Which Anycubic Resin to Choose: Guide to All 13 Photopolymers

Anycubic makes 13 lines of 405 nm UV resin — from the cheap all-round Standard to the engineering ABS-Like Pro and the flexible Tough Ultra. They all ship in 1 kg bottles, cure in the 365–405 nm range, and run on most desktop LCD/DLP printers, not just Anycubic hardware. This guide helps you pick the right resin for the job — miniatures, functional parts, transparent models — without paying for properties you don't need.

"Resin" and "photopolymer" mean the same thing here — a liquid that hardens under UV light, layer by layer. The lines differ in three ways: toughness (brittle vs impact-resistant), wash method (isopropyl alcohol or water), and special properties (clarity, matte finish, low odor). When a print fails or a part snaps, it's almost never a "bad resin" — it's the wrong exposure time. See our resin printing troubleshooting guide.

Quick pick: which resin for which job

No time for the whole guide? Here's the cheat sheet by use case. Each resin is covered in detail below, with real specs.

Every Anycubic resin is 405 nm: what it prints on

Desktop resin printers cure each layer with 405 nm UV — effectively the industry standard. So Anycubic resins are compatible not only with their own machines like the Anycubic Photon Mono 4 and Photon Mono M7, but with 405 nm LCD/MSLA printers from Elegoo, QIDI, Phrozen and others. The one hardware caveat is High Speed, which needs a monochrome screen (more below).

The basics: Standard and High Speed

Anycubic Standard Resin (current version V2) is the most popular and cheapest in the line — the default photopolymer. Rated tensile strength is 35–45 MPa, elongation at break 25–30%, hardness 80–83 Shore D, recommended layer exposure 2.5–3 seconds. It prints predictably, holds fine detail, and releases easily from the plate. One real downside: like any basic resin, it's a bit brittle — thin swords and hair strands can snap, and it gets more fragile over time and under sunlight. For learning the craft, miniatures and prototypes it's the best start.

Anycubic High Speed Resin serves the same purpose as standard resin but with a very short exposure: 1.5–2.8 seconds per layer versus 2.5–3 for regular. Viscosity is very low (75–85 mPa·s), so it flows fast between layers and tall models print noticeably quicker. Two honest caveats. First, it needs a monochrome LCD: old RGB screens can't deliver enough UV to cure a layer in 1.5 seconds, and they degrade fast under that intensity. Second, the time saving is smaller than the marketing — the platform lift eats 7–10 seconds per layer regardless of resin, so in practice you save about 30–50%, not "3x".

Tough and engineering resins: ABS-Like and Tough

First, the important bit: the "ABS-Like" label is marketing, not chemistry. There is no actual ABS plastic in the resin; it's a regular UV photopolymer tuned to behave like ABS in strength and flex. Like any photopolymer it degrades under UV, so outdoor parts should be painted or coated. Judge these resins by their specs, not their name.

Anycubic ABS-Like Resin (current 3.0) is tougher than standard: 38–45 MPa tensile and around 130 J/m Izod impact. Models crumble less on a drop and survive frequent handling — good for enclosures, gears, and figures you pick up a lot.

Anycubic ABS-Like Resin Pro (Pro 2) is the engineering version. Elongation at break rises to 35–40% (double the base), and Izod impact hits 212 J/m: parts visibly flex before failing instead of shattering. The trade-off is honest — reviewers report it needs roughly double the exposure, thicker supports, and it sticks harder to the FEP film and plate. Expect a couple of test prints to dial it in; after that you get genuinely strong functional parts, clamps and jigs.

Anycubic Tough Resin 2.0 is all about impact resistance: about 245 J/m Izod (the highest of the engineering group) and 60–72% elongation. It won't chip on a drop or under moderate load and flexes slightly — ideal for gears, brackets, snap-fits and enclosures. The downside is high viscosity (450–500 mPa·s): it prints slower and is harder to clean.

Anycubic Tough Resin Ultra is the stretchiest: 70–80% elongation and just 71–75 Shore D hardness. It's about springiness, not stiffness — the print bends and recovers instead of cracking. Use it for articulated models with moving parts, thin features like hair strands, and wearable accessories; it's also mixed into other resins to boost their toughness. For rigid load-bearing parts it's too soft — reach for Tough 2.0 or ABS-Like Pro instead.

All engineering resins live in the tough photopolymers hub, handy for side-by-side comparison.

Water-washable resins: clean with water, no alcohol

Anycubic Water-Wash Resin 2.0 rinses off with plain water (5+ minutes) instead of isopropyl alcohol — saving money on consumables and keeping jugs of flammable alcohol out of the workshop. It's low viscosity (190–230 mPa·s) and flows even at 15–20 °C. The honest downside is well known to every resin printer: water-washables are classically more brittle and hygroscopic — they absorb moisture from the air and can crack over time. The 2.0 formula helps (16–22% elongation), but for thin, frequently handled minis the risk remains.

