CES 2026 Tech Deep Dive: UV Printing

There is very little at CES each year that is truly new. There are thousands of new products on display, but they are almost all new versions of existing products or small updates to existing tech. However, there was something actually new this year at CES 2026 and that is consumer DTO (Direct-to-Object) UV printing.

What is DTO UV printing? How does it work? Why should you care?

Let’s answer those questions in this deep dive into UV printing technology.

The players

At this time, there are three major players in the burgeoning consumer DTO UV printing segment: eufyMake, xTool, and Longer.

eufyMake announced their E1 UV printer last year and then ran a Kickstarter campaign for the machine. That ended up being the highest-funded crowdfunding campaign in history and so the eufyMake E1 was proudly on display at CES 2026 in the Kickstarter booth. Some Kickstarter backers have received their machines, but most are still waiting.

You can see my review of the eufyMake E1 here.

xTool just announced their new UV printer at CES 2026, with closed-door demos by appointment only. I got to see a demo for myself and they even printed this photo of my wife and dog for me:

Most details about xTool’s UV printer are still under media embargo or simply unavailable, but I can say that it is very similar to the eufyMake E1. It will require xTool ink and has comparable features. The only big difference I saw was that it does not have a camera, but rather some undisclosed sensor or system for positioning designs. The xTool rep told me that he thinks that is superior to a camera, but I’m a bit skeptical.

Then there is Longer, which is currently running a Kickstarter campaign for their ePrint machine. Longer’s other machines (3D printers and laser engravers) don’t have the best reputation and Longer hasn’t responded to me, so I’m not getting my hopes up.

But Longer is offering a major advantage and that is giving owners ability to use any ink, which could save users a lot of money. There is also a dual-printhead option and that would speed up printing.

The technology

UV printing has been around for a long time and UV printers are common in professional print shops, but those are big, expensive machines that aren’t user-friendly at all. These new consumer UV printers are much more affordable, compact, and easy to use.

They work by spraying CMYK+W ink from a printhead, similar to an inkjet printer. That is special ink that solidifies and cures when exposed to UV light, which the printer emits as it prints.

That process is unique, because it lets you print directly onto objects made of almost any material.

Imagine, for example, that you want to put full-color graphics on a tumbler. You could use dye sublimation, but that requires a special material or coating. You also need to print the design and then apply it to the tumbler with a heat press.

With a UV printer, you can print the graphics directly onto the tumbler. That will work with most materials — even bare metal, with the proper treatment before printing. It doesn’t require any significant amount of heat or special equipment, but you get very high-quality prints.

3D texture

Another huge advantage of UV printing is the ability to create 3D texture. Because the printer cures the ink with UV light, it can build up layers like an MSLA 3D printer does. You wouldn’t want to use it as a substitute for 3D printing, because that would be expensive and very inefficient. But you can get several millimeters of texture, in full color.

That is great for embossed graphics, faux textures (like cracked leather or stone), 3D image effects, and simulated brush strokes on printed “oil paintings.”

That capability is not something you typically find on older UV printers marketed to professionals, like the Procolored V11 Pro that I reviewed last year.

Software

That leads us to the biggest difference between the previous generation of industrial-style UV printers and the new consumer-oriented models: user-friendly software.

eufyMake and xTool have put a lot of effort into making their software intuitive to use, which is in stark contrast to what has been common in the industry until now. If you’ve ever used niche software for industrial applications before, you probably have a good idea of what I mean. Because they aren’t targeting “dumb” consumers, they feel like it isn’t important to polish the software and user experience.

Companies like xTool absolutely don’t have that luxury. They need software that regular users will understand, without too much of a learning curve. And that software needs to be reliable in order to reduce customer service calls.

xTool already pulled that off for laser cutting and from what I saw during the demo, they seem to have achieved it for UV printing, too. eufyMake already did a great job with the software when I reviewed the E1 early last year and has continuously improved it since.

The reality

I’ve spent most of this article talking about the advantages of these new consumer UV printers, but it isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. The reality of the experience includes some serious caveats, which the manufacturers have been downplaying.

The most glaring caveat, by far, is the UV printers require a lot of maintenance. Their printheads are very prone to clogging and even with regular maintenance, they need relatively frequent replacement. Yearly printhead replacement is common and the printheads are very expensive.

Maintenance means keeping the printhead wet, which means running the printer frequently. Based on my experience with the eufyMake E1, I recommend a daily print. The machine’s automatic maintenance cycles are not enough to prevent clogging.

The problem is that both daily printing and the automatic maintenance cycles consume ink, which is expensive.

The takeaway here is that if you’re considering purchasing a UV printer, you should know that it isn’t the kind of machine you can leave sitting for weeks or months between uses. That’s fine if you plan to print regularly, but it is an issue if you only want to print every now and then.

Conclusions

The new consumer UV printers are really cool. When I reviewed the eufyMake E1, it was the most exciting new product I had seen in several years. The creative possibilities are almost endless and I’m very happy to see this technology on the consumer market.

But I do need to temper the hype and set the right expectations. The maintenance needs make UV printers unsuitable for occasional use, which can be a real problem.

Even so, consumer UV printing was one of the best new technologies on display at CES 2026.