HeyGears G1: Full-Color 3D Printing Gets a Desktop Price
Full-color 3D printing used to mean a $50,000 machine. HeyGears just put it on a desk for $3,299. The three tiers print very different things, so here is every published number, what each pack buys, and the running costs nobody has priced yet. Updated as facts land.
DavidJun 12, 202610 min readPrices verified Jun 12, 2026
Contents
The HeyGears G1 starts at $1,699 in VIP pre-order pricing as of June 12, 2026, against a $2,299 MSRP, with the Kickstarter expected in July. But the machine the announcement headlines describe, "the world's first desktop full-color 3D and UV printer", is really the top tier: full-color 3D objects need the Resin Station, and the cheapest bundle that includes one is the G1X Full-3D Pack at $3,299 VIP ($5,499 MSRP). For scale: the nearest machine that can do what that pack claims is a Mimaki at roughly $50,000. The $1,699 number buys a capable UV flatbed printer with 5 mm raised textures. That distinction is on HeyGears' own tier graphics and nowhere in the coverage so far, so let's price this machine properly.
What changed
June 12, 2026. VIP tier pricing appeared on HeyGears' deposit reservation page, two days after the G1 was announced. This page launched the same day with the tier analysis and a verified comparison against the eufyMake E1, xTool O1 Omni and Mimaki 3DUJ-2207; we update it as new facts publish (watch list at the bottom).
The three tiers, and what each one actually prints
| Tier | VIP price | MSRP | What it prints |
|---|---|---|---|
| G1 Starter Pack | $1,699 | $2,299 | UV on objects + 3D textures to 5 mm |
| G1X Starter Pack | $2,999 | $4,799 | Same, 3x faster, finer color |
| G1X Full-3D Pack | $3,299 | $5,499 | Full-color 3D models + everything above |
HeyGears' official deposit page, June 12, 2026. VIP price = Kickstarter Super Early Bird minus a $300 VIP discount; the $50 deposit and the $300 difference are refunded within 14 business days after the campaign. MSRPs are HeyGears' stated post-launch prices.
The tier graphics tell the real story. Full-Color 3D Printing appears as a badge only on the Full-3D Pack, the bundle with the Resin Station (1-liter tanks, automatic white-ink agitation, water-soluble supports). The two Starter Packs list 2D and 3D texture printing up to 5 mm: photorealistic UV print on phone cases, skateboards, acrylic, with relief, but not freestanding full-color models. Whether a Starter Pack can be upgraded later by adding a Resin Station is not stated anywhere; it is on our watch list.
Hardware differences underneath: the G1 runs a 6-channel F1080 printhead (CMYK + white + varnish, "millions of colors", published head lifetime 6-12 months). The G1X runs the 8-channel Epson i3200 (adds light cyan and light magenta, "10M+ colors", 3x UV print speed, head lifetime 12-24 months). Both share 1440 x 2400 DPI, 10-30 micron layers, a 420 x 330 mm bed (150 mm model height in 3D mode), and a 45 kg, 580 x 660 x 510 mm chassis.
What the G1 actually is
Not an FDM or resin printer in the usual sense. The G1 jets UV-curable ink from a piezo print head (3.9 picoliter droplets) and cures it instantly with UV light, building color into the object instead of painting it on after. HeyGears claims 10M+ colors, 3+ years of fade resistance, and 400+ printable substrates including metal, acrylic and fabric, with modular attachments (rotary for mugs, flatbed, roll-to-film, conveyor, and DTF for textiles) turning it into a small production station. Software is HeyGears' own Blueprint Studio plus a HeyVerse asset library with text-to-3D generation.
Every number in this section is a manufacturer claim. The machine was announced this week; no independent test exists yet, including ours.
