3D Printing Info

Filament comparison

PLA Glow vs PMMA

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

Glow-in-the-dark PLA guidePMMA (acrylic) guide

2 selected · all documented properties

Open these two in the interactive comparisonMore PLA Glow comparisonsMore PMMA comparisons
PLA Glow vs PMMA — documented properties and sources
PropertyGlow-in-the-dark PLAPLAPMMA (acrylic)ENGINEERING
Market snapshot
Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots$24.99/kg median; $19.99–$49.16/kg across 5 dated product listings$49.99/kg median; $49.99–$49.99/kg across 1 dated product listings
Identity & Market
Base polymer / chemistryPLA with a phosphorescent additive at 2–20 wt% (Bambu Lab SDS, filler not named)[1]Poly(methyl methacrylate) — acrylic, sold for 3D printing as a transparent glass substitute[2]
Densityg/cm³1.24 (colorFabb) to 1.26 (Bambu Lab), ISO 1183[3][4]Not documented
Typical priceUSD/kg1 kg spools cluster near 25[5][6]1 kg spools cluster near 50[7]
Price range across brandsUSD/kg20–49 across brands; ELEGOO 20, Bambu Lab 25, Polymaker 25, Filament PM 49 on 0.5 kg spools[8][5][6][9]50 at Push Plastic's 1 kg listing; 3 kg spools run the same per kilogram[7]
Market availability1–5Stocked by most mainstream brands[5][6][8]Special order, 1–2 makers worldwide[7]
Spool sizes & diameters1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.75 and 1 kg spools[10][4]1.75 and 2.85 mm; 1 and 3 kg spools[7]
Typical applicationsSignage, novelty and cosplay parts that glow after light exposure[3]Transparent covers and light guides where PC's yellowing or cost rules it out[2]
Printing Parameters
Nozzle temperature°C190–230 on the Bambu Lab TDS against 210–240 in its own material table; colorFabb advises 195–220[3][11][4]Not documented
Bed temperature°C35–45 (Bambu Lab); 50–60 (colorFabb)[3][4]Not documented
Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5Open frame is fine[3]Not documented
Part cooling fanFan on; colorFabb allows 0–100 %[3][4]Not documented
Overall printing difficulty1–5Easy — minor profile tuning; a hardened nozzle is mandatory[11][6]Not documented
Extruder requirementBambu Lab: hardened steel and high-flow nozzles only, 0.2 mm excluded, AMS lite not compatible[11]Not documented
Hardware Wear & Reliability
Nozzle hardness required1–4Hardened steel required[11][6][4]Not documented
Abrasiveness1–5Highly abrasive — the phosphor is a hard ceramic; Bambu Lab groups glow with carbon fibre as the materials that wear nozzles and grind AMS PTFE, and both Bambu Lab and Polymaker require a hardened nozzle[11][4]Not documented
Nozzle clog risk1–5Moderate — needs dry filament and a clean nozzle[11]Not documented
Hotend requirementHardened steel nozzle; Bambu Lab lists glow-in-the-dark among the filaments its hardened-steel nozzle exists for[12][11]Not documented
Other hardware wearBambu Lab reports the filament adds enough feeding resistance to fail prints on the AMS lite; colorFabb warns of brass nozzle wear[11][4]Not documented
Moisture Behaviour
Moisture absorption (hygroscopicity)1–5Moderate — 0.46 % saturated at 25 °C / 55 % RH[3]Not documented
Equilibrium moisture content at ~50 % RH%0.46 saturated at 25 °C / 55 % RH (Bambu Lab)[3]Not documented
Effect of moisture on strengthPolymaker rates PLA low-sensitivity and publishes no dry-versus-conditioned figures for this grade; absorbed water flashes to steam and shows as bubbling and poor layer adhesion[13]Not documented
Mechanical Properties
Tensile strength (XY)MPa32 ± 3 printed XY, ISO 527 (Bambu Lab); colorFabb quotes 61.5 by ISO 527 on its own specimens[3][4]Not documented
Young's modulusMPa2030 ± 210 printed XY, ISO 527 (Bambu Lab); colorFabb 2960[3][4]Not documented
Elongation at break%8.6 ± 1.2 printed XY, ISO 527 (Bambu Lab); colorFabb 10.5 at break[3][4]Not documented
Flexural strengthMPa76 ± 4 printed XY, ISO 178 (Bambu Lab)[3]Not documented
Flexural modulusMPa2640 ± 130 printed XY, ISO 178 (Bambu Lab); colorFabb 3295[3][4]Not documented
Charpy impact, notchedkJ/m²2.8 (colorFabb, ISO 179-1/1eA) and 8.8 ± 1.7 (Bambu Lab, ISO 179) printed XY, notched[3][4]Not documented
Other impact dataCharpy unnotched 27.3 (Bambu Lab) and 30.8 (colorFabb), printed, ISO 179[3][4]Not documented
Layer adhesion / Z tensileMPa26 ± 3 printed Z, ISO 527 (Bambu Lab)[3]Not documented
Brittleness1–5Brittle — snaps with little warning[3]Not documented
Creep resistance / sustained load1–5Poor — no glow-grade creep test; plain printed PLA sagged from 12 to 16.2–21.8 mm over 5 days at 1.25 kg[14][15][16]Not documented
Fatigue / repeated-flex resistance1–5Poor — no grade-specific S-N curve; plain printed PLA ran 38 000–49 000 cycles at 30 % of tensile strength and the glow filler leaves a brittle, highly abrasive compound[17][3]Not documented
Elasticity / flexibility1–5Rigid[3]Not documented
Z strength as % of XY%81 by tensile, 72 by flexural (printed, Bambu Lab)[3]Not documented
Thermal Properties
HDT at 0.45 MPa°C55 (ISO 75, 0.45 MPa)[3]Not documented
HDT at 1.8 MPa°C52 (ISO 75, 1.8 MPa)[3]Not documented
Glass transition (Tg)°C55 (DSC)[3]Not documented
Melting point / Vicat°C155 peak melt (DSC); colorFabb quotes above 155 by ISO 3146-C[3][4]Not documented
Environment & Chemical
UV resistance1–5Degrades within weeks outdoors[18]Not documented
Health & Safety
Fume toxicity1–5Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission[19]Not documented
Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5None needed in a normal room[19]Not documented
Post-Processing
Support material pairingSupport for PLA (Bambu Lab)[3]Not documented
Dimensional accuracy & detailGlow brightness rises with wall thickness; 0.2 mm nozzles are not usable[11]Not documented
Solvents & Solubility
Soluble inChloroform dissolves the PLA matrix (10 % w/v, 2–4 h at 23 °C) and leaves the filler as loose sludge; laboratory reagent.[20]Acetone, MEK, ethyl and butyl acetate, THF, chloroform and carbon tetrachloride dissolve it; the last two are laboratory reagents.[21]
Softened or crazed byAcetone, ethyl acetate and toluene plasticise the matrix but dissolve <1 % even at 65 °C; acetone submersion crazes parts.[20][22]Alcohols, aliphatic hydrocarbons, oils and phthalate plasticisers craze it, and the threshold falls as stress rises.[21]
Solvent welding & smoothing agentChloroform vapour attacks only the resin fraction, so the filler is left standing proud; no workshop-safe agent exists.[23][22]Dichloromethane acrylic cement (IPS Weld-On 3): 2–5 min soak, 17.2 MPa lap shear at one week. Controlled carcinogen.[24]

