Roundup
What Actually Belongs in a 3D Printer Starter Kit
The test any accessory has to pass is whether it prevents a specific, common failure. Four cheap things do. Most of the bundles sold alongside printers do not.
By Scooter M. · Published · Last reviewed
How this page is funded: the buy links below are affiliate links. If you buy through one we earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It does not change the order of the picks or a word of what we say about them. Full disclosure.
Printers we claim to have tested: 0. Everyone in this category says they tested twenty machines. We have not tested any, and we would rather say so. What we did instead is on this page: the manufacturer’s own published specification for every pick, cited and dated; the arithmetic on what it costs to run, with the inputs shown; a live price rather than a remembered one; and a plain answer on who should skip each machine.
The short answer
Two spools of PLA, isopropyl alcohol, a glue stick, a plastic scraper and a pair of snips. That is the whole day-one list. Each item prevents a specific failure that a lot of first-month owners hit. Almost everything else sold as a starter accessory solves a problem you have not had.
The day-one list, and what each one prevents
Two 1 kg spools of PLA
The only genuinely mandatory item. The coil in the printer’s box is a sample, often just enough for the demo model. Two rather than one because a spool running out mid-print becomes a pause rather than a ruined part, and because one color gets boring by week three.
Prevents: a printer sitting unused for a week.
Isopropyl alcohol
For wiping the build plate. Every time you take a print off you touch the plate, and the oil from your fingers is enough to stop plastic bonding. This is the fix for most first-layer failures and it is the first step on our bed adhesion list.
Prevents: the single most common first-week failure.
A purple washable glue stick
An ordinary school glue stick, applied thinly. It does two opposite jobs: it helps PLA stick when a plate is being stubborn, and it acts as a release layer under PETG so the part does not bond hard enough to take plate coating with it.
Prevents: stubborn adhesion failures, and damaged plates from PETG.
A plastic scraper or spatula
Explicitly not metal. A metal scraper will gouge a coated build plate, and a damaged plate is one of the few genuinely expensive failures in this hobby. Most parts pop off a flexible plate if you flex it; the scraper is for the stubborn ones.
Prevents: ruining a plate while removing a print.
Snips or flush cutters
For cutting filament cleanly before loading it, and for trimming brims and supports. A square-cut filament end feeds smoothly; a squashed or angled one catches inside the extruder and jams.
Prevents: feed jams caused by a badly cut filament end.
Buy these later, when a specific thing happens
Deferred purchases and the trigger that makes each one worth buying.
| Item | Buy it when | Why not sooner |
|---|---|---|
| Filament dryer | A spool that used to print well starts popping or stringing | New spools arrive vacuum sealed and dry |
| Sealed storage boxes and desiccant | You own more than two spools | Two spools live in their own bags perfectly well |
| A spare build plate | Your first one shows wear, or you want to start the next print sooner | Plates last a long time with a plastic scraper |
| Spare nozzles | You print abrasive filament, or you have an actual clog | A brass nozzle lasts a long time on plain PLA |
| Digital calipers | You start designing your own parts | Nothing about printing other people's models needs measuring |
What to skip
- Bundled “starter kits” of tools. Almost always a plastic box of items you either already own or will never use, plus one or two of the four things above. Buy the four.
- Adhesion sprays and specialist bed glues. A purple glue stick does the same job for a fraction of the price, and a clean plate does it for free.
- Upgrade parts. Springs, dampers, fan ducts, replacement extruders. Every one of them solves a problem you have not had, and installing one in week one means you cannot tell whether your next problem is the upgrade’s fault.
- Anything to make it quieter, before you have heard it. Modern machines are quieter than their reputation, and placement does more for noise than any accessory.
Quick picks
Ranked on how well each one fits the job in this page's title, read off the manufacturer's own published specifications. Tap any row for the full write-up, including who should skip it.
| # | Product | Best for | Beginner fit | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Overture PLAOverture | Buy this on day one | 9.0 | Check price on Amazon |
| 2 | Overture High Speed PETGOverture | Buy this in month two | 7.9 | Check price on Amazon |
| 3 |  SUNLU FilaDryer S4SUNLU | Buy this when symptoms appear | 8.5 | Check price on Amazon |
#1 · Buy this on day one
Overture PLA
Overture · Your first spool, and your tenth
The default answer to 'what filament should I buy'. A tight published diameter tolerance, a conventional temperature range every printer profile already expects, and it is sold everywhere. Nothing about it is exciting, which is the point.
