Anycubic Photon bed levelling [ Step-By-Step Guide]
In this brief tutorial, I will demonstrate how to level the bed, also known as the build plate, of your Anycubic Photon or Photon S 3D printers in order to achieve the ideal first layer and minimize printing errors.
Even after switching resins multiple times, I have not needed to relevel my Photon ( manual levelling needed)because I have been using this method to level the bed.
This is an essential part of the printing process for both the Anycubic Photon and the Photon S. Anycubic Photon does not have Autoleveing, so we need to manually do the plate levelling.

Comparison of automatic levelling and manual levelling
Most inexpensive 3D printers, such as the Anycubic Photon Or Ender 3 V2, require the user to manually level the bed by rotating bed screws to achieve a level bed. Automatic bed levelling (ABL), on the other hand, is one alternative that can lessen the amount of effort that you have to put into levelling your bed and can help produce results that are more consistent.
Auto Bed levelling: The firmware of the printer is responsible for carrying out the process of auto-bed levelling, which makes use of a probe device to measure the distance from the printhead to the build plate in various locations across the bed.
While printing, the printer may then use these distances as offsets or compensations, depending on how the printer’s firmware has been configured (in different ways depending on the specific method used).
This makes an effort to guarantee that the nozzle will maintain an equal distance above the build plate and will, as a result, be able to produce an adequate first layer.
Users of 3D printers have struggled with a problem known as “levelling the printer bed” for a long time. The development of new technologies has resulted in 3D printers that are progressively more intelligent, and it is now possible to achieve automatic levelling with just the push of a single button.
Another issue is that in the past, selecting a machine with auto-levelling meant opting for a higher price, which is why many individuals opted to perform the task manually instead.
We are in luck because we can learn about the Anycubic Kobra Go( Budget Option) which is the most capable FDM printer for novice users overall and Creality Ender 3 s1(Mid-range) and Prusa i3 MK3S ( premium).
These Auto levelling Printers boast an exceptionally high printing performance and come equipped with a self-developed auto-levelling system that compensates for firmware algorithms through 25-point accuracy detection. Precise levelling can be easily achieved with the push of a single button.
3D printer bed levelling is an Extremely Important step while printing using any Resin printer
Before beginning a print job with any 3D printer, you need to make sure that the bed is levelled Up. This is one of the most important things to check. The distance between the nozzle and the build plate will fluctuate at different points if the bed is not level, which can cause issues with print adhesion and the quality of the first layer of the print.
There are many Blogs & Videos talking about the manual paper method for bed levelling Anycubic Photon but trust me – You’re doing it wrong[ bed levelling]… The paper method may not fix your problem.
There are 2 methods available to do the Bed levelling in Anycubic
1. The Paper method
This may not work perfectly with most manual bed Leveling 3D printers, It could work if your 3D printer is already levelled up. Anyhow I have given the steps to do it
2. Flint read method
This is the most reliable method of bed levelling with Anycubic Photon 3D printer
Flint Read method, In a nutshell
YouTube video from Flint Reed levelling to the FEP instead of paper. Personally, I had better luck with Flint read way but try both to see what works for you. Not sure how a Google search didn’t direct you to the video but here’s the link: https://youtu.be/roAqm5c3rfU
Here is the Flint read method that works perfectly
You’ve got it all wrong when it comes to bed elevating… It’s possible that the paper method won’t solve your issue. So this gentleman called Flint Read decided to completely remove the paper and use levelling straight out of Vat FEP.
