Is there a Cadillac of Filaments?

[insta]

Confirming 100% that pigments change the plastic a bunch.

[Jules]

Yep, definitely. At least for the PLA I've printed so far. I've had to set up different profiles for each color, and I imagine I'll have to do the same for the PETG when i get into more of that.

Some of them are stiff, brittle, runny, smooth, grainy, non-stick - you name it, I've probably got a spool that exhibits those traits. Haven't noticed a trend though. Sometimes the darker colors are a bit wonky, other times the lighter ones are. The most trouble I've seen has been with the reds and greens. Blues and blacks tend to require the least fiddling.

So far, for PLA, the clear winner is MakerGear, with Hatchbox coming in a close second for creaminess, and a much lower price. ESun PLA has some fantastic color choices and it's cheap, but it's not always uniform on the roll and I've had some brittleness issues with one of the recent spools. But their PETG is excellent. (I've tried the black opaque - that's a real winner.) And I've just picked up a few other colors to try.

But I guess it's always a crap-shoot until you actually can test it. Try to just buy one spool of a new brand to test it first. (And that is directed at myself as well...i've got a bad habit of buying one of each color, instead of just one for testing.)

Do you know, that when I started this a few months ago, I thought I'd just be using the one roll of filament to print a few things?
(Ripped through that in two weeks. Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-hah! )

[Rara]

Is it consistent? Would it be worthwhile to compile a database of people's experiences with filament brands/colors? It would be a great timesaver and troubleshooting aid..for example I would have never guessed there would be as much as a 15 degree difference solely because of pigment!

[Jules]

Is it consistent?

Don't know yet. So far i've only been through one complete roll of the MG black PLA and about half of the second (very perfectly wonderfully consistent) and I've had to pick up a second roll of a couple of the eSun colors, but i haven't started them yet. (I use the pricier MG stuff for stands, tools and parts that require structural integrity and strength, and larger prints where I plan to leave it running overnight, because there's a better chance it will finish. I mainly use the colored stuff for small parts of toys and things, so it takes a lot longer to get through a roll.) i'll be glad to tell you if they are consistent color-wise when I start the next rolls.

I did notice that the creamy consistency did appear to extend across the different Hatchbox colors that I printed, so that appears to be a pretty good brand for PLA. But I've just started testing those.

The other guys have been doing this a lot longer - they can probably tell you how consistent the various brands are. My understanding though is that any of them can have a bad roll.

[insta]

Is it consistent? Would it be worthwhile to compile a database of people's experiences with filament brands/colors? It would be a great timesaver and troubleshooting aid..for example I would have never guessed there would be as much as a 15 degree difference solely because of pigment!

Within the same manufacturer, yes, one filament will be equally annoying or behave. Natural is always best, followed by black (hard to screw up adding carbon). With PLA, the Ultimachine "translucent" colors print nicely, especially the green & blue. Most ABS is equally crappy (PA747, vs MG94 or Toyolac 250) and ABS masterbatch is a lot more predictable than PLA masterbatch, but the effects still hold.

However, one manufacturers annoying color will be another manufacturer's perfect color. You just have to experiment, or create specific profiles per plastic.

[Rara]

Right, well I mean..if people wanted to at least, they could submit their experiences as a sort of reference - lets say for example, you needed something to be a little more heat resistant, you'd pick your material, and search for the manufacturer and pigment with the highest average reported extrusion temperature (I am not sure if that's a reliable way to chose based on that property, but it's just an example that popped in to my head). Obviously there are a ton of variables that come in to play, but many could be accounted for, such as a user being able to submit information such as typical ambient temperatures, if they have an enclosure, etc..was just a thought that popped in to my head.