The running costs HeyGears hasn't priced
This is the section that will decide whether the G1 is a bargain or a subscription with a chassis, and most of it is still unpublished:
- Ink. The only anchor so far: the launch-bonus white ink is valued at $49 per 300 ml, about $163 per liter. Nothing else in the CMYKWV(+Lc+Lm) lineup has a published price or bottle size. For scale, eufyMake sells E1 ink at $42.99 per chip-locked 100 ml cartridge, about $430 per liter. If HeyGears' valuation survives into store pricing, G1 ink would run roughly 2.6x cheaper; a marketing "valued at" figure is not a price tag, so this stays on the watch list. Inkjet economics live and die on this number.
- The printhead is a consumable. HeyGears publishes head lifetimes (6-12 months on the G1, 12-24 on the G1X) the way filament printers publish nozzle sizes, but no replacement price. eufyMake does the reverse: a $599 replacement head with no published lifetime. Between the two vendors you can almost assemble one honest spec sheet. The i3200 is a standard industry head used across UV and DTF printers, so a market price will be knowable; we'll add it.
- Cleaning cycles consume ink. The G1 auto-cleans after 3 days of inactivity and moisturizes nozzles on standby. Every UV inkjet owner knows this line item; nobody publishes it. An idle inkjet is not free.
- Power draw: unpublished. Likely modest next to the consumables, but unknown.
When these numbers land, the cost per print becomes computable the same way we build any print's true cost: material, machine wear, energy, labor, failure. Until then, treat every "cost per model" claim you see, from anyone, as a guess.
How the VIP pre-order works
- Pay a $50 deposit on HeyGears' store (refundable any time before launch). It locks the VIP price and beta-program priority.
- Back the G1 on Kickstarter when it launches (July expected) at the Super Early Bird price.
- After the campaign, HeyGears refunds the $300 difference plus the $50 deposit within 14 business days. Orders in the first 48 hours of the campaign also get the $49 white-ink bonus.
The usual crowdfunding caution applies, even for an established manufacturer: a Kickstarter pledge is not a store purchase, and shipping is "expected to begin in 2026" with no month attached. HeyGears is an eight-year-old company shipping resin printers into dental and audio production, which lowers the vaporware risk, but the calendar risk is real and the fine print says specs "may differ" before mass production.
HeyGears G1 vs eufyMake E1 vs xTool O1 Omni
The G1 lands in a category that barely existed two years ago and is suddenly crowded. The eufyMake E1 broke Kickstarter's all-time funding record in 2025 ($46.8M from 17,822 backers) and has been in retail since May 2026; xTool's O1 Omni is announced for a July-August launch with no published price. The verified state of the field:
| Machine | Price (US) | Full-color 3D objects | Ships |
|---|---|---|---|
| eufyMake E1 | $2,299-2,899 sale | No: 5 mm relief | Now |
| xTool O1 Omni | Not published | Not claimed | Jul-Aug 2026 target |
| HeyGears G1 Starter | $1,699 VIP | No: 5 mm textures | Kickstarter, 2026 |
| HeyGears G1X Full-3D | $3,299 VIP | Yes, to 150 mm | Kickstarter, 2026 |
| Mimaki 3DUJ-2207 | ~$50,000 | Yes | Now (industrial) |
E1 prices are official-store sale prices (list $2,499-3,299), shipping in 1-3 business days as of mid-June. O1 Omni pricing, texture height and ink economics are unpublished; the circulating 'from $2,399' figure is unconfirmed. Mimaki 3DUJ-2207 lists at $50,652 at MatterHackers. Both the E1 and the G1 share a 330 x 420 mm bed and 5 mm texture height.
Read the table twice. As a UV texture printer, the G1 Starter undercuts the shipping E1 by $600 at VIP pricing with the same bed and the same 5 mm relief. As a full-color 3D printer, the G1X Full-3D Pack has exactly one competitor on the market, and it costs fifteen times more. That second reading is the genuinely new thing here: this capability has simply never had a consumer price before, and multi-filament FDM (a Bambu A1 with AMS runs $399-649, or 369 EUR) is not it: a handful of filament colors with purge waste is a different product from ten million blended colors with no post-paint.
