3D Printing Info

Filament comparison

PLA Glow vs PPSU

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

Glow-in-the-dark PLA guidePPSU guide

2 selected · all documented properties

Open these two in the interactive comparisonMore PLA Glow comparisonsMore PPSU comparisons
PLA Glow vs PPSU — documented properties and sources
PropertyGlow-in-the-dark PLAPLAPPSUHIGHTEMP
Market snapshot
Listing priceUSD/kg; dated snapshots$24.99/kg median; $19.99–$49.16/kg across 5 dated product listings$337.40/kg median; $223.00–$732.56/kg across 4 dated product listings
Identity & Market
Base polymer / chemistryPLA with a phosphorescent additive at 2–20 wt% (Bambu Lab SDS, filler not named)[1]Polyphenylsulfone — an amorphous high-temperature sulfone polymer[2]
Densityg/cm³1.24 (colorFabb) to 1.26 (Bambu Lab), ISO 1183[3][4]1.28 (ISO 1183, 3DXTech; ASTM D792, Stratasys PPSF)[2][5]
Typical priceUSD/kg1 kg spools cluster near 25[6][7]1 kg-equivalent spools span 223–733; the middle of the market is about 425[8][9][10][11]
Price range across brandsUSD/kg20–49 across brands; ELEGOO 20, Bambu Lab 25, Polymaker 25, Filament PM 49 on 0.5 kg spools[12][6][7][13]223-733 across brands; IEMAI 3D 223 at 1 kg, 3DXTech ThermaX PPSU 250 at 500 g, 3D4Makers 425 at 750 g, Kimya PPSU-S 733 at 500 g[8][9][10][11]
Market availability1–5Stocked by most mainstream brands[6][7][12]Niche, a handful of specialist brands[8][9][10]
Spool sizes & diameters1.75 and 2.85 mm; 0.75 and 1 kg spools[14][4]1.75 and 2.85 mm; 200 g to 750 g spools[8][9][10]
Typical applicationsSignage, novelty and cosplay parts that glow after light exposure[3]Steam-sterilisable medical and dental tooling, and aircraft interior parts[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][15][4]Not documented
Bed temperature°C35–45 (Bambu Lab); 50–60 (colorFabb)[3][4]130–150 (3DXTech)[2]
Enclosure / chamber requirement1–5Open frame is fine[3]Actively heated chamber required[16][17]
Part cooling fanFan on; colorFabb allows 0–100 %[3][4]Not documented
Warping tendency1–5Not documentedSevere — heated chamber needed[16]
Overall printing difficulty1–5Easy — minor profile tuning; a hardened nozzle is mandatory[15][7]Expert / industrial hardware only[16][17]
Extruder requirementBambu Lab: hardened steel and high-flow nozzles only, 0.2 mm excluded, AMS lite not compatible[15]Not documented
Hardware Wear & Reliability
Nozzle hardness required1–4Hardened steel required[15][7][4]Brass fine indefinitely for unfilled grades, but brass softens near these nozzle temperatures — hardened or plated hot ends are the norm[16]
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[15][4]Non-abrasive when unfilled[2]
Nozzle clog risk1–5Moderate — needs dry filament and a clean nozzle[15]Moderate — needs dry filament and a clean nozzle; 3DXTech lists no special nozzle concerns but a mandatory 120 °C pre-dry before every print[18]
Hotend requirementHardened steel nozzle; Bambu Lab lists glow-in-the-dark among the filaments its hardened-steel nozzle exists for[19][15]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[15][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]0.37 in 24 h and 1.1 at saturation on extruded stock (ASTM D570)[20]
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[21]No dry-versus-conditioned figures are published; 3DXTech mandates a 120 °C, 4 h pre-dry before every print because trapped water flashes to steam at these nozzle temperatures[18]
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]55 (printed XY, ISO 527, 3DXTech) and 55 (printed on side long edge, ASTM D638, Stratasys PPSF); 79 at yield on extruded stock[2][5][20]
Young's modulusMPa2030 ± 210 printed XY, ISO 527 (Bambu Lab); colorFabb 2960[3][4]2100 (printed, ASTM D638, Stratasys PPSF) and 2310 (printed XY, ISO 527, 3DXTech); 2344 on extruded stock[2][5][20]
Elongation at break%8.6 ± 1.2 printed XY, ISO 527 (Bambu Lab); colorFabb 10.5 at break[3][4]3 (printed, ISO 527 and ASTM D638) against 60 on extruded stock — printing costs PPSU almost all of its ductility[2][5][20]
Flexural strengthMPa76 ± 4 printed XY, ISO 178 (Bambu Lab)[3]110 (printed, ISO 178 and ASTM D790, 3DXTech and Stratasys PPSF agree); 91 on extruded stock[2][5][20]
Flexural modulusMPa2640 ± 130 printed XY, ISO 178 (Bambu Lab); colorFabb 3295[3][4]2200 (printed, ASTM D790, Stratasys PPSF) and 2215 (printed XY, ISO 178, 3DXTech)[2][5]
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]Izod notched 58.7 J/m and unnotched 165.5 J/m (printed, ASTM D256 Method A, Stratasys PPSF); 160 J/m notched on extruded stock[5][20]
Layer adhesion / Z tensileMPa26 ± 3 printed Z, ISO 527 (Bambu Lab)[3]Not documented
Brittleness1–5Brittle — snaps with little warning[3]Brittle — snaps with little warning[2]
Hardness (scale-specific)Shore A / Shore D / RockwellNot documentedRockwell M86 on printed PPSF (ASTM D785, Stratasys); M96 on extruded PPSU stock (and an unlabelled 123)[5][20]
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[22][23][24]Good. Printed PPSF holds 189 °C heat deflection at 1.8 MPa (ASTM D648) and extruded stock is rated 149 °C long-term service, but Ensinger does not claim the creep resistance it claims for PSU and PPS[5][20]
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[25][3]Not documented
Elasticity / flexibility1–5Rigid[3]Rigid[2]
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]190 (printed XY, ISO 75 at 0.45 MPa, 3DXTech)[2]
HDT at 1.8 MPa°C52 (ISO 75, 1.8 MPa)[3]189 (printed, ASTM D648 at 264 psi, Stratasys PPSF); 207 on extruded stock, converted from 405 °F[5][20]
Glass transition (Tg)°C55 (DSC)[3]230 (DSC) — the highest glass transition in the dataset[2]
Melting point / Vicat°C155 peak melt (DSC); colorFabb quotes above 155 by ISO 3146-C[3][4]Not documented
Continuous service temperature°CNot documented149 long-term service on extruded PPSU stock, converted from 300 °F[20]
Thermal expansion (CTE)µm/m·KNot documented55.0 (printed PPSF, ASTM D696; source states 5.5e-5 mm/mm/°C) and 55.8 on extruded stock (ASTM D696, from 3.1e-5 in/in/°F)[5][20]
Flammability / UL 94Not documentedUL 94 V-0 at 1.5 mm, rated on the base resin[2]
Environment & Chemical
UV resistance1–5Degrades within weeks outdoors[26]Not documented
Chemical resistanceNot documentedWithstands repeated steam autoclaving, the usual reason to choose PPSU over PSU; Stratasys also lists PPSF as passing 24 h stress-crack exposure to antifreeze, petrol, motor oil, power-steering, transmission and washer fluid at 23 °C and 100 °C[2][5]
Electrical & ESD propertiesNot documentedVolume resistivity 5e13 to 1.5e14 ohm-cm and dielectric strength 80-290 V/mil on printed PPSF (ASTM D257, D149)[5]
Health & Safety
Fume toxicity1–5Low hazard — minimal VOC and particle emission[27]Moderate — measurable VOCs and UFPs, ventilation advised. None of these polymers was in the chamber study, and all are processed far above the temperatures it covered[27]
Ventilation / filtration requirement1–5None needed in a normal room[27]Ventilated room or enclosure recommended[27]
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[15]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.[28]Dichloromethane dissolves it at 23 °C at every stress level; acetone solvates and softens unstressed PPSU (Solvay ESCR).[29]
Softened or crazed byAcetone, ethyl acetate and toluene plasticise the matrix but dissolve <1 % even at 65 °C; acetone submersion crazes parts.[28][30]MEK ruptures stressed parts and toluene crazes them above 13.8 MPa; glass-filled grades survive where unfilled craze.[29]
Solvent welding & smoothing agentChloroform vapour attacks only the resin fraction, so the filler is left standing proud; no workshop-safe agent exists.[31][30]Dichloromethane cements PPSU and NMP softens residual resin; both are laboratory reagents, not workshop stock.[29]

