Some comments on your post, your mileage may vary.........

Hi James:

I'm interspersing my comments in your post below in italics. 

• Zero and level the print bed before each printing session. Minute movements can screw up the performance of the printer.  One of the reason I paid about double for my Prusa Mini (including shipping from the Czech Republic) is due to some nice features.  One of them is automatic bed leveling.  Every print I do automatically starts with a bed leveling routing when I slice in Prusa Slicer.  The routine gets embedded in the g-code automatically.  When I slice in CURA, I don't get that routine.  So, when I download a file from "Thingiverse" or another 3D file repository, even though the file automatically defaults to Cura on my computer,. I go and import it into Prusa Slicer.  I'm much more comfortable with Prusa Slicer.  Cura may be a better option overall, but Prusa Slicer has served me well. 
• Keep debris away from the moving parts. One print was almost foiled by some debris that got caught in a belt. It caused the printer to lose it’s “zero” and started printing 3cm off the mark!   Have not had that issue yet, but I do keep my printer clean.  When it is not in use, I cover it up with a warming tent I purchased from Amazon. 
• For PLA, I find that washing the print bed with soap and water followed by a wiping down with rubbing alcohol keeps the bed clean. Don’t use glue sticks or other hacks unless it’s for a specialty filament. For my purposes, PLA is just about perfect.   Another big advantage with the Prusa Mini is the bed plate, which is made of a specially coated spring steel.  I don't do anything but wipe it down with a microfiber wipe (like the kind you purchase at Walgreens for cleaning your glasses), which I soak with 91% alcohol.  They sent a larger version of this as a sample with the printer.    I reuse the microfiber wipe repeatedly (store it in a plastic baggie) because I am CHEAP!, for about 10 prints before I throw it away. So far, I have only printed in PLA, and that material seems to address all of my needs so far.  No need to change for what I am doing. 
• Keep the print bed and extruder to the proper temperatures. Too high or too low and PLA won’t print effectively. I settled on an extruder temp of 190 degrees Celsius and a print bed temp of 55 degrees Celsius.   With Prusament filament, which is all I have used (very reasonably priced when ordered direct from Prusa), the temperature settings are 215 degrees C for the hot end, and 60 degrees C for the bed plate.  In CURA, selecting the Prusa Mini as my printer, and PLA gave a default temp of 210 degrees C.  190 degrees C sounds a little cool. 
• Keep a close eye on the printer for the first couple layers. Cura has an option to abort a print if something goes wrong. Once the first few layers are put down, the printer should be able to work its magic without any help. Objects can take a while to print, so there’s no point in waiting around.  I've had a few fails in the first couple of layers, and that is usually a sign that I am suffering from under extrusion.  One of the few weak links in the Prusa Mini in my opinion is the hot end.  The PETE tubing in the hot end wears over time, and clogs toward the bottom.  For best results, it seems I should be changing the hot end tube about every 1-2 spools of material.  Under-extrusion also starts to manifest itself with stringing too.  I've also tried Capricorn tubing, in my opinion, and on my printer, the use of Capricorn tubing lasts about as long as the Prusa tubing.  I now keep four extra OEM tubes on hand for spares, reorder when I have one left.  Prusa also cut a chamfer on the ends that you cannot accurately duplicate when you cut with a tubing cutter that you can purchase from Capricorn, since   Have played around a lot with berms on prints for parts with a thin cross section that have bed adherence issues. 
• Turn off the printer when not in use. This thing uses quite a bit of electricity, about double of what my PC requires. When not in use, I shut the printer off and perform any maintenance needed.  Yup, totally agree, but I don't turn it off until the hot end fan turns off.  No reason to cook the filament in the hot end more than you have to. 
• Keep the printer clean and away from food. Dust settles on the printer and while some dust shouldn’t affect operations, the black metallic finish shows dust easily. I’ve been dusting it off about once a week.  My printer sits on my lower work bench, in a dedicated area.  I don't do any dusty work on my upper bench while the printer is running, nor do I do filing of parts in close proximity to the printer when running.  As stated above, I cover the printer when not in use. 

Regards, 

Jerry

Jerry

Those are some helpful tips. 

Auto-leveling is a nice feature.  Fortunately, doing it manually doesn't take too much time once it's been done repeatedly.  On my next FDM printer down the road, I'll be looking for some of those higher-end features.

I'm still playing with the settings, but I found with the Anycubic filament I'm using that getting it too hot is just as problematic as too cool.  Every filament is different though, so it takes some experimenting.

So far I've noticed some minor under extrusion, but nothing that stops the prints from turning out.  That might change by the next couple rolls of filament though so I'll have to wait and see.

While my printer is not in a messy area (actually on my PC desk where I do a lot of fixing and building) the apartment has no air circulation or filtration.  Plus with the wildfire smoke this fall, there's been an abundance of dust.  So I'll be on the lookout for a dust cover of some kind.

3D printing

Thank you for a great series on 3D printing. 

I ended up with the Photon S as I was particularly keen on the higher resolution without build lines that are usually apparent in FDM printing. 

That said,  I have not found it easy! I  have had a lot of issues with failed prints on what I consider fairly simple structures. 

For example,  I was printing special crates for flat car s which failed.  There is a really good user group pon Facebook which eventually provided the answer. The problem was that there is considerable suction forces at play when printing that I was not aware of. 

The trick is to analyse the item and what you have to do to get a successful print.  A LOT more technical than what I expected!

Anyway making progress!

Cheers and thanks for your posts!