What temperature do you print PETG at?

PETG prints at a nozzle temperature of 220-250C with the bed at 70-85C. Start at the lower end of the nozzle range and raise it in 5C steps until layers bond cleanly.

Does PETG need an enclosure?

No. PETG prints fine on an open-frame printer at normal room temperature.

What is PETG good for?

PETG suits functional parts, outdoor fixtures, food-adjacent containers, parts that must flex without snapping. Avoid it for fine detail miniatures, parts needing a crisp matte finish.

How much does PETG cost?

A 1 kg spool of PETG typically sells for $18-30. That is an indicative street price rather than a live figure, so check the retailer for today's cost.

PETG print settings

Polyethylene Terephthalate Glycol · Beginner

PETG (Polyethylene Terephthalate Glycol) prints at 220-250°C with the bed at 70-85°C. No enclosure needed. Dry the filament before printing.

The usual step up from PLA. Tougher, more heat resistant, still printable without an enclosure. The trade is stringing and fussier bed adhesion.

Settings at a glance

Nozzle

220-250°C

Bed

70-85°C

Enclosure

Not needed

Part cooling

Yes, 30-50%

Retraction

0.2-0.4mm

Typical price

$18-30 / kg

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

Functional parts
Outdoor fixtures
Food-adjacent containers
Parts that must flex without snapping

Avoid for

Fine detail miniatures
Parts needing a crisp matte finish

The problem people actually hit

Stringing between towers. Drop the nozzle 5C at a time and raise travel speed before you touch retraction distance.

Drying

Hygroscopic. Dry at 65C for 4-6 hours. Wet PETG strings badly and prints with a cloudy, bubbled surface.

Buying PETG

PETG is stocked by every general retailer and is largely interchangeable between reputable brands. Spend the money on tolerance and packaging rather than on a name. Typical street price is $18-30 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.
Vacuum-sealed with desiccant. Hygroscopic filament that shipped open has already absorbed moisture and will need drying before its first print.

See PETG filament on Amazon

Not sure this is the right material? Compare all materials.

Need the finished part instead of another spool of PETG?

Upload the model and get a price. PETG is one of the materials the service prints. The quote is automatic rather than a wait.

FDM only, up to 220mm per side, shipping within the United States. Accepts STL, 3MF, STEP, OBJ.

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Ownership: 3DPrinterOnDemand is Another Anvil Road property, so we have a commercial interest in it. We are not recommending it as an independent party, and where it cannot print a material we say so and point elsewhere.

What you need to print PETG

Gear that PETG genuinely requires, with the specification that decides whether a given unit will actually work.

Filament dryer

Must reach at least 65C

PETG will not print cleanly wet, and many budget dryers stop at 55-60C. Check the maximum temperature before buying, not the marketing copy.

See filament dryer on Amazon

Heat-set threaded inserts

Brass, M3 unless your design says otherwise

Printed threads strip. If you are making functional parts out of PETG, melting brass inserts in gives you a metal thread that survives being undone more than once.

See heat-set threaded inserts on Amazon

Airtight storage with desiccant

Sealed container plus rechargeable desiccant

Drying a spool once achieves nothing if it sits open afterwards. Storage is what keeps the filament usable between prints.

See airtight storage with desiccant on Amazon

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PETG questions

What temperature do you print PETG at?: PETG prints at a nozzle temperature of 220-250C with the bed at 70-85C. Start at the lower end of the nozzle range and raise it in 5C steps until layers bond cleanly.
Does PETG need an enclosure?: No. PETG prints fine on an open-frame printer at normal room temperature.
Do you need to dry PETG?: Hygroscopic. Dry at 65C for 4-6 hours. Wet PETG strings badly and prints with a cloudy, bubbled surface.
What is PETG good for?: PETG suits functional parts, outdoor fixtures, food-adjacent containers, parts that must flex without snapping. Avoid it for fine detail miniatures, parts needing a crisp matte finish.
How much does PETG cost?: A 1 kg spool of PETG typically sells for $18-30. That is an indicative street price rather than a live figure, so check the retailer for today's cost.

PETG or PLA?

PLA (Polylactic Acid) prints at 180-220°C with a 50-60°C bed and needs no enclosure. The default beginner filament. Prints cool, sticks well, warps very little, and needs no enclosure. It gives up heat resistance in exchange for all of that.

Read the PLA settings guide →