A couple of days ago, I wrote a blog post called “I Bought a UV Printer. I Might Be Sending It Back Tomorrow.”
The problem
…because I’d bought the eufyMake E1 Deluxe Bundle, but while I was still waiting for the order to arrive, I discovered that Anker/eufyMake had launched a much better offer. They basically sent me an email telling me how much of a discount everyone else could get if they bought one. And it was a discount of HUNDREDS of pounds.
So, did I send it back?
Nope.
I decided not to unbox anything until I knew whether Anker / eufyMake would do anything about the price difference.
And then eufyMake customer service replied
The great news is that they handled my problem extremely well. They emailed me with instructions explaining how to request a refund through the order section of their website.
I followed the instructions. And it was easy. No prolonged argument. No labyrinth of automated customer-service departments. No trying to persuade somebody that I really had bought the machine only a few days before the price changed. I was impressed.
So yes, I submitted the request and now I’m waiting for my refund.
Credit where it’s due
I really was peeved about the situation when I wrote my original post. But eufyMake’s response turned what could have been a very sour first experience with the company into a positive one.
And in fact, not only did I keep my new eufyMake E1 UV printer, but I’m now thinking about buying other stuff from them.
…Which meant I could finally open the boxes
This was especially good timing because I’m speaking at the Author Nation indie author conference in Las Vegas in November 2026, with a session called:
“From Low-Hanging Fruit to High-Tech Magic: Exploring the Boundaries of Author Merchandise.”
And being able to keep the UV printer meant that I could immediately start finding out for myself what machines like this could mean for authors.
The gist of the session is going to be that intellectual property (IP) can cover far more than just the words in authors’ books, ebooks and audiobooks. IP can include symbols, characters, creatures, maps, artwork, fictional organisations, objects, and non-fiction material. All of those things can potentially escape from the page and become physical products – and make more money for the author.
And UV printers open up some very interesting possibilities for exploring those products.
So once I knew I was keeping the machine, I could finally start unpacking it.
First impressions: this is a great bit of kit!!
I’ll write separately about the unboxing and setup process and what I’m discovering as I actually learn to use the E1, because there’s already far too much to fit into one post.
But so far I’ve got the machine out, set it up and begun experimenting. And WOW. I am excited.
For anyone unfamiliar with the technology, a UV printer can print full-colour designs directly onto all sorts of objects and materials rather than simply printing onto paper.
I’ll write a separate beginner-friendly guide “What is a UV printer?” this week, because I suspect that this is going to become an increasingly common question over the next few years, as these machines become better known. But in the meantime the quick explanation is:
UV Printers print layers of plastic-based ink, and cure each layer with a UV light, until eventually the layers form raised, textured prints
That textured/raised print quality is one of the things I’m particularly keen to explore. UV printing can literally add another dimension to existing artworks.
I’ve got a lot to learn
I am very definitely still at the beginning. At the moment I’m discovering things like:
- how the machine behaves;
- how the software works;
- which materials print well;
- how different settings affect the finished result;
- what maintenance it needs;
- and, most importantly, what I can actually make with it.
I’m not normally an ‘early adopter’ of tech. In fact, I prefer to take the opposite stance, and wait until all the hype has died down and the real users’ reports have built up. But with UV printing, I knew as soon as I saw it that it fit perfectly with my existing business model (in the same way that I knew lasers did, back in about 2001).
I want to find out what happens when an ordinary small creative business actually owns one. And I literally can’t wait to find out. Hence purchasing one before it fits into my preferred category of “tried and tested”. I really don’t want to write about UV printing as somebody standing outside the technology saying, “Look at all the amazing things these machines can theoretically do.” This is one time when I want to be the person saying “I’m testing this new thing out so you don’t have to.”
You’re welcome 😉
What can it print on?
Good question. EufyMake’s marketing phrase is “Make everything your canvas“. Now that I’ve got the UV printer I keep looking at ordinary objects and thinking:
“I wonder if I can print on that?”
…so now I’m going to spend the next few months finding out. Wheeee!
I’m documenting my experiments with UV printing, laser cutting, 3D printing and other ways of turning creative ideas into physical products in the run-up to my Author Nation session in November. More experiments coming soon.