---
{"title": "Compare Stringing Across Brands for Filament Testers", "description": "Guide for filament testers comparing stringing across filament brands.", "url": "https://texhouse.us/how-to-compare-stringing-across-brands-for-filament-testers/", "date": "2026-10-22"}
---
Guide for filament testers comparing stringing across filament brands.

To compare stringing across brands, dry every spool, keep print temperature and retraction constant on a dual-tower test model, and inspect the gap for thin hairs or heavy oozing.

| Option | What it does | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| LunarWerx 3D Print | Browser tools that work out ironing settings, check parts for injection moulding and design 3D-printable foam inserts [^1] | Free to use [^1] |
| OrcaSlicer | Slicer option for print preparation and printer profile settings | Not published |
| SuperSlicer | Slicer option for print generation and printer profile settings | Not published |

## What you need before you start

Before comparing stringing across filament brands, have a few things ready. A calibrated 3D printer with a clean, undamaged nozzle is the foundation; check that the extruder gears are clean and grip filament without grinding. A dedicated filament dryer or dehydrator is needed to dry every spool before testing, because trapped moisture boils inside the hotend and causes oozing that ruins comparison tests. Calipers help measure actual filament diameter across several points on each spool, because diameter variations alter extrusion pressure and affect oozing during retractions. Keep a single, consistent slicer profile ready with fixed retraction distance, retraction speed, travel speed, and temperature settings. A clean build surface is also needed, because residue and oils from handling change first-layer adhesion and can dislodge tall stringing towers during travel moves. Finally, prepare a digital camera or phone stand with consistent lighting and a dark backdrop to photograph and compare test parts side by side under identical conditions. A notebook or spreadsheet to record temperature, ambient humidity, and visual scores for each brand is useful, because comparing stringing across several rolls produces many sample parts.

## Step by step

1. Dry every filament spool. Place each spool in a filament dryer according to the material specifications. Even sealed factory spools hold moisture that causes bubbling and stringing.

2. Clean the printer hotend and nozzle. Heat the nozzle and perform a cold pull or flush with cleaning filament. Removing leftover residue from previous filament runs ensures clean melt behavior.

3. Measure filament diameter. Use calipers to measure filament diameter at five spots along the first few meters of each spool. Enter the average diameter into the slicer filament settings so flow volume remains accurate.

4. Select a standard stringing test model. Choose a dual-tower or four-tower stringing test model with sharp tips and an open travel gap. Save this exact model in the slicer so every brand prints the identical geometry.

5. Lock core slicer settings. Set travel speed, retraction distance, retraction speed, nozzle temperature, and cooling fan percentage to identical values for every spool tested within the same polymer family. Keeping these settings constant isolates material differences.

6. Print the baseline test piece. Print the test model with the first filament brand. Keep print room temperature and ambient humidity recorded during the print cycle.

7. Label and store the completed test. Remove the printed part from the build plate immediately upon cooling. Attach a label noting the brand name, spool batch, print date, and test temperature.

8. Repeat the print with each rival brand. Load the next filament brand without altering any print profile settings in the slicer. Purge the hotend thoroughly until the new filament runs clear, then print the identical model under the same conditions.

9. Inspect and score stringing artifacts. Place the test prints side by side under direct lighting against a contrasting background. Count thin wisps, thick hairs, and branching blobs across the travel clearance gap. Record notes for each brand.

## Tools that can do it

Several tools can help with parts of the printing and preparation process. The tools here are options, and each does what its source says it does.

LunarWerx 3D Print is made by the team that publishes this site. It provides browser tools that work out ironing settings, check a part for injection moulding and design 3D-printable foam inserts. [^1] It runs in a web browser [^1] and you use it on its website, which is hosted on Cloudflare. [^1] The tools are free to use. [^1]

For ironing, it works out ironing settings for your printer, material and finish and exports a ready 3MF file. [^1] It makes a 9-pad or 16-pad test plate around your settings, and you mark each pad as worked or not. [^1] You can click flat top surfaces, and the export adds a modifier part over each picked surface. [^1] One checkbox slows just the first layer to 15 mm/s by default; LunarWerx 3D Print says it then sticks to a clean plate without glue. [^1]

