Best Print Settings for PETG, TPU & ASA: A Practical Guide

PLA is easy. The moment you move to PETG, TPU, or ASA, the same printer that produced flawless PLA starts stringing, warping, or refusing to stick. None of these materials are difficult once you know what they need — they just need different settings. This guide gives you reliable starting points for each, plus the why behind them, so you can dial in your own filament and printer quickly.

A note before the numbers: every printer and spool is slightly different. Treat these as starting points, then fine-tune with a temperature tower and a flow test. Our own filament is made in Spain to consistent ISO/REACH standards, which removes one big variable — spool-to-spool inconsistency — from the equation.

Quick Reference Table

PETG: Strong, Glossy, Slightly Sticky

PETG is the natural step up from PLA — tougher, more temperature-resistant, and great for functional parts. Its quirk is that it's sticky: it adheres so well it can tear chunks off your bed, and it strings if over-retracted or printed too hot.

• Temperature: Start at 240 °C and run a temperature tower from 230–250 °C. Too hot = stringing and blobs; too cool = weak layer bonding.
• Bed & adhesion: 80 °C is a reliable starting point. PETG sticks too well to smooth PEI — use a textured plate, or a glue stick / release agent as a barrier to protect the sheet. Our Magigoo Original both improves adhesion and acts as that release barrier.
• Cooling: Some cooling (30–50%) improves overhangs and reduces stringing, but too much weakens layer adhesion. Balance is key.
• Stringing: PETG's signature problem. Tune retraction and temperature together — see our retraction test.

Shop our PETG filament, or the certified UV-resistant PETG for outdoor parts.

TPU: Flexible, Forgiving on Warping, Fussy on Speed

TPU is flexible filament — perfect for phone cases, gaskets, and grips. It barely warps, so it needs little bed heat, but it's sensitive to speed and retraction because the filament is elastic and compresses in the extruder.

• Temperature: 220 °C is a good middle. The softer the TPU (lower Shore hardness), the more it benefits from slightly higher temps for flow.
• Speed: The single most important TPU setting. Print slow — 15–30 mm/s. Flexible filament buckles if pushed too fast, causing under-extrusion and jams.
• Retraction: Minimise it. On Bowden setups especially, long retractions cause the elastic filament to snarl. Direct-drive extruders handle TPU far better.
• Cooling: Low to moderate. TPU doesn't warp, so cooling mainly helps detail.
• Bed: 40 °C is plenty. For flexibles, our Magigoo Pro Flex is formulated specifically to hold flexible prints without over-bonding.

We stock TPU in several hardnesses: TPU Flex 93A (most flexible), D53, and the D60 UV-resistant for outdoor flexible parts.

ASA: The Outdoor Workhorse (That Needs an Enclosure)

ASA is the go-to for outdoor and automotive parts — UV-stable, weather-resistant, and tough. It behaves like ABS, which means one thing dominates everything else: it warps, and it needs a stable, warm environment to print reliably.

• Enclosure: Strongly recommended, arguably essential for anything beyond small parts. A stable, warm chamber prevents the layer-separation and corner-lifting ASA is prone to. This is exactly why enclosed printers like the Flashforge Adventurer 5M Pro or Bambu Lab P1S make ASA so much easier.
• Temperature: 250 °C nozzle is a solid start. Hotter helps layer bonding, which matters for ASA's strength.
• Bed: 100 °C, with an adhesion aid. Magigoo Original works well for ASA.
• Cooling: Minimal to none. Part cooling causes warping and cracking in ASA — let the chamber do the work.
• Ventilation: ASA produces fumes. Print in a ventilated space, ideally with a filtered enclosure (HEPA + carbon).

Shop our Spain-made ASA filament.

The Universal Workflow: Dial It In

Whatever the material, the same tuning sequence gets you to perfect prints:

1. Temperature tower first — find the temp with the best layer bonding and least stringing. How to print one.
2. Flow / extrusion multiplier next — get dimensions and wall thickness accurate. Flow test guide.
3. Retraction last — eliminate stringing once temp and flow are right. Retraction test guide.

If you're also calibrating the extruder itself, see our extruder calibration guide.

Filament Made in Spain

Consistent settings start with consistent filament. We manufacture our PLA, PETG, TPU, ABS, and ASA in Cantabria to ISO and REACH standards — tight diameter tolerance and repeatable properties spool to spool, so the settings you dial in today still work on your next order. Not sure which material suits your project? Ask us.