Quick Tip for bed levelling Anycubic Photon ( manual levelling)
Every method for levelling the bed that I’ve seen presupposes
- The LCD panel has been installed properly, meaning that it is level and perfectly aligned with the baseplate of the printer.
- The placement of the printer on a table or concrete is perfectly levelled.
A straightedge can be used to determine whether or not your LCD screen is level. Put the straightedge across the LCD from side to side, front to back, and corner to corner, and check to see that it is perfectly level with the base of the printer in all directions.
When you use the paper method to level the bed with the LCD, which doesn’t really matter all that much, what is actually happening is that the LCD may be below the surface of the baseplate of the printer in some areas. This is because the LCD is being levelled with the paper method.
It makes no difference to the vat (or the FEP) where the LCD is located, provided that it is not protruding upward. It is only concerned with the fact that the bottom of the FEP is level in relation to the surface onto which the vat is screwed or bolted. This is fairly obvious and takes place automatically when the screw is tightened.
When the bed comes down on the film, it will press the film down until it hits the LCD if you used the paper method, which uses the LCD as your “level” reference.
By the way, i have added an FEP sheet on my LCD screen to protect my LCD screen from accidental spillage. That is the reason you see black tape around my screen .its actually holding the protection sheet. I think when you have additional protection on your screen with a screen guard of something Flint Read is strongly recommended.
If you used the LCD as your reference, you would have used the paper method. This means that if the LCD isn’t perfectly flat and level, it will end up bending the FEP at one end (and pushing all of the resin out from underneath it), which will cause the LCD to break (or corner, or side).
So what’s the solution?
There is a very easy solution to this problem that does not involve taking apart the printer in order to adjust the level of the LCD display.
NOTE: If your LCD is protruding ABOVE the baseplate, the only option available to you is to disassemble your printer in order to make the necessary repairs. This procedure will only be successful if at some points your LCD is positioned BELOW the baseplate.
You will need a piece of something that is about 1/8 inch thick and ABSOLUTELY FLAT (and parallel) “thick. Anything you want, including plastic, steel, glass, copper, aluminium, and a micrometre. There is a possibility that digital callipers will work, but using a real micrometre will yield more accurate results.
There is not a great deal of significance in the precise thickness; it could be anywhere from 1/8″ to 1/2 ” or more, but it must have a consistent thickness. A piece of MDF measuring half an inch or three-quarters of an inch (new) should work just fine.
Glass is superior, but it is difficult to cut. Plastic ought to probably be closer to a quarter inch “thick in order to prevent it from bending.
You will need to cut the piece so that it can be placed on the baseplate around the perimeter of the LCD.
After you have cut the piece to the desired dimensions, check to see that it is still completely flat by using a straightedge of high quality. Put a light on the back of the straightedge, and then check to make sure that none of the light is leaking through.
Take out the micrometre, make sure it is set to zero, and then measure the plate’s thickness to the EXACT millimetre. Perform this step in a number of different locations to ensure that it has a uniform thickness throughout.
After you have made sure you have levelled the printer ( table on which it is placed ) and the LCD screen follows the below steps.
- Place your resing VAT plate on the LCD screen and tighten the knobs at both ends. Make sure the bottom of FEP is not sticky to avoid it getting stuck to the LCD screen. Mine was and I had to put talcum powder and clean it until all stickiness was gone. I had several failures because of this until I figured it out.

