon Workshop. It works, but it's basic: weak auto-supports and hollowing, plus reviewers hit a bug where the file picker appears and instantly vanishes (drag-and-drop the model to work around it). The good news — the printer plays nicely with Lychee Slicer and Chitubox, whose supports and hollowing are much smarter. Most experienced makers move to those.

Consumables and maintenance

The Photon Mono 4 ships with standard FEP film — it's cheap, but needs replacing more often and has a higher peel force than the ACF film on the Ultra. Many owners eventually switch to nFEP or PFA for gentler peel and better stability and detail. FEP lasts around 30,000 layers. The mono LCD is good for about 2000 print hours (mono lasts far longer than RGB); a replacement 10K screen runs $79–100 and a screen protector is about $18 for five. Mono 4's LCD warranty was extended from 3 to 6 months; the whole machine is covered for a year.

Common gripes: the most frequent is prints lifting off the center of the plate. It's usually cold resin (a chilly room) plus too little bottom-layer exposure; fix it by warming the resin, raising bottom exposure and fitting fresh, well-tensioned film. General resin issues — sticking, under-curing, banding — are covered in our resin printing troubleshooting guide.

Pros

• High detail: the 17 µm pixel is half the size of the 4K Mono 2's — great for miniatures and figures
• One of the cheapest printers at this resolution — strong detail-per-dollar
• Reliable out of the box: independent 30-day tests ran with zero failures
• Beginner-friendly: 10–15 minute assembly, first print in under 30 minutes
• Stable 4-point manual leveling that holds through dozens of prints
• Large-for-the-class 153×87×165 mm (~2.2 L) build volume
• Quiet operation and power-loss print resume
• Cheap consumables: FEP and screen protector cost pennies, LCD is $79–100
• Works great with Lychee and Chitubox; built-in RERF exposure test

Cons

• '10K' oversells it: 9024 pixels wide, not noticeably sharper than a good 8K
• Older matrix LED instead of COB — resolution is partly bottlenecked by the optics (COB is Ultra-only)
• No Wi-Fi, app or cloud — just USB and a small 2.8-inch screen
• No resin-level or failure-detection sensors (Ultra-only)
• Rigid, non-flexible plate — harder to remove prints than a flex sheet
• Photon Workshop slicer is basic, with a file-picker bug
• Standard FEP needs replacing more often than the ACF on higher models
• Light body with slippery feet — can shift when tightening the plate bolt
• Air purifier and safety gear are not included

Mono 4 vs Mono 4 Ultra vs Mono 2

The choice is simple. Want maximum savings and don't care about networking or sensors? Get the Mono 4. Willing to pay ~$90 more for COB light (more even and brighter), up to 120 mm/h, Wi-Fi, an app, ACF film and resin-level monitoring? Get the Photon Mono 4 Ultra. The main outside rival is the Elegoo Mars 5: it adds automatic bed leveling but costs more; on print quality the Mono 4 keeps up for less. The old Mono 2 makes no sense in 2024 — it's pricier and its pixel is twice as coarse.

Which resin to buy

The Photon Mono 4 works with any 405 nm resin. Anycubic has a handy lineup for different jobs: standard resin for everyday miniatures, high-speed to actually hit that 70 mm/h, water-washable to clean models with water instead of alcohol, and ABS-like for tougher functional parts. Always dial in exposure per resin with a test.

Verdict: who the Photon Mono 4 is for

The Photon Mono 4 is a solid pick if you want to get into resin printing on a tight budget and print detailed miniatures, figures and models. It's simple, reliable, quiet and prints well out of the box, and consumables are cheap. Don't expect a 'wow' leap from the '10K' number — real detail is solid, not a revolution. If you need networking, sensors and the most even light source, look at the Mono 4 Ultra instead.

A clear yes for: resin beginners, tabletop and D&D miniature fans, and modelers on a budget. A no for: anyone who wants to print large models in one piece, needs Wi-Fi and 'smart' sensors, or isn't ready to deal with washing, curing and ventilation.

Sources

• FauxHammer — Anycubic Photon Mono 4 Review: Is 10K Detail Real?
• Anycubic Wiki — LCD replacement, screen lifespan and warranty
• 3Dwork.io — Photon Mono 4 vs Mono 4 Ultra comparison
• Dreaming3D — slicer settings and exposure per resin
• Fabbaloo — hands-on, notes on Photon Workshop software
• Photonsters — community and known issues for the Photon line

FAQ