If You Want Better Prints, Change These Three Settings First

No filament performs well outside its ideal temperature range. Printing too cold leads to weak layer bonding and under-extrusion, while excessive heat increases stringing, blobs, and sagging on overhangs.

Rather than relying solely on the temperature printed on the spool, print a temperature tower for each new filament. Even different colors of the same material can require slightly different temperatures due to pigment additives.

High-speed printing saves time, but it also leaves less time for the hotend to melt filament consistently and for the motion system to remain stable.

If your prints show ringing, uneven layer lines, or softened corners, excessive speed is often the culprit.

Instead of using one speed for everything, assign different speeds to different features:

• Fast for infill
• Moderate for inner walls
• Slower for outer walls and top surfaces

This simple adjustment usually delivers smoother surfaces with only a modest increase in print time.

Lower layer heights improve detail, but they aren't automatically the best choice. Extremely thin layers increase print time, exaggerate calibration errors, and don't necessarily make parts stronger.

As a general guideline, choose a layer height close to 50% of your nozzle diameter.

For a 0.4 mm nozzle:

• 0.12–0.16 mm for display models
• 0.20 mm for general-purpose printing
• 0.28 mm for larger functional parts

Selecting the appropriate layer height helps balance print quality, strength, and efficiency.