Print Guide
Restoration is half the artifact. This guide covers how the archive prints best — written for resin printers (MSLA/DLP), from first calibration to final varnish.
1. Orientation and supports
Every package includes orientation notes per part. The general rules: tilt large flat faces 15–25° off the plate, keep the most visible surfaces away from supports, and support overhangs steeper than 50°. Rib and vane parts print best with light supports on their inner curves — the outer surfaces carry the detail.
Keyed joints are dimensioned with 0.15 mm clearance at 100% scale. Resize the model and you resize the clearance: test-fit dry after any rescale.
2. Layer height and exposure
35–50 µm layers resolve the archive’s finest ticks and seams. Calibrate exposure with your usual test (validation matrix or cones) before committing a multi-hour body part; underexposure eats the shallow surface engraving first.
3. Hollowing and drain holes
Bodies over ~30 mm thick are worth hollowing to 2–2.5 mm walls in your slicer, with two drain holes placed on the underside faces marked in the notes. Smaller parts print solid without trouble. Uncured resin trapped in a sealed cavity will find a way out — always drain and rinse hollows properly.
4. Washing, curing, assembly
Wash, dry fully, then cure. Test-fit every keyed joint dry before glue; cyanoacrylate or resin-welding both work. Assemble before priming so seams can be filled where strata bands meet.
5. Safety
Uncured resin is a skin sensitiser: nitrile gloves, ventilation, and no pouring resin down drains. Cure all waste in sunlight before disposal. Keep resin and IPA away from children and pets — the archive can wait; skin cannot.
6. Finishing the fossil look
The specimens are designed for a two-material read: stone matrix versus machined remains. A dark basecoat, heavy drybrush on the stone in warm greys, then controlled metallics only on the mechanism keeps the contrast honest. The status light is the single place for a bright colour — amber, applied last, sparingly. Field Notes publishes full paint recipes as they are tested.
Questions from the field
Which resin should I use for Tomorrow's Fossils specimens?
Any standard or ABS-like 405 nm resin works. Grey resins show the mineral surface detail best for painting; water-washable resins are fine for the beginner specimens.
Do I need a large printer?
No. Every launch specimen fits common 143 × 90 mm build plates except the Last Courier base, which prefers 180 × 120 mm or larger.
Are supports included?
Current packages ship unsupported STLs with documented orientation notes per part. Pre-supported files are planned and will reach every purchaser as a free update.
What layer height should I print at?
35–50 µm balances the fine mechanical detail against print time. Below 35 µm gains little; above 50 µm the smallest ticks and seams soften.
Test the archive free
Specimen TF//000 — The First Signal exists exactly for this: a small free print to calibrate against before excavating anything larger.