Is it my imagination or have the filament prices soared?

I was well stocked and didn’t print for a long time so I am a little shocked to see the price of white PLA and all the other filaments.

Are there any good deals anywhere for white PLA suitable for lamp shades or lithophanes? Everything on Canadian Amazon is $30 can. plus except for the rare brand I’ve never heard of.

It doesn’t seem like so long ago it would have been $20 can. delivered to the door.

filaments.ca has PLA for $25 per spool, with free shipping on orders over $125. But, yeah, Covid has affected just about everything, even filament prices.

  • In Amazon they sell 1 kg GST 3D filament for $9.95 US. But here is the catch it is PLA+ and you have to pay shipping. The shipping is more that the filament. If you purchase more that one spool then the shipping per spool is not as much.
  • The box says it is made in USA and it ships from Miami FL

Shipping and duty and exchange probably makes it as expensive as amazon and without their amazing shipping capabilities. I’ve seen some of the lumber prices lately and it looks like money isn’t worth anything any more. I won’t even mention food.

This will likely go on for another year or 2, until the pandemic is over and supply chains get back to normal.

Overture PLA at Amazon in the US is $22.xx a spool. I have 2 spools of their TPU and have no complaints about it. I started using COEX PLA as it’s made in the USA but is more expensive, they claim they use better materials. It prints at a higher temp than normal PLA too. You can buy it on Amazon but the colors are limited

If you are looking for a quality white filament to use for lithophanes, I recommend Paramount. It’s the best white I have found (pure snow white) and prints well at 195-200C. You buy direct from Paramount at $23.99 and free ground shipping. I have also found their customer service to be quite good.

Thank you. I will keep it in mind when I order.

I should have also mentioned that Paramount colors (most not all) are matched against the RAL (European) color matching system. In the case of white it is RAL 9010. It’s not just some lab tech with cataracts saying “Duh, it looks white to me so let’s call it white.” If you have a RAL color chart (available on their website) you know exactly the color you are getting before you even order. Eliminates the crossed-fingers and hoping.

Yeah, I don’t know what it is about red. I have had the same experience of ordering what the company calls “red” and getting anything but. Matterhackers “red” is a good example; it is red-orange! I have yet to find a red that I would consider “Christmas Red”. CookieCad’s “Candy Apple Red” comes close but when I hold it up to any of several red Christmas ornaments I have, it’s not a good match. If anyone out there knows of an honest red PLA, please let us know!

I think 1 of the main issues is that most people do not look at an honest, true 255,0,0 red and think it is red. It seems too dark, too close to purple. It isn’t, but it just seems that way.

Yeah, true red is much deeper than most people think. Even fire engines, when they were red, weren’t a true red… they were still too orange.

When I paint I only use primary colours and white so I can’t blame anyone else for the result. This makes me think of their new efforts to do CMYK 3d printing. CMYK Color Printing with the QuadFusion - YouTube

I suddenly started thinking of things to do with red filament. Maybe I should buy a roll.

Yea you should

[ATTACH=JSON]{“data-align”:“none”,“data-size”:“medium”,“data-attachmentid”:13843}[/ATTACH] I ordered GST-3D’s “red” PLA with my fingers crossed. Alas, it too is too orange to be what I call “Christmas Red”. See attached photo. On the left is GST-3D’s “red” and on the right is CookieCad’s “Candy Apple Red”. Comparing both to a couple of my red Christmas ornaments, I really can’t use either one on a Christmas tree. I know it’s really a subtle thing but I’m still on the hunt. If anyone reading this knows of another brand PLEASE let us know! Thanks!

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Check Coex Filament at www.coexllc.com check there reds I think is you contact them they will send you samples so you can compare them. I did find that their filament prints a little hotter than normal PLA I do the 1st layer at 230c and 225c after that on a 60c bed. It’s USA made too.

Sorry for being slow to respond @Bluetarp , but you might want to try Filacube PLA2 red (it looks lighter on their website). In the picture below, the reindeer was printed using Filacube. The red christmas tree is Printed Solid’s Jesse red PLA (Printed Solid carries several shades of red filament). The tree next to it is printed using Hatchbox orange PLA, for comparison’s sake.

Printed Solid has started making the Jesse-brand filaments themselves. The PLA is only $19 USD with free shipping on orders over $45 (or $300 if you live in Canada! ?). I’ve had good success with their PLA. The Jesse PETG runs $21-$22 per kg.

Cheers

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@Alan so you’re recommending the darkest red in the group.

I tried Filacube awhile back and I too had problems with it sticking to the bed.