The honest counterweight: the E1 exists. It ships in days, has a year of reviews behind it (which praise the output and flag work-in-progress software and bed-adhesion quirks), and its consumables are priced in public. The G1 is a pre-production promise with better specs on paper and a refundable $50 way to wait and see. The O1 Omni asks you to wait without telling you the price.
What we're watching
The open questions that decide this machine's real economics, in the order they're likely to resolve:
- Kickstarter launch date and live campaign pricing (July expected)
- Full ink lineup: bottle sizes and prices per channel
- Printhead replacement prices for the F1080 and i3200
- Whether a Starter Pack can add the Resin Station later
- Cleaning-cycle ink consumption and power draw
- Actual ship dates, and the first independent tests
Deposit-level interest is cheap to keep alive at $50 refundable. A purchase decision needs lines 2 and 3. This page updates when they publish.
Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions
How much does the HeyGears G1 cost?
$1,699 to $3,299 in VIP pre-order pricing as of June 12, 2026 (MSRP $2,299 to $5,499 after launch): G1 Starter $1,699, G1X Starter $2,999, G1X Full-3D Pack $3,299. A $50 refundable deposit locks the VIP price ahead of the July Kickstarter.
Can the $1,699 HeyGears G1 print full-color 3D models?
No. The $1,699 G1 Starter Pack does UV printing on objects with raised 3D textures up to 5 mm. Freestanding full-color 3D models (up to 150 mm tall) require the Resin Station, which is only bundled in the $3,299 G1X Full-3D Pack.
What is the difference between the G1 and the G1X?
The printhead, mainly: the G1 has a 6-channel F1080 head (CMYK, white, varnish, 6-12 month published lifetime); the G1X has the 8-channel Epson i3200 (adds light cyan and light magenta, 3x UV speed, 12-24 month lifetime). Resolution and bed size are the same.
Is the HeyGears G1 better than the eufyMake E1?
At VIP pricing the G1 Starter is $600 cheaper than the E1's $2,299 sale price with the same 330 x 420 mm bed and 5 mm texture height, and the G1X Full-3D Pack does what no E1 can: freestanding full-color 3D models. The E1's advantage is that it ships today with a year of reviews and published consumable prices, while the G1 is a pre-production Kickstarter promise. Need a machine this summer: E1. Can wait and want more per dollar: the G1's $50 refundable deposit is a cheap option on that bet.
When does the HeyGears G1 ship?
No date is published. The Kickstarter is expected in July 2026 and HeyGears says shipping is 'expected to begin in 2026.' The product page notes specs may change before mass production, so treat the timeline as provisional.
Is the HeyGears G1 deposit refundable?
Yes: the $50 deposit is refundable any time before the Kickstarter launch, and if you back the campaign it is refunded along with a $300 VIP price difference within 14 business days after the campaign ends.
Sources & methodology
- HeyGears G1 deposit reservation page: tiers, VIP prices, MSRPs, mechanics (including official tier graphics) (checked Jun 12, 2026)
- HeyGears G1 Series product page: specs, inks, attachments, software (checked Jun 12, 2026)
- HeyGears company site: Reflex and dental printer lines (checked Jun 12, 2026)
- eufyMake E1: official product page (specs, substrates, rotary) (checked Jun 12, 2026)
- E1 pricing, ink and printhead costs: The Crafty Catsman review, citing official store prices (checked Jun 12, 2026)
- xTool O1 Omni: official page (bed, clearance, dual heads) (checked Jun 12, 2026)
- Mimaki 3DUJ-2207 price: MatterHackers listing ($50,652) (checked Jun 12, 2026)
- Community discussion (German): drucktipps3d forum thread (checked Jun 12, 2026)
- Bambu Lab A1/AMS pricing: official stores, verified (checked Jun 11, 2026)
- Images: HeyGears official press/product imagery