#ad We do not hold a current price for this product, so we do not show one. How we make money.
What it actually is
PLA is the plastic beginners should print. It is stiff, it needs no enclosure, it barely smells, and it sticks to a plate at low temperatures. This is a mainstream 1 kg spool of it.
Does it fit this page?
The single genuinely mandatory purchase alongside the machine. The coil in the printer's box is a sample, and a printer with no filament does nothing.
What the manufacturer states
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Diameter | 1.75 mm | Overture published product specification |
| Dimensional accuracy | +/- 0.02 mm | Overture published product specification |
| Spool weight | 1 kg (2.2 lb) | Overture published product specification |
| Recommended nozzle temperature | 190 - 220 C | Overture published product specification |
| Recommended bed temperature | 25 - 60 C | Overture published product specification |
| Packaging | Dried before packing and vacuum sealed | Overture published product specification |
Read from Overture, PLA filament product page on 2026-09-01. Where a manufacturer does not publish a figure, there is no row for it here.
What is good about it
- +/- 0.02 mm published tolerance, which is as tight as mainstream PLA is quoted
- 190 - 220 C is squarely inside every stock PLA profile you will meet
- A 25 - 60 C bed range means it will stick even on an unheated or barely warm plate
- Vacuum sealed with desiccant, so a spool bought in advance is still dry when it arrives
What is not
- PLA softens in a hot car or a sunny window — this is a property of the material, not the brand
- Not the cheapest per kilogram once you start printing seriously
- Color consistency between batches of any budget filament is a real thing
- No filament is a fix for a machine that is not leveled
Skip this one if
Skip it if the part you are making will live outdoors or in a car. That is a PETG job, not a PLA one, and no PLA brand changes that.
What we cannot tell you
We have not printed this filament. Batch-to-batch color consistency and how it behaves after a year in a cupboard are things only repeated use reveals.
How it scored for a beginner
- Ease for a beginner9.5
- Published tolerance9.5
- Availability9.5
- Value per kilogram8.0
Beginner fit 9.0 / 10. That is our editorial read of how well this suits someone buying their first printer, taken off the published specifications — not a test result, and not a verdict on absolute quality. It is deliberately not marked up as a rating in this page’s structured data. How we pick.
#2 · Buy this in month two
Overture High Speed PETG
Overture · Parts that have to survive heat or flexing
The second spool, not the first. PETG is what you move to when a part has to survive a hot car, a bit of flex or the outdoors — and it is fussier about stringing and bed adhesion than PLA in exchange.
#ad We do not hold a current price for this product, so we do not show one. How we make money.
What it actually is
PETG is a tougher, slightly flexible plastic that tolerates heat far better than PLA. It prints hotter, sticks harder to the plate, and strings more. The same material family as a drinks bottle.
Does it fit this page?
Not a day-one item. The right second material for parts that have to survive heat or flex, and the point at which storage starts to matter.
What the manufacturer states
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Diameter | 1.75 mm | Overture published product specification |
| Dimensional accuracy | +/- 0.02 mm | Overture published product specification |
| Recommended nozzle temperature | 230 - 260 C | Overture published product specification |
| Recommended printing speed | 30 - 300 mm/s | Overture published product specification |
Read from Overture, High Speed PETG filament product page on 2026-09-01. Where a manufacturer does not publish a figure, there is no row for it here.
What is good about it
- Handles heat that would soften a PLA part into uselessness
- Tougher and less brittle than PLA, so it survives being dropped
- +/- 0.02 mm published tolerance, the same as Overture's PLA
- A 30 - 300 mm/s published speed range that fits current fast machines
What is not
- Strings between features far more readily than PLA
- 230 - 260 C means your printer's hot end has to be rated for it — the A1 mini's 300 C ceiling is fine, some older machines are not
- It can stick to a smooth PEI plate hard enough to damage the surface
- Absorbs moisture from the air faster than PLA, so an open spool goes off
Skip this one if
Skip it as a first spool. Learn what a good first layer looks like in PLA before you add a material that sticks too well and strings between everything. PETG is a solution to a problem you have not had yet.