2. Place your bed plate in its location and tighten the knob really well. Loosen the 4 screws that hold the bed plate. The second picture above.
3. Press home after pressing ‘move z’ in your screen and let the plate go down until it settles on the screen.
4. Hold the Plate by your fingers with uniform pressure on both sides of the plate and tighten the screws.

Because not all printers have screws, you will need to modify this procedure to work with your device.
4. Now we will raise the bed by 0.1 millimeters ( as shown in the 1st two Pic below). Press o.1 mm and the press up the button. We are doing this to accommodate first layer of print before it sticks to the plate.
5. Final step is to press’ Z=0′ on your screen. You will be asked to confirm the position. Hit enter and you are set! This perfectly works for me although I have seen some people raising their plate to 0.3 mm ( pressing up the arrow thrice). For me, 0.3 doesn’t work. It does not create enough adhesion pressure to stick the resin on the plate for me.
Since I started doing this, I haven’t had a single print that didn’t turn out.

The Paper method of bed leveling Anycubic Photon 3D printer ( Not the best solution, I must say)
1. Lift the print plate
Turn on your printer and Lift the print plate manually by going through the menu options. This can be done on Photon X by going to the Tools menu and selecting the Move Z option. Lift the print plate so that it is above the vat of resin.
2. Remove the Resin VAT
Loosen the two thumb screws that are attached to the resin vat, slide the vat out of the way, and set it aside.
3. Set the print plate angle
Technically, the print plate is attached to a ball head, which enables the angle at which it is positioned to be altered. To slightly loosen the bolt that is located on top of the print head, use the hex key that is included in the package.
After the angle has been set, levelling can be done without having to loosen the print head, which should be the only time you need to perform this step.
4. Now Lower the print plate
Put a sheet of paper on the LCD screen for printing, and then slowly lower the print plate until there is just a little bit of resistance when you pull the paper.
Adjust the print plate in steps of 0.1mm to sandwich the paper in a careful manner until there is only a minimal amount of friction.
If you had to loosen the bolt on the print plate in order to adjust the angle of the plate, you will need to check that the spacing on all four corners of the plate is even, align the plate so that it is perpendicular to the front or back of the machine, and then tighten the bolt in order to permanently store the angle.
Take care not to damage the fragile LCD screen by slamming the print plate into it. When you are almost there, begin making adjustments in increments of just as low as 0.1 mm.
5. Set the new Z-origin
After you have completed everything, go to the Tools menu and select Z=0 to save the new Z-origin.
6. Put the resin vat back in Position
The print plate can be Lifted using the menu system, and the resin vat can be Re-Installed.
It’s all done for you now…! If you level the bed of your printer using the Photon, you will have to readjust with every new print.
Pro Note: For me, this method doesn’t work much.I used this paper method and the prints were not started at all. I’m confident about the Flint Read method that I have explained above section.It works for me very well.
Also Read: Top 7+ 3D sculpt Apps for Tablets & ipad
How to Prepare & print the 3d Model- Quick Guide
Create your Object in 3d printing software like Nomadsculpt and make it ready for 3d printing
Optimize the mesh in Nomad sculpt: A solid volume and closed edges produce a mesh that is watertight. Would anything leak if you filled your model with water?
Make sure all of your normals are facing outward by checking them (any flipped normals will be read as holes by the printer). Flipped normal usually shows as orange areas in the nomad unless you have changed the default color. You might need to remove any internal geometry that booleans could have unintentionally left behind.
Inside your sculpture it should be clean with no layer or residue layer of another merged part. Your Sculpt should be nice and solid with no holes inside. And avoid hollow sculpts as well since you want to set the thickness of the layer of your 3d print in slicing software chee with {cavity}hollow options. If your sculpt is already hollow you will not have the flexibility to set the thickness of your 3d print in slicing software like Lychee. Also unclean sculpts could result breakage when removing supports.
The cavity option slicing software is used to save resin. Although some may prefer a solid model.
- Merge the object ( all parts) and decimate ( because you want to reduce the size under 500MB for Lychee Slicer)- Download LYchee Slice here. Lychee recommends you sculpt under 500 mb for performance issues.
- Export out as STL or OBJ file
Upload the STL/ OBJ file to LYCHEE slicer software( Free & paid Versions)
Since slicing software is directly responsible for the ability of the 3D-designed object to be printed subsequently, using it in 3D printing is unavoidable at some point. Due to this, there are numerous different slicers available, such as the Anycubic slicer, PrusaSlicer and the Cura Slicer.
However, with the Lychee Slicer, there are also other fascinating capabilities like real-time cavity construction, island detector, and much more in addition to the classic aspects like precisely preparing the model for 3D printing and then slicing it.
Print your Creative
Export the Sliced version of the 3d creative to a Pendrive and Import it to a 3D printer. I use the Anycubic Photon X Resin printer for all My miniatures. I use Monocubic UV resin to print my Miniatures.
It takes approx: 7-18 hrs depending on the size of your creative
VOLIA!! Enjoy you sculpt coming to Life…

References: How to level Anycubic Photon( paper method)
Trending …Nomad Sculpt( 3D Sculpting Software)

About the Author:
Manny Acharya is the co-founder of Artmellows. Your go-to place for Design, Digital Art, Digital sculpting, Photography, Design Tools and gears Info, and Product Reviews. Manny is a Digital Artist, 3D Sculpt Designer, Ardent Photography, Drone flying Enthusiast, and tech Lover. He supercharges Digital Art and design by crafting memorable 3D sculptures & 2D Design and art. Learn more About Manny:
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