PETG sits in the sweet spot between PLA's ease and ABS's strength — but it has its own quirks. Here's everything you need to dial it in, from first-layer temperature to fixing the ooze problem nobody warns you about.
PETG — polyethylene terephthalate glycol — is essentially a toughened version of the plastic used in water bottles, modified with glycol to make it printable without crystallising at FDM temperatures. The result is a filament that's simultaneously more flexible than PLA, tougher than ABS, food-contact safe when printed correctly, and chemically resistant to water, fuel, and most household cleaners.
Where it earns its reputation is in functional parts that need to survive real life: outdoor enclosures, phone cases, mechanical brackets, containers, anything that might get dropped or exposed to moisture. PLA goes brittle in a hot car. ABS warps unless you have an enclosure. PETG does neither.
The downside is that PETG is a stringing machine if your settings aren't tuned, and it bonds aggressively to some bed surfaces — literally pulling chunks off a glass bed if you let it cool completely. None of these are dealbreakers once you know how to manage them.
PETG is more sensitive to temperature than PLA. Too cool and you get poor layer bonding and a rough surface; too hot and the ooze and stringing become unmanageable. The table below gives you a starting point — these are tested values across Bambu Lab and open-frame printers, so adjust ±5°C for your specific brand and colour.
| Setting | Recommended Value | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Nozzle Temp (PLA comparison) | 235–245°C | 25–35°C hotter than PLA for proper melt and layer bonding |
| Bed Temp | 70–80°C | Keeps first layers from peeling; remove at 40–45°C to avoid suction |
| Print Speed | 40–80 mm/s | PETG is viscous — slower than PLA reduces blobs and ooze |
| Part Cooling Fan | 30–60% | Less than PLA; full cooling hurts layer adhesion in PETG |
| Retraction Distance | 0.5–1.5 mm | Direct drive: 0.5–1 mm. Bowden: 3–5 mm. Over-retraction causes grinding |
| Retraction Speed | 25–35 mm/s | Slower than PLA; PETG tears if retracted too fast |
| First Layer Height | 0.2–0.25 mm | Standard; PETG doesn't need extra squish like flexible filaments |
| Enclosure | Optional | Not required, but slightly improves surface finish on large parts |
If you're printing on a Bambu Lab printer, the built-in PETG profile is a solid starting point. A few things to override for better results:
The most common question is whether PETG is worth the extra dialling-in compared to PLA. The short answer: for purely decorative prints, PLA is still easier and looks better. For anything functional, PETG is almost always the better choice.
| Property | PETG | PLA | Winner for Functional Parts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heat resistance | ~80°C HDT | ~55°C HDT | PETG |
| Impact strength | High (flexible) | Brittle under impact | PETG |
| Print ease | Moderate | Very easy | PLA |
| Surface finish | Slightly glossy, shows stringing | Matte, crisp detail | PLA |
| Chemical resistance | Excellent | Poor | PETG |
| Moisture absorption | Moderate (needs drying) | Low (still benefits from drying) | — |
| Layer bonding | Excellent | Good | PETG |
| Outdoor UV stability | Moderate (yellows slowly) | Poor (degrades quickly) | PETG |
This is the number-one PETG complaint. PETG is a runny material at print temperatures — its melt viscosity is lower than PLA — so it drools during travel moves unless retraction is well-tuned. Before touching retraction settings, though, start by lowering your temperature by 5°C. Often just going from 240°C to 235°C eliminates 80% of strings.
If temperature reduction isn't enough: increase retraction distance slightly (0.2–0.5 mm increments), enable "wipe while retracting" in OrcaSlicer, and enable "avoid crossing perimeters" so travel moves go over existing printed areas rather than open air. For more detailed solutions, see our guide to eliminating stringing.
PETG is less forgiving than PLA about first-layer height. If your nozzle is too far from the bed, PETG won't bond — it needs slightly more squish than PLA. Increase bed temperature to 80°C for the first layer, ensure the bed is clean (IPA wipe), and if using a smooth PEI surface, consider roughing it very lightly with fine sandpaper (1000 grit) to give PETG something to grip. Also check our bed adhesion guide for surface-specific tips.
PETG bonds too well to some surfaces. The fix: always wait until the bed drops below 40°C, then use a thin plastic scraper (not metal — you'll scratch PEI) to gently work under one edge. Never yank or pry from the top. If parts still won't release, use a very thin layer of hairspray or glue stick as a release agent — counterintuitively, a slight barrier between PETG and bare PEI makes removal easier without sacrificing adhesion during printing.
If you see blobby surface texture (sometimes called "zits"), the most likely causes are: printing too fast for the retraction to compensate, or pressure building during long straight walls. Reduce outer wall speed to 30–40 mm/s, enable "Seam painting" in OrcaSlicer to place the seam in an inconspicuous spot, and turn on "External perimeter first" to give the outer wall more time to cool before infill goes over it.
Unlike PLA, PETG needs heat to bond well. If you see layer separation under stress, your part cooling fan is running too high. Drop it to 30–40% maximum for structural parts. Also check that you're not printing too fast — speeds above 80 mm/s leave insufficient melt time between layers. And make sure your filament is dry: wet PETG produces steam bubbles inside layers that massively weaken adhesion.
PETG is hygroscopic — it absorbs atmospheric moisture within days of being opened, especially in humid climates. Signs of wet PETG: popping or crackling sounds during printing, white steam wisps from the nozzle, rough "furry" surface texture, and weak, brittle parts. Dry PETG at 65°C for 6–8 hours before printing. A filament dryer running during a long print eliminates this problem entirely. See our dedicated filament dryer guide for recommendations.
Not all PETG is created equal. Cheap PETG from unknown brands often has inconsistent diameter, higher moisture content, and poor colour accuracy. These are the brands consistently delivering reliable results:
| Brand / Product | Best For | Price Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bambu Lab PETG Basic | Bambu printer owners, AMS users | ~€22/kg | Pre-tuned profiles, AMS-optimised, limited colours |
| eSUN ePETG | Functional parts, transparency | ~€18/kg | Excellent clarity, good diameter consistency, wide colour range |
| 3DJake PETG | Budget-conscious, EU shipping | ~€14/kg | Good quality at low price, fast EU delivery, many colours |
| Prusament PETG | Precision parts, tight tolerance | ~€26/kg | ±0.02mm diameter tolerance, premium surface finish |
| eSUN PETG-CF | Maximum stiffness + PETG toughness | ~€28/kg | Carbon-fibre reinforced; needs hardened nozzle |
One significant difference from ABS: acetone does not work on PETG. Acetone smoothing — the popular technique for ABS where you expose the print to acetone vapour to melt the surface smooth — has no effect on PETG's chemistry. Your options for surface finishing are mechanical or heat-based:
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