What we cannot tell you
We have not printed this filament. How much stringing you get at a given retraction setting, and whether it damages a specific plate, depend on the machine and we have not tested either.
How it scored for a beginner
- Ease for a beginner6.5
- Published tolerance9.5
- Availability9.0
- Value per kilogram8.0
Beginner fit 7.9 / 10. That is our editorial read of how well this suits someone buying their first printer, taken off the published specifications — not a test result, and not a verdict on absolute quality. It is deliberately not marked up as a rating in this page’s structured data. How we pick.
#3 · Buy this when symptoms appear
SUNLU FilaDryer S4
SUNLU · Filament that has been open more than a few weeks
The accessory that fixes a failure most beginners misdiagnose. Filament absorbs water from the air; wet filament pops, strings and prints badly, and no amount of leveling fixes it. Four spools at once and you can print straight out of the box.
#ad We do not hold a current price for this product, so we do not show one. How we make money.
What it actually is
A heated box that drives moisture out of filament and then keeps it dry while you print from it. Plastics like PETG and nylon pull water out of ordinary room air within days, and water in the filament turns to steam in the nozzle.
Does it fit this page?
Explicitly not a day-one purchase. Your first spools arrive sealed and dry; a dryer solves a problem that shows up after weeks of open exposure.
What the manufacturer states
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Capacity | 4 x 1 kg spools | SUNLU FilaDryer S4 published specification |
| Temperature range | 35 - 70 C | SUNLU FilaDryer S4 published specification |
| Heater | 350 W PTC heater | SUNLU FilaDryer S4 published specification |
| Filament diameters supported | 1.75 mm, 2.85 mm, 3.0 mm | SUNLU FilaDryer S4 published specification |
Read from SUNLU, FilaDryer S4 product page on 2026-09-01. Where a manufacturer does not publish a figure, there is no row for it here.
What is good about it
- Four spools at once, which is the difference between drying filament and having dry filament
- 35 - 70 C covers PLA at the low end and nylon at the high end
- You can feed the printer directly from the box, so filament stays dry mid-print
- Fixes a whole class of print failures that look like machine problems
What is not
- A 350 W heater is more power than most printers here draw
- It is a large box that needs somewhere to live next to the printer
- Nothing about it helps on a fresh, sealed, dry spool
- Sealed boxes with desiccant do most of the same job for less money if you are only storing
Skip this one if
Skip it on day one. Your first spool arrives vacuum sealed and dry, and a dryer solves a problem you will not have for weeks. Buy it when a spool that used to print well starts popping and stringing.
What we cannot tell you
We have not used this dryer. How long a spool actually stays dry in a humid room, and how accurate the displayed temperature is, need measurement we have not done.
How it scored for a beginner
- Ease for a beginner9.0
- Fixes a real failure9.5
- Availability8.5
- Value7.5
Beginner fit 8.5 / 10. That is our editorial read of how well this suits someone buying their first printer, taken off the published specifications — not a test result, and not a verdict on absolute quality. It is deliberately not marked up as a rating in this page’s structured data. How we pick.
How these were picked
We have not printed on these machines and we do not pretend to have. What we did was read each manufacturer’s own specification page, take their stated build volume, temperatures and speeds, check that every pick genuinely fits the job in this page’s title, confirm it is still being sold, and pull a live price rather than a remembered one. Every figure names the source it came from, so you can check it yourself in about a minute.
How we pick sets out the full method, including what would change a ranking.
Questions people actually ask
+−What do I need to buy with a 3D printer?
Two 1 kg spools of PLA, isopropyl alcohol, a purple glue stick, a plastic scraper and a pair of snips. Each prevents a specific common failure. That is the complete day-one list.
+−Are 3D printer starter kits worth buying?
Usually not. Bundled tool kits are mostly items you already own or will never use, wrapped around one or two genuinely useful things. Buying the four items individually costs less and wastes nothing.
+−Do I need a filament dryer to start?
No. New spools arrive vacuum sealed with desiccant. A dryer solves a problem that appears after weeks of open exposure — buy it when a spool that used to print well starts popping and stringing.
+−Why not use a metal scraper?
Because it gouges coated build plates, and a damaged plate is one of the few genuinely expensive failures in this hobby. Flex the plate first; use a plastic scraper for anything that resists.