Creality K1 review: The pros & cons from a Prusa owner

In my Creality K1 review, I explain why it has become my go-to printer instead of the Prusa MK3S+, but not without some key upgrades along the way.

With the recent Bambu ‘security’ fiasco frustrating users, Creality is emerging as a strong alternative in the plug-and-print market – especially for those who value full control over their machines.

Since the original K1 release, Creality has expanded the lineup with the larger K1 Max, the enhanced K1C and the more wallet-friendly open-frame K1 SE. Is the standard K1 still worth considering?

Many months of use later, I will say that it has opened my eyes to a world of convenient and rapid-fire 3D printing. Though not without some caveats and hiccups I will get to in a minute.

Creality K1 review explained

The K1 has an industrial, no-nonsense dark grey metal and glass enclosure. This design helps minimize noise, stabilise temperatures, reduce pesky drafts that can cause warping and vent VOCs (volatile organic compounds) away from your precious lungs.

Its print bed measures 220mm x 220mm, with 250mm of build height. As a core-XY printer, two motors control X and Y movement, while the Z-axis is handled separately. Unlike a traditional Cartesian printer such as the Prusa MK3S+, the bed does not move side-to-side or back and forth – only downwards, layer by layer.

As a result, you can cram everything into a smaller area while 3D printing resolution is improved and printing speed increased. Where my trusty Prusa needed an hour and a half to print a Benchy, the K1 and its 190g printhead can have it finished in under twenty minutes. Straight out of the box, 600mm of plastic can be laid per second.

This results in higher printing accuracy, significantly faster printing speeds and a smaller device footprint. Where my Prusa takes 90 minutes to print a Benchy, the K1 can do it in 17 minutes. Right out of the box, it can lay down 600mm of filament a second with an extrusion flow of up to 32mm³/s.

Watching the K1 blitz through a 3D print really does feel futuristic and encourages rapid prototyping. Setup is nearly effortless – just remove some screws, attach the touchscreen, and plug it in. 3D printing really has truly come a long way.

Even maintenance is mostly hassle-free. Just five bolts and a plastic cover stand between you and access to the hot end and extruder. All tools are included in the box plus a plastic scraper, some cutters, spanner, white Hyper PLA filament and a lengthy metal stick for removing stuck filament.

Creality K1 pros & cons

The pros

The Creality K1 can churn out great 3D print quality using PLA, PLA+, PETG, PETG-CF, ABS, ASA and PC (polycarbonate). Its sturdy enclosure gives you the best chance of success.

It is also a huge plus that Creality has decided against locking its 3D printers down. Unlike rival Bambu. Not only are you able to root the K1 series without much difficulty (guide incoming), you can begin the process within the K1 menu. Once you pretend to read the disclaimer for 30 seconds.

Pro tip: If you root the K1, do not run automatic updates when your K1 series printer is rooted or expect errors and to perform a factory reset. Once rooted, you will have full control over Klipper as opposed to the partly-restricted in-built version.

I am also a big fan of the supplied print bed. It may not be double-sided, but print materials stick to it convincingly and separate easily. Especially if you use the supplied glue stick. This and automatic Z-levelling let you spend more time printing and less time trouble-shooting. As it is with a pricier Prusa.

The cons

While the K1 had early issues, most have been resolved in newer batches (printer batch 2306+). If you buy old stock, expect to upgrade key components. Creality offered a free upgrade for a while (which I missed out on), but it is no longer available. All affected customers should have been given the kit.

To see if you have a new extruder, you will feel the extruder lock spring back when pressed as the original did not have a spring. The latest version also has a springy ring for locking in the PTFE tube as opposed to those fiddly and easy-to-lose blue clips. Being made of steel instead of aluminium, the new extruder will also be magnetic.

As for hot end, the original is prone to clogging via heat creep. As such, you should have the lid off when printing PLA or any other materials that do not really need an enclosure. I had a few prints fail because the extruder stops pulling filament through to the nozzle, resulting in the printer never laying down any plastic but continuing to move as if all was fine.

Getting these clogs out means removing the extruder motor and disassembling, which is annoying. It is no wonder the K1C design has a long metal tube as part of its ‘Unicorn’ nozzle design, which stops the issue. Ultimately, trust is lost when a long print can be totally ruined.

Backwards thinking

I am also not the biggest fan of the filament PTFE system, which is at the back of the machine and sometimes fussy during the loading process. Sometimes filament does not want to get through the initial Teflon tube into the filament sensor, making snaking it along the plastic chain a slow process. I actually upgraded to a smoother PTFE alternative from Creality, which seems more reliable but is not translucent so you cannot see breakages.

Also at the back is the filament reel and power button, which is more troublesome to reach than the holder atop the rail of my Prusa MK3S+. With that said, I typically feed directly from my Sunlu S2 filament dryer.

Points are also lost when printing at slower speeds for materials such as PETG and PETG-CF. Without further physical upgrades, you will see vertical fine artifacts (VFA for short) on straight surfaces. My custom Lian Li 011 Dynamic Evo XL feet extensions, for example, show this issue regardless of print orientation.

Rubber feet, while a welcome addition, should also slot into the bottom of the case to make moving the K1 easier. A somewhat quieter fan setup would be great too, especially for those who print at night, though it is possible to substantially dial down the fan speeds and not affect print quality.

If I had to nitpick, it would also be nice if the enclosure door could open further. Though the beauty of 3D printing is that there are free models for that exact mod. The fans are also super noisy, though you rarely need full speed given how much air they can move.

Creality K1 review verdict

If you buy the latest K1 revision or upgrade those aforementioned key components, you get a fast, reliable, versatile and low-maintenance 3D printer. Even better if you root it for full Klipper control.

With that said, depending on price, the K1 Max (with 300 millimetres of printing in all directions) or fancier K1C (which fixes most K1 early issues) may prove to be better long-term choices.

Using Klipper to fine-tine the print experience and send files from your PC to K1 remotely really does make life so much more convenient, while the print results themselves are mostly excellent. Though printing below 120mm/s can yield those aforementioned not-so-nice vertical fine artifacts (VFA).

There are some who will say the original K1 can perform and this is true to an extent. Yes, I had some trouble-free printing with PLA and PETG before I upgraded key components. Components Creality should have got right at launch. But I also had many failures the latest K1 avoids.

Compared with my beloved Prusa MK3S+, the K1 shows how much 3D printing has evolved – delivering speed, convenience and value in a compact design.