3D Printing Info

Filament comparison

BVOH vs PLA Silk

Compare printing settings, strength, heat resistance, dated prices and sources.

BVOH (soluble support) guideSilk PLA guide

2 selected · all documented properties

Open these two in the interactive comparisonMore BVOH comparisonsMore PLA Silk comparisons
BVOH vs PLA Silk — documented properties and sources
PropertyBVOH (soluble support)SUPPORTSilk PLAPLA
Market snapshot
Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots$165.72/kg median; $165.72–$165.72/kg across 1 dated product listings$19.49/kg median; $9.75–$24.99/kg across 15 dated product listings
Identity & Market
Base polymer / chemistryButenediol vinyl alcohol copolymer — a vinyl alcohol copolymer that dissolves faster and in cooler water than straight PVA[1]PLA with a gloss-forming additive package; suppliers publish the composition as polylactic acid only[2]
Densityg/cm³Not documented1.27 (ISO 1183)[2]
Typical priceUSD/kg1 kg-equivalent spools cluster near 166[1]Mainstream 1 kg spools cluster near 20[3][4][5]
Price range across brandsUSD/kg166 at Fiberlogy's 500 g pricing on 3DJake[1]10–25 across brands; CHCKX 10 in a 16-roll bundle, SUNLU 13, LANDU 18, YXPOLYER 20, Polymaker 22, Devil Design 25[6][7][8][9][10]
Market availability1–5Niche, a handful of specialist brands[1]Stocked by most mainstream brands[3][6][11]
Spool sizes & diameters1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.5 kg spools[1]1.75 mm; 1 and 1.1 kg spools; dual- and tri-colour coextruded variants[12][13]
Typical applicationsDissolvable support where PVA dissolves too slowly, and for materials PVA bonds to poorly[1]Decorative prints where surface gloss matters more than strength[2]
Diameter tolerance± mmNot documented±0.03 (Bambu Lab)[14]
Printing Parameters
Nozzle temperature°CNot documented210–240 — 20 °C above the plain PLA window[2]
Bed temperature°CNot documented35–45[2]
Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5Open frame is fine[15]Open frame is fine[2][16]
Part cooling fanNot documentedFan on[2]
Bed surface & adhesion aidNot documentedCool Plate SuperTack, smooth PEI or textured PEI[2]
Warping tendency1–5Not documentedNone[2]
Bed-adhesion difficulty1–5Not documentedSticks to anything[17]
Overall printing difficulty1–5Intermediate — dry filament and a tuned profile[18]Easy — minor profile tuning; hotter nozzle and slower cap of 250 mm/s[2]
Extruder requirementA second extruder or a tool changer[15]Not documented
Hardware Wear & Reliability
Nozzle hardness required1–4Brass fine indefinitely[15]Brass fine indefinitely[16]
Abrasiveness1–5Non-abrasive[15]Non-abrasive[19][16]
Nozzle clog risk1–5Very high — frequent jams without careful setup[18]Very low[16]
Heat-creep / jam sensitivity1–5Not documentedModerate — good heatbreak cooling needed; PLA softens below 60 °C[20]
Hotend requirementNot documentedNo special hot-end required[17]
Moisture Behaviour
Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5Very high (>2 %) — the vinyl alcohol backbone is what makes it soluble[18][15]Moderate — 0.40 % saturated at 25 °C / 55 % RH[2]
Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH%Not documented0.40 saturated at 25 °C / 55 % RH (Bambu Lab)[2]
Drying temperature & timeNot documented55 °C for 8 h in a forced-air dryer, or 65–75 °C for 12 h on an X1 heatbed[2][21]
Symptoms when wetNot documentedBubbling and popping at the nozzle, stringing, rough surface and weak layers[18]
Effect of moisture on strengthNot a structural material; no dry-versus-conditioned data is published[18]Polymaker rates PLA low-sensitivity — the loss shows as poor layer adhesion and brittle layers rather than a published strength figure[18]
Storage requirementSealed with desiccant at all times[18]Sealed with desiccant below 20 % RH; shelf life at ambient is long[22][17]
Mechanical Properties
Tensile strength (XY)MPaNot documented33 (printed XY, ISO 527); eSun Silk broke 22 % below the 16-brand PLA mean on identical 4×4 mm bars[2][23]
Young's modulusMPaNot documented2130 (printed XY, ISO 527)[2]
Elongation at break%Not documented2.8 (printed XY, ISO 527) — a quarter of PLA Basic at 12.2[2][22]
Flexural strengthMPaNot documented75 (printed XY, ISO 178)[2]
