eSUN PETG Filament vs Hatchbox PLA Filament

This filament can safely be used to create e food and drink containers or parts for food production lines (like conveyor belt parts, for example ), unlike ABS, PLA or other popular 3D printing filament materials. PETG filament is food safe, as there are no potential hazards to food or human body while in contact with this material. In fact, PETG is a modified version of PET, which is a material widely used for food packaging.

PETG is pretty much as strong as ABS (in terms of direct load) and nearly as flexible as PLA, combining the best characteristics of these two materials. On top of that, printing PETG is easier than printing ABS, since it does not require a heated bed and has better layer adhesion.

This filament is available for both 1.75 mm and 3.0 mm extruders. It also does not require a heating bed when printing, although it’s better if you have one. It can also be printed using standard brass nozzles.

Costing around $20 per kg, it’s a great affordable filament in its own right: it has a stated dimensional accuracy is ±0.05mm, guaranteeing that filament diameter is consistent all the way through. The majority of filaments around this price tag does not guarantee this level of accuracy.

For this filament's price, its packaging is pretty great. It comes with its own spool, uncommon for filaments in this price range. The spool is also vacuum sealed in a tight film and packed in a rigid cardboard box.

Hatchbox offers this filament in a total of 28 different colors, even if the exact colors available may vary for each of the versions (1.75 mm and 3.0 mm). Note that some of colors (like the wooden one) might cost a couple of dollars more than regular colors.

You can use this filament with printers that have either 1.75 mm or 3.0 mm extruders, since this filament comes in both sizes. However, the 3.0 mm version costs a few dollars more than the 1.75 mm one.