Resolution  

Re: Resolution

This is the comparison to a side with support, and not

Re: Resolution

Spencer,

I am not using Slic3r, therefore i can only answer in general.

There are big differences in how different slicers handle supports and how configurable support structures are within the different slicers. A few settings play an important role for the quality of the surface printed on top of supports:

1. density of the support structure
2. angle of the support structure (if the support "pillars" run parallel with the lines they're supposed to hold up they won't do much good)
3. distance between support structure and the part surface. The smaller this distance, the harder it is to break away the support in the end, but the better the quality.

Some slicers even use a completely different approach to supports, like the tree-like supports Autodesk PrintStudio & MeshMixer produce. Sometimes it is best to design your own support structures right in the CAD application you're using to design the part.

As I said, i do not use Slic3R, so i don't know what setting it offers to control these aspects. But maybe with this new reply somebody else will notice the question and will join in 😉

Re: Resolution

If you print supports using the same material as object itself, bottom layer of printed part laying on support will NEVER look the same as top solid layer. The best way how to deal with that is to design things so they don't need to be printed with supports at all (or supported surfaces are not visible surfaces of finished object).

By the way, I'm using slightly different setting for supports in Slic3r (see attached image) getting a bit better output. Try it. Let me know, if it helped.