Flexural modulusMPaNot documented2460 (printed XY, ISO 178)[2]
Charpy impact, notchedkJ/m²Not documented10.3 (printed XY, ISO 179, notched); unnotched 18.5[2]
Layer adhesion / Z tensileMPaNot documented25 (printed Z, ISO 527), and flexural Z collapses to 30 against 75 in XY; eSun Silk broke at 12.3 kg where twelve of the 16 plain PLAs managed 44.6–61.5 kg[2][23][24]
Brittleness1–5Not documentedBrittle — snaps with little warning[2]
Creep resistance / sustained load1–5Not documentedPoor — no silk-specific creep data published; plain PLA sagged from 12 to 18.7–20.3 mm over 5 days at 1.25 kg[25][26]
Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5Not documentedPoor — no grade-specific S-N curve; plain printed PLA ran 38 000–49 000 cycles at 30 % of tensile strength (R = 0.2)[27][20]
Elasticity / flexibility1–5Not documentedRigid[2]
Z strength as % of XY%Not documented76 by tensile, 40 by flexural (printed, Bambu Lab)[2]
Thermal Properties
HDT at 0.45 MPa°CNot documented60 (ISO 75, 0.45 MPa)[2]
HDT at 1.8 MPa°CNot documented56 (ISO 75, 1.8 MPa)[2]
Glass transition (Tg)°CNot documented57 (DSC)[2]
Melting point / Vicat°CNot documented158 peak melt (DSC); Vicat 66 °C[2]
Continuous service temperature°CNot documented50 — a loaded bar begins to move at this temperature (My Tech Fun, eSun eSilk PLA)[24]
Annealing responseNot documented50–55 °C for 6–12 h[2]
Flammability / UL 94Not documentedFlammable; no UL 94 rating published by the major brands[22][28]
Environment & Chemical
UV resistance1–5Not documentedDegrades within weeks outdoors[20][29]
Chemical resistanceNot documentedGood against weak acids, oils and grease; poor against strong acids and alkalis; dissolved by chloroform, THF and hot benzene[28][20]
Water / humidity resistance in service1–5Dissolves or disintegrates — by design[1]Good — insoluble in water[22]
Food contactNot documentedBase resin is food-contact grade, but printed layer grooves harbour bacteria; Prusa advises against food use[20]
Biodegradability / compostabilityNot documentedIndustrially compostable only — needs sustained 55 °C; not home compostable[30][20]
RecyclabilityNot documentedMechanically recyclable; not accepted in household plastic collection[30]
Health & Safety
Fume toxicity1–5Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission; none of these materials was in the chamber study[31]Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission[31]
Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5Open a window / occasional ventilation[31]None needed in a normal room[31]
Post-Processing
Sanding & machiningNot documentedWet sanding — dry sanding heats the surface by friction and smears it[29][20]
Gluing & solvent weldingNot documentedCyanoacrylate for most joints; some grades partially dissolve and bond with acetone[20][32]
Vapour / chemical smoothingNot documentedNo practical vapour smoothing — only chloroform, hot benzene or THF, which are laboratory-only[20]
Support material pairingThis is the support material[1]Support for PLA (Bambu Lab)[2]
Dimensional accuracy & detailNot documented55° overhangs and 30 mm bridges; gloss hides fine detail and is destroyed by sanding[2]
Solvents & Solubility
Soluble inWater: about 1 g of BVOH per 20 g of water, several hours; warmer water is faster but must not be too hot.[33][1]Chloroform: 10 % w/v in 2–4 h at 23 °C, every grade and morphology; THF and DMF only at 65 °C. Laboratory reagents.[34]
Softened or crazed byNothing else — a vinyl alcohol copolymer resists organic solvents, so IPA or acetone will not touch it.[35]Acetone, ethyl acetate and toluene plasticise it but dissolve <1 % even at 65 °C; submersion in acetone crazes and destroys parts.[34][36]
Solvent welding & smoothing agentNone — water is a removal solvent, not a welding one.[33]Chloroform vapour smooths and welds PLA at the cost of tensile strength; acetone does not smooth it at all.[37][36]

Material entries describe families or representative grades, not an interchangeable specification for every spool. Test methods, orientations and conditions may differ. Unknown values are marked “Not documented”. Prices and source dates remain historical snapshots; check the linked guide for product details. Differences highlight text, not a universal winner.