Anycubic Water-Wash ABS-Like Resin combines both wins: easy water cleanup and ABS-like toughness (30–40% elongation). It's the answer to the main complaint about water-washables — brittleness. In an independent test the current version survived a drop of about 1.2 m onto tile without damage. If you wash with water but the parts will be handled, get the ABS-like version.

Other water-washable photopolymers are in the water-washable resins hub.

Specialty resins: clear, matte, eco, BJD, DLP

Anycubic High Clear Resin is a transparent photopolymer with about 92% light transmission and anti-yellowing. Good for lenses, lampshades, clear prototypes, souvenirs and jewelry. Two things to know. First, you won't get "glass" clarity straight off the printer — you need to sand and polish, or brush a thin layer of the same resin over the model and cure it. Second, clear resin over-exposes easily and needs a longer exposure (around 4 seconds), and it's more sensitive to room temperature.

Anycubic 14K Texture Resin gives a velvety matte surface instead of gloss, thanks to a nano-ceramic powder. The matte finish hides layer lines, kills glare, and lets you spot defects and seam lines before priming — so primer and paint sit more evenly. Ideal for miniatures and busts for painting. The cost of the additive is higher viscosity: it's harder to wash and can get trapped in deep pockets.

Anycubic Plant-Based Resin (a soybean-oil eco resin) is the pick for home printing without dedicated ventilation: it genuinely has a mild smell and carries RoHS, REACH and SGS certifications. Printers love it for a slight give that saves thin mini details from snapping. But be clear-eyed: "low odor" is not "safe" — VOCs are still emitted, they just don't smell, so gloves and ventilation are still mandatory. And it's washed with the same isopropyl alcohol despite the "eco" name.

Anycubic BJD Wear-Resistant Resin is a niche resin for ball-jointed dolls: wear-resistant joints don't loosen with repeated assembly, it resists yellowing, and gives a smooth surface for painting faces. Shrinkage is low (2–4%), and the Mia Pink, Mia White and Storm Gray colors match doll skin tones.

Anycubic DLP Craftsman Resin is built specifically for Anycubic DLP printers (Photon Ultra and Photon D2): it prioritizes high accuracy and low shrinkage (3.7–4.2%) with a long shelf life of up to 1.5 years. Great for jewelry and animation prototypes with fine detail, and it also runs on regular 405 nm LCD machines. Compare clear and plant-based resins in the clear and plant-based hubs.

Full spec table

All 13 Anycubic resins with key specs. Exposure is a starting point — dial in the exact value for your printer with a test. Tensile and elongation are the manufacturer's ratings.

Gallery: resins in action

How to print Anycubic resin: exposure, wash, cure

Choosing the resin is only half the job — you also have to expose and post-process it right. The key step is dialing in the layer exposure for your specific resin-and-printer combo. Anycubic ships a test for this called R_E_R_F (Resin Exposure Range Finder): it prints 8 identical copies in one job, each with a slightly longer exposure (about 0.25 s steps), and you pick the sharpest. Important detail: the file name must stay exactly R_E_R_F, and the file is tied to a specific printer model — someone else's won't work.

You can combine washing and curing in one device. The Anycubic Wash & Cure 3 is a 2-in-1 station: it both washes and post-cures with 405 nm UV, with each step adjustable from 1 to 30 minutes. For water-washable resin you fill it with water instead of alcohol.

If a model won't stick to the plate or pulls off its supports, that's about setup and adhesion, not the resin. See resin printing troubleshooting and first layer adhesion.

Safety and disposal

Liquid resin is a sensitizer: sensitivity builds up over months of contact, and after that even a drop can trigger a rash or allergy. So the rules don't depend on an "eco" label.

• Nitrile gloves 5 mil or thicker — resin soaks through thin ones unnoticed; latex is permeable and doesn't count.
• Ventilation is mandatory, ideally a respirator with organic-vapor cartridges. Low odor doesn't mean no VOCs.
• Eye protection when handling resin and UV.
• Store bottles tightly closed, upright, in a cool dark dry place; shelf life is about 12 months.
• Never drain liquid resin or dirty alcohol/water — cure it under UV until solid and bin it as plastic.

Common beginner mistakes

• Reusing someone else's exposure profile on a new resin — near-guaranteed failure. Recalibrate with R_E_R_F.
• Over-curing in the station or in the sun — thin details and edges turn brittle. More UV is not better.
• Using plain water-washable resin for handled minis, then wondering about the cracks. Use the ABS-like version.
• Expecting a huge speed-up from High Speed, or running it on an old RGB screen — it won't cure and it damages the screen.
• Treating "low odor" and plant-based resin as safe and working without gloves and ventilation.
• Not shaking the bottle before printing — settled pigment causes uneven curing.

FAQ

The bottom line: for miniatures and starting out, grab standard or plant-based resin; for functional parts, ABS-Like Pro or Tough; for transparency, High Clear; and for easy cleanup, the water-washable versions. And remember — any resin needs its exposure calibrated, and that's half the battle.