PLA vs PETG vs ABS: choosing the right material

Cheap, prints crisply, comes in every colour including silk and matte finishes. It is the right pick for keyrings, cake toppers, miniatures, desk pieces and most personalised gifts.

The catch is heat. PLA starts softening around 55–60°C, which a car dashboard in July can reach. It also becomes brittle over years in direct sunlight, so it is not an outdoor material.

Tougher and more flexible than PLA, handles roughly 75–80°C, and shrugs off moisture and UV far better. It is the usual answer for brackets, garden clips, phone mounts, bottle holders and anything that lives outside or in a warm room.

It costs a little more and has a slightly glossier, softer-edged look. Fine detail is marginally less sharp than PLA.

ABS tolerates higher temperatures and can be vapour-smoothed for a moulded look, but it shrinks as it cools so large flat parts can warp. ASA is essentially ABS built for the outdoors, with much better UV stability — the pick for permanent exterior fittings and signage.

Both need an enclosed printer and good ventilation, so fewer makers offer them and the price is higher.

TPU is rubbery: gaskets, phone bumpers, grips, squishy toys. It prints slowly, so expect a higher price for the same size.

Nylon and carbon-fibre-filled filaments are for genuinely mechanical parts — gears, jigs, load-bearing brackets. They are stiff, strong and comparatively expensive, and they need a maker set up for high temperatures.

Indoor decorative item or gift: PLA. Something that lives in a car, a kitchen or a shed: PETG. Permanently outdoors in British weather: ASA. Flexible or grippy: TPU. Structural or mechanical: nylon or a filled filament.

Food and skin contact deserve a caveat. Printed surfaces have microscopic grooves that trap bacteria, so treat printed items as decorative rather than dishwasher-safe tableware unless a maker has specifically confirmed a food-safe process and coating.