Sources for this comparison

  1. Fiberlogy BVOH Natural — product page 3DJake International · 2026-08 · vendor
  2. Bambu Filament Technical Data Sheet V1.0 — PLA Silk+ Bambu Lab · 2026-08 · tds
  3. Panchroma Silk PLA collection Polymaker Shop · 2026-08 · vendor
  4. Spectrum PLA Silk — product listing 3DJake International · 2026-08 · vendor
  5. 3DJake ecoPLA Silk Black 1.75mm 1000g 3DJake International · 2026-08 · vendor
  6. Sunlu Silk PLA+ 1.75mm 1kg Sunlu Official Store · 2026-08 · vendor
  7. Bambu Lab PLA Silk 1.75mm 1kg 3D Universe · 2026-08 · vendor
  8. CHCKX 16 Pack Silk Dual Color PLA Filament Bundle CHCKX (Amazon US) · 2026-08 · vendor
  9. YXPOLYER Silk PLA Black&Gold product page YXPOLYER · 2026-08 · vendor
  10. LANDU Silk Tri-Color PLA Filament 1.75 mm 1 kg LANDU (Amazon US) · 2026-08 · vendor
  11. Overture Silk PLA 1.75mm Overture3D · 2026-08 · vendor
  12. eSUN PLA-Silk Magic 1.75mm eSUN Official Store · 2026-08 · vendor
  13. JAYO Silk PLA+ 1.75mm 1.1kg JAYO Official Store · 2026-08 · vendor
  14. PLA Basic — product page Bambu Lab US Store · 2026-08 · vendor
  15. PolyDissolve S1 Technical Data Sheet V5.4 Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
  16. Filament Material Guide Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
  17. PLA — Ultimate 3D Printing Materials Guide Simplify3D · 2026-08 · doc
  18. Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  19. Prusament PLA — material page Prusa Polymers · 2026-08 · doc
  20. PLA — material guide Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
  21. Filament Drying Recommendations Bambu Lab Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  22. Bambu Filament Technical Data Sheet V3.0 — PLA Basic Bambu Lab · 2026-08 · tds
  23. 16 PLA brand comparison test — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2022-10 · test
  24. Testing eSun PLA filaments: PLA-ST vs PLA+ vs Silk PLA My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
  25. BambuLab PLA Basic vs PLA Tough vs PLA-CF — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
  26. PolyTerra PLA vs PLA+ — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
  27. Mechanical Properties of Additively Manufactured Polymeric Materials — PLA and PETG — For Biomechanical Applications Polymers 16(13):1868 · 2024-06 · paper
  28. PolyLite PLA Technical Data Sheet V5.4 Polymaker · 2024-11 · tds
  29. Prusament PLA Technical Data Sheet v1.0 Prusa Polymers · 2018-09 · tds
  30. Filamentive PLA (recycled) — product page Filamentive · 2026-08 · vendor
  31. Emissions of Ultrafine Particles and Volatile Organic Compounds from Commercially Available Desktop Three-Dimensional Printers with Multiple Filaments (Azimi et al.) Environmental Science & Technology 50(3) 1260-1268 · 2016-01 · paper
  32. Prusament rPLA Corn Pigment 1kg — product page Prusa Research · 2026-08 · vendor
  33. Water soluble (BVOH/PVA) — Knowledge Base Prusa Research · 2026-08 · doc
  34. Solubility Study of Ingeo Biopolymer Grades in Common Organic Solvents (NWPD003) NatureWorks · 2019-10 · tds
  35. Polyvinyl alcohol — KURARAY POVAL application guide Kuraray · 2026-08 · tds
  36. Improve your 3D prints with chemical smoothing Prusa Research · 2026-08 · doc
  37. Effect of vapour smoothing in trichloromethane on 3D printed PLA — surface, mechanical and chemical structure Pitale, Keche & Chopra, Engineering Research Express 6(4) 045579 · 2024-12 · paper