For Bambu or Orca users, for an uploaded Bambu or Orca project it adds per-object ironing settings and keeps the rest of the file unchanged. [^1]

It also checks a part for injection moulding with 13 checks, shows shrinkage, pressure and weak-point maps, and builds the two mould halves; all numbers are estimates. [^1] It lays parts out in a box and designs a 3D-printable foam tray and top pad that each part lifts straight out of. [^1] The foam insert is split into pieces that each fit your printer's bed. [^1]

When you open an STL file with faces turned backwards, it turns them right side out and says how many it fixed. [^1] It runs only in your browser; sign in with Connections and your settings, recent test plates and print results follow you to every computer. [^1]

The code package is marked private, not public. [^1]

OrcaSlicer is a slicer option. Check the OrcaSlicer documentation for its current calibration tools, travel move configurations, and fee details.

SuperSlicer is another slicer option. Check the SuperSlicer documentation for its retraction settings, calibration routines, and fee details.

## Common mistakes to avoid

Testing spools straight out of the wrapper without drying is a mistake. Sealed bags often contain factory moisture from water cooling troughs, and wet filament will ooze and string regardless of brand quality. Always dry spools before running comparison prints.

Changing printing temperature between brand runs is another mistake. Even if two brands suggest slightly different temperature ranges on their labels, comparing stringing requires an identical temperature baseline to evaluate how each formulation behaves under the same heat.

Varying travel speed or retraction settings between spools invalidates comparison results. Slower travel moves allow more melted plastic to droop out of the nozzle across open gaps. Keep slicer travel moves, retraction speed, and retraction distance identical for every test print.

Failing to purge the previous filament thoroughly causes misleading results. Residual plastic from a prior brand mixes in the hotend melt pool and alters early retraction behavior. Run sufficient purge material until the new spool extrudes completely pure.

Evaluating prints under inconsistent lighting leads to incorrect conclusions. Fine spiderweb strings can disappear under direct overhead glare or poor backlighting. Inspect all test samples under identical light angles against a dark background.

## Frequently asked questions

### Why do filament testers dry spools before comparing stringing?

Dry every spool before testing stringing. Moisture in filament turns to steam in the hotend, which creates bubbles and oozes out of the nozzle during travel moves. Even brand new filament spools straight out of plastic packaging often carry moisture from production water baths. Drying each spool at the recommended temperature for that plastic ensures that hair-like strings come from filament properties or slicer settings rather than water boiling in the melt zone.

### What test print model works best to compare stringing across brands?

Use a standard stringing test model with two small towers set a fixed distance apart. This model prints quickly, uses very little filament, and creates repeated travel moves across open air between the posts. The open air gap forces the hotend to retract, cross the empty space, and unretract on the other tower. Inspecting the gap between the towers lets testers count thin hairs and thick branches across different filament brands.

### Which slicer settings must stay identical during a stringing comparison?

Keep travel speed, retraction distance, retraction speed, nozzle temperature, and cooling fan percentage identical across all prints. When comparing different spools of the same plastic family, matching these basic slicer settings ensures differences in oozing come from the material itself. If nozzle temperature or travel moves change between spools, testers cannot determine whether the brand formulation or the slicer profile caused the resulting strings between the printed towers.

### What can LunarWerx 3D Print do for filament testers?

LunarWerx 3D Print is a set of browser tools that work out ironing settings for your printer, check a part for injection moulding and design 3D-printable foam inserts. [^1] It runs in a web browser [^1] and you use it on its website, which is hosted on Cloudflare. [^1] One checkbox slows just the first layer to 15 mm/s by default; LunarWerx 3D Print says it then sticks to a clean plate without glue. [^1] The tools are free to use. [^1]

### How should filament testers evaluate and record stringing results?

Look at string thickness, string count, and the height where stringing starts or stops. Thin spiderwebs often rub off with a finger and point to tiny temperature or retraction offsets. Thick branches or melted blobs between towers show heavy oozing during travel moves. Photograph each print under identical lighting against a solid dark background, and store every specimen in a labeled storage bin so visual comparisons remain consistent across filament rolls.

The tools are free to use. [^1] - [Visit LunarWerx 3D Print](/go/start)

## Sources

[^1]: LunarWerx 3D Print's own description of itself (the product of this site's publisher) (/go/start)