Resin: wrong exposure, lost detail or no part at all

Likely causes

In order: the most frequent cause comes first.

1. 01Exposure time outside the range the resin maker publishes
2. 02A profile copied from another resin or another printer with a different screen
3. 03A worn LCD screen passing less light than when new
4. 04Expired or poorly shaken resin, with pigments and photoinitiators settled out
5. 05An FEP film gone cloudy with use, attenuating the light

How to fix it

Apply one fix at a time and reprint the same test part. Changing three settings at once tells you nothing about which one worked.

1. 01

   Start from your resin's data sheet, not somebody else's profile

   Easy

   Every formulation has its published range. Anycubic, for instance, gives 2.5 to 3 seconds of normal-layer exposure for Standard Resin V2 and 20 to 40 seconds for the bottom layers, and notes it depends on the light source's power. Start in the middle of your resin's range and adjust from there.

2. 02

   Print an exposure test part

   Medium

   There are test models designed for this, with columns, holes of different diameters and text in decreasing sizes. They print in minutes and show at a glance whether you are short or over: closed holes and text filled in illegibly mean overexposure; fallen columns and missing detail mean underexposure.

3. 03

   Shake the bottle and filter the vat

   Easy

   Prusa recommends shaking the bottle for about ten seconds before each use. Pigments and photoinitiators settle out, and poorly mixed resin cures unevenly even at the right exposure. Also filter the vat resin to remove already-cured particles.

4. 04

   Check screen and FEP wear

   Hard

   If the same profile that worked months ago now underexposes, suspect the hardware before the file. LCD screens lose transmittance with hours of use and FEP goes cloudy. Replacing FEP is cheap; replacing the screen is the major service item on a resin printer.

How to prevent it

• —Keep one profile per resin and per printer, with the date you calibrated it
• —Re-run the exposure test whenever you open a new bottle
• —Always shake the bottle before filling the vat
• —Keep a count of screen hours so you can anticipate replacement

Sources

1. [1]Print doesn't appear / resin does not solidify | Prusa Knowledge BasePrusa Research · Manufacturer · accessed July 27, 2026
2. [2]Resins | Prusa Knowledge BasePrusa Research · Manufacturer · accessed July 27, 2026
3. [3]Anycubic — fichas técnicas de resina (tiempos de exposición)Anycubic · Manufacturer · accessed July 27, 2026