The answer to your question is really going to depend on your personal level of technical know-how and how much free time you have.
Thanks for the answer Tom. It's posts like this that have made me a bit apprehensive about jumping in right now however.
It's not just a software issue (which I'm more comfortable dealing with) to get results like http://www.hive76.org/insane-3d-printing-resolution-ultimaker-under-the-micro then?
[edit]
It's posts like this that terrify me: http://groups.google.com/group/ultimaker/browse_thread/thread/b8a6bdf43b803c73
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tom 0
The answer to your question is really going to depend on your personal level of technical know-how and how much free time you have. I got my machine some day around January 11th or something. From there I took several days to put it together in my spare time. From that point the more you know about the programs you'll be using the better. Which won't be a problem if you use some of your time while waiting for your printer to arrive and familiarize yourself with them. Also reading some forum and discussion group topics about the issues other people have had can help. After trying several different iterations of programs I personally ended up with Netfabb (mainly for the speed, it takes long enough for my prints to print, I don't like waiting for them to slice as well) and printrun to send the gcode. The machine doesn't take a lot of extra parts to get going. Mine was working acceptably right from the start, though there are a few things you can print that won't necessarily improve the results you get, but more so the ease with which you get them. I had my printer putting out good results within the first week. The only part for my printer I ended up getting that couldn't be made with the printer itself was a glass zstage, and that was the result of my own overzealous removal of plastic from my acrylic stage
The important thing to note is this:
You will have issues.... but, there are a lot of great guys (and gals? haven't asked before) around the forums and discussion group who have probably had any of the issues you might encounter and are willing to help you through them.
I hope this helps a little in your decision. If I need to clarify or go more in depth on anything just let me know.
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