White PLA Extrusion Day: Testing New Masterbatch!

Hello fellow 3D printing enthusiasts!

Today, March 10th, 2025, was a productive day in the workshop, focused entirely on producing white PLA filament. I managed to extrude a total of 8 full rolls – that's a lot of potential prints! But the real story of the day was the masterbatch testing.

For those unfamiliar, masterbatch is a concentrated mixture of pigments and additives that's used to color and modify the properties of the base polymerof PLA. The quality of the masterbatch has a huge impact on the final filament's color consistency, printability, and overall quality.

Today, I was working with a Chinese masterbatch specifically designed for white PLA. This is part of an ongoing testing process to find the best possible masterbatch for my filament production. I'm always looking for that perfect balance of vibrant, consistent color, excellent layer adhesion, and minimal warping.

The extrusion process itself went smoothly. Four rolls are currently loaded on my printers, undergoing a 24-hour print marathon. The biggest challenge with PLA, as many of you know, is its tendency to absorb moisture. I'm doing everything I can to combat this (sealed containers, desiccant, etc.), but it's a constant battle! I'll share photos and results of the print test soon. Stay tuned!

While the initial results with the Chinese masterbatch are promising, I'm still eagerly awaiting a shipment of Sukano masterbatch, which is expected to arrive next week. Sukano has a strong reputation for producing high-quality masterbatches, and I'm excited to compare its performance to the Chinese product. It's all about finding the best possible ingredients to create the best possible filament!

The search for the perfect white PLA continues! I'll be sure to keep you updated on the Sukano masterbatch test results next week. Let me know in the comments if you have any questions about the process, or if you have any masterbatch recommendations you think I should try!