PrusaSlicer Settings Guide
PrusaSlicer is Prusa Research's open-source slicer — precise, highly configurable, and the standard for Prusa owners. It ships with thoroughly tested profiles for all Prusa printers and supports thousands of community profiles for other brands.
Recommended settings by material
All settings are based on Prusa Research's official MK4 profiles. MK3S+ settings are nearly identical; Mini+ uses the same temperatures but a 180×180×180mm build volume.
| Material | Nozzle temp | Bed temp | Retraction distance | Retraction speed | Fan | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLA | 215°C | 60°C (smooth PEI) | 0.4–0.6 mm | 45 mm/s | 100% | Default MK4 profile. Lower to 205°C with Prusa Premium PLA. |
| PLA+ | 220°C | 60°C | 0.4–0.6 mm | 45 mm/s | 100% | Same starting settings as PLA, slightly higher temp. |
| PETG | 230°C | 85°C (textured PEI) | 0.4–0.6 mm | 35 mm/s | 50% | Use textured sheet for PETG — it sticks but releases cleanly. Never use smooth PEI with PETG unprotected. |
| ABS | 250°C | 100°C | 0.6–1.0 mm | 30 mm/s | 0% | Enclosure strongly recommended. MK4 open-frame handles smaller ABS parts; XL with enclosure is better. |
| ASA | 255°C | 100°C | 0.6–1.0 mm | 30 mm/s | 5–15% | Identical to ABS settings. Preferred for outdoor parts. |
| TPU | 230°C | 50°C | 0–2 mm | 25 mm/s | 100% | MK4 direct drive handles TPU well at low speeds. Keep retraction minimal. |
| Nylon | 250–260°C | 70–80°C | 0.6 mm | 30 mm/s | 20% | Dry thoroughly. MK4 and XL handle Nylon well. All-metal hot end recommended. |
Key settings explained
| Setting | Recommendation | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Layer height | 0.20 mm default, 0.10 mm for detail, 0.30 mm for speed | PrusaSlicer's quality presets (0.10/0.20/0.30) are well-tuned. Use Quality (0.15mm) for visible surfaces and Speed (0.30mm) for infill-heavy structural parts. |
| Supports | Snug contact Z distance: 0.15 mm, interface layers: 2 | Snug supports (default) are easier to remove than Normal. Use Painted Supports to add/remove supports on specific faces. Interface layers at 0.15mm Z-distance separate cleanly. |
| Seam position | Aligned (default) or Rear | Rear places all seams at the back of the model — invisible in front-facing prints. Use Aligned for mechanical parts where seam location is consistent. |
| Infill | Gyroid 15% for most parts, Rectilinear 25% for structural | Gyroid is isotropic — equal strength in all directions. For parts that only need to resist forces in one direction, Rectilinear at higher % is stiffer. Grid and Honeycomb are good for rigid boxes. |
| First layer width | 0.42 mm (105% of nozzle) default | PrusaSlicer extrudes the first layer slightly wider for better adhesion. Do not reduce this — it is correct. |
| Elephant foot compensation | -0.1 to -0.2 mm for tight-tolerance parts | Found under Print Settings → Advanced. Use only if the bottom layer is visibly wider than the rest of the part (see elephant foot guide). |
Printer profiles
PETG bed surface warning
PETG bonds aggressively to smooth PEI at high temperatures. Always use the textured PEI sheet for PETG at 85°C — it releases cleanly after cooling. If you accidentally print PETG on smooth PEI without a release layer (glue stick), let the bed cool completely to room temperature before attempting to remove the print. Do not force it — smooth PEI can be torn off the spring steel sheet.