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. Safety Data Sheet SDS20251127A12 — Bambu PLA Glow Bambu Lab · 2025-11 · msds
  2. PMMA Filament 1.75mm 1kg — product page Push Plastic · 2026-08 · vendor
  3. Bambu Filament Technical Data Sheet — PLA Glow Bambu Lab · 2026-08 · tds
  4. glowFill technical data sheet colorFabb · 2026-08 · tds
  5. PLA Glow — product page Bambu Lab US Store · 2026-08 · vendor
  6. Panchroma Luminous PLA — product page Polymaker Shop · 2026-08 · vendor
  7. Push Plastic product catalogue Push Plastic · 2026-08 · vendor
  8. ELEGOO product catalogue ELEGOO · 2026-08 · vendor
  9. Filament PM PLA GlowJet technical data sheet Filament PM (Plasty Mladec) · 2026-08 · tds
  10. Polymaker product catalogue Polymaker · 2026-08 · vendor
  11. PLA Usage Guide Bambu Lab Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  12. Nozzles — material and compatibility Bambu Lab Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  13. Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  14. BambuLab PLA Basic vs PLA Tough vs PLA-CF — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
  15. Polymaker PLA Pro vs PLA-CF — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
  16. Carbon Fiber PLA vs META-PLA vs PLA+ vs PLA by Sunlu — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
  17. Mechanical Properties of Additively Manufactured Polymeric Materials — PLA and PETG — For Biomechanical Applications Polymers 16(13):1868 · 2024-06 · paper
  18. PLA — material guide Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
  19. 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
  20. Solubility Study of Ingeo Biopolymer Grades in Common Organic Solvents (NWPD003) NatureWorks · 2019-10 · tds
  21. Chemical resistance of PMMA products Mitsubishi Chemical (Acrypet) · 2026-08 · tds
  22. Improve your 3D prints with chemical smoothing Prusa Research · 2026-08 · doc
  23. 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
  24. Weld-On 3 Acrylic Plastic Cement — technical data sheet (shipped as dichloromethane) IPS Corporation · 2002-07 · tds