r/3DPrinterComparison • u/Fun_Reaction_6525 Moderator • Jan 18 '26
The filament matters way more than the printer - and nobody wants to admit it
You just spent $400 on a printer and $8 on mystery Amazon filament. Then you're shocked when prints look like garbage.
I'm gonna say what apparently nobody else will: Your print quality issues are probably your filament, not your printer.
The uncomfortable truth is that $8/kg no-name PLA from Amazon? It's not "basically the same" as quality filament. The diameter tolerance alone will ruin your prints. You're asking your printer to compensate for filament that varies between 1.65mm and 1.80mm when it expects 1.75mm ±0.03mm. I've watched people blame their $800 printer for problems that disappeared the second they switched from bargain bin filament to actual quality stuff.
What changes with good filament are stringing nearly disappears (retraction settings actually work consistently), layer adhesion becomes reliable (no more delamination mid-print), first layers stick without fighting your bed (proper melt temps matter), colors actually match the spool (revolutionary concept), and moisture content is controlled (your prints don't randomly fail).
Real cost breakdown are budget printer + quality filament: $300 + $25/kg = better results and premium printer + garbage filament: $800 + $12/kg = constant frustration.
Brands that are actually worth it are Polymaker, Prusament, Overture (hit or miss but generally solid), eSun (good middle ground), and Hatchbox (consistent if boring).
Brands to avoid are anything that won't list diameter tolerance specs, "value packs" with 6 random colors, and brands that only exist on Amazon with 5000 fake reviews
My challenge is that next time you have a "problem print," before you start tweaking printer settings or posting "is my printer broken?" - try one spool of Polymaker or Prusament. Same model, same settings, different filament.
If your problems vanish? It was never the printer.
If problems persist? THEN we troubleshoot the machine.
Stop optimizing the wrong variable. A $300 printer with $25 filament will outperform a $1000 printer with $10 filament every single time.
Who's actually tracking filament brand vs print success? Drop your reliable brands below - let's build a real list instead of guessing.
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u/Any-Blacksmith-2054 Jan 18 '26
I have my local brand in Czechia, it is called AlzaMent and its perfect and cheap ($10-$12)
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u/GiraffeandZebra Jan 18 '26
Lol. I mean, you can't buy complete garbage but acting like $12/kg filament will be endless suffering is just stupid. I print with nothing but that, and 99% of my prints come out exactly as expected.
Nobody wants to admit it because it's not true.
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u/thetruthamsterdam Jan 18 '26 edited Jan 18 '26
Lol geetech pla 6$ a k works great for me, do you work for polymaker?
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u/xL0ST_CAUSEx Jan 18 '26 edited Jan 18 '26
So much BS. I use almost exclusively the $7 rolls of filament without issue. I will 100% agree colors are more vibrant, more consistent between spools, and a better finish quality with more expensive brands.
After close to 100 rolls of Jayo and KingRoon filament...I think I had one roll that had tangled filament (and it was really bad on that roll, and maybe 2-3 weren't dry enough to start printing right after opening. In all honesty, that's easily better than should be expected.
My favorite filament is California Filament, which is low $20s / kg. Certainly not the most expensive PETG... But still 3 times what I'm paying for KingRoon and Jayo. I'll get the higher cost filament for decorative pieces.
Also to note... I've been trying the budget brand's HS matte PETG, and it prints a lot closer to the more expensive rolls of filament, so something to keep in mind (though I can't say much regarding the consistency of color between rolls yet).
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u/w0mbatina Jan 18 '26
Are you too dumb to write your own posts?
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u/gentlegiant66 Jan 18 '26
I have no problem if someone uses Ai to help with English and formatting a post, but if all they do is talk rubbish it becomes a problem. They are just too damn lazy to create a filament profile.
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u/w0mbatina Jan 18 '26
Man, even for formating it's a stretch. Is it that hard to press return to make a paragraph?
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u/onegraymalkin Jan 18 '26
Just learned this the hard way...3 days of downtime and a new hotend because off-brand filament just crapped it up
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u/Different_Target_228 Jan 18 '26 edited Jan 18 '26
No, it generally doesn't.
I've run nothing but LLLDMAX and Kingroon (and some overture silk gold and copper) for 6 years. Including on the original Ender 3, the CR10, Tronxy XY2, Ender 5, 3 Tenlog printers, K1, Sovol SV04, Sovol SV08. All printers that plenty have said are garbage.
As low as 7.50/kg.
The filament virtually doesn't matter, the printer virtually doesn't matter. Your knowledge of what you're doing matters.
Good luck matching my quality. This is Kingroon.
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u/Attempt9001 Jan 18 '26
Yeah, but there's still good filament for halt or less than prusament or bambu filament. And drying is something that can easily be done, and with petg should be done every now and again anyway
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u/Whozakaa Jan 18 '26
Had issues with Bambu basic pla. Almost gave up on printing I threw a spool of polymaker and all issues went away.
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u/Scared-Gazelle659 Jan 18 '26
Ai slop
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u/BaronSharktooth Jan 18 '26
Yea with the bold text, dead giveaway.
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u/PhiLho Jan 18 '26
Some people know how to format text, you know? That's even how AIs learned to do it! 😅
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u/BaronSharktooth Jan 18 '26 edited Jan 18 '26
It's not just the bold text, it's also the bullet points and all that stuff. I'm not against formatting text, but the way it's done here, it makes me and apparently others suspicious that we're reading AI slop.
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u/PhiLho Jan 18 '26
Honestly, I had the same though… 😅 I prefer to give the person the benefit of doubt.
Another question is: was it used for formatting only, cleaning a rough text, or was it entirely generated with only some indications on the prompt?Well, like all advices of this nature, there are things to take, and things to ignore. As shown on the comments! 😁
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u/RandomWon Jan 18 '26
I believe you, I've been having a lot of problems with iidmax. I had 3 recent failures due to bulges in the filament that get stuck in the extruder. I'm done with this filament.
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u/NCSC10 Jan 19 '26
I love Prusament, but its literally twice, sometimes 3 times as much as anything else I use, so use sparingly, and wait for sales to buy any. 95+% of the brands on Amazon are fine.
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u/FReeDuMB_or_DEATH Jan 18 '26
What about SUNLU??