HIPS print settings
High-Impact Polystyrene · Intermediate
HIPS (High-Impact Polystyrene) prints at 220-250°C with the bed at 100-115°C. It needs an enclosure. Drying is rarely necessary.
Mostly used as a dissolvable support material alongside ABS. It dissolves in limonene, which lets you print overhangs that would otherwise be impossible.
Settings at a glance
Ranges are typical manufacturer-published figures for this material class, not measurements we took. Always start with your filament maker’s own numbers where they differ. The price is an indicative street price for a 1 kg spool, not a live quote.
Good for
- Dissolvable supports for ABS
- Lightweight models
- Prototype shells
Avoid for
- Load-bearing parts
- Single-extruder printers if you wanted it for supports
The problem people actually hit
Buying it as a support material without checking you have a second extruder. On a single-nozzle printer HIPS is just a weak ABS-like filament.
Drying
Mildly hygroscopic. Dry at 65C for 4 hours if it has been open a while.
Buying HIPS
HIPS is easy enough to find, though from fewer brands than PLA or PETG. Stick to sellers who publish a diameter tolerance. Typical street price is $20-35 per 1 kg spool.
Check before you order
- Diameter 1.75mm unless your printer takes 2.85mm. Check before ordering, not after.
- Published diameter tolerance. ±0.02mm is good, ±0.05mm is loose and shows up as inconsistent extrusion.
- Confirm you have an enclosure before buying. Without one this material will warp regardless of spool quality.
Not sure this is the right material? Compare all materials.
What you need to print HIPS
Gear that HIPS genuinely requires, with the specification that decides whether a given unit will actually work.
Printer enclosure
Fully closed, with a door
HIPS warps when a draught cools the part unevenly. An enclosure holds chamber heat steady, which fixes lifting corners and split layers more reliably than any slicer setting.
See printer enclosure on AmazonBed adhesion
PEI sheet sized to your bed, or a PVP glue stick
HIPS lifts at the corners before it fails anywhere else. A textured PEI surface plus a thin glue layer holds the first layer down while the chamber comes up to temperature.
See bed adhesion on AmazonAs an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Links above are affiliate links, and using them costs you nothing extra.
HIPS questions
- What temperature do you print HIPS at?
- HIPS prints at a nozzle temperature of 220-250C with the bed at 100-115C. Start at the lower end of the nozzle range and raise it in 5C steps until layers bond cleanly.
- Does HIPS need an enclosure?
- Yes. HIPS needs an enclosure. Without one the part cools unevenly, corners lift off the bed and layers split partway up the print.
- Do you need to dry HIPS?
- Mildly hygroscopic. Dry at 65C for 4 hours if it has been open a while.
- What is HIPS good for?
- HIPS suits dissolvable supports for ABS, lightweight models, prototype shells. Avoid it for load-bearing parts, single-extruder printers if you wanted it for supports.
- How much does HIPS cost?
- A 1 kg spool of HIPS typically sells for $20-35. That is an indicative street price rather than a live figure, so check the retailer for today's cost.
HIPS or ABS?
ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) prints at 220-250°C with a 100-110°C bed and needs an enclosure. The classic engineering thermoplastic. Handles heat to around 80C and can be vapour smoothed with acetone. It warps hard without an enclosure.
Read the ABS settings guide →After the print
The workshop steps that matter most for HIPS.