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. ThermaX PPSU Technical Data Sheet v3 3DXTech · 2026-08 · tds
  3. Bambu Filament Technical Data Sheet — PLA Glow Bambu Lab · 2026-08 · tds
  4. glowFill technical data sheet colorFabb · 2026-08 · tds
  5. PPSF (polyphenylsulfone) — FDM Data Sheet Stratasys · 2018-06 · tds
  6. PLA Glow — product page Bambu Lab US Store · 2026-08 · vendor
  7. Panchroma Luminous PLA — product page Polymaker Shop · 2026-08 · vendor
  8. 3DXTech product catalogue 3DXTech · 2026-08 · vendor
  9. Kimya PPSU-S Natural 1.75 mm 500 g igo3d · 2026-08 · vendor
  10. 3D4Makers product catalogue 3D4Makers · 2026-08 · vendor
  11. IEMAI 3D PPSU 3D Printing Filament — store page IEMAI 3D · 2026-08 · vendor
  12. ELEGOO product catalogue ELEGOO · 2026-08 · vendor
  13. Filament PM PLA GlowJet technical data sheet Filament PM (Plasty Mladec) · 2026-08 · tds
  14. Polymaker product catalogue Polymaker · 2026-08 · vendor
  15. PLA Usage Guide Bambu Lab Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  16. Prusament PEI 1010 Technical Datasheet v1.0 Prusa Polymers · 2024-09 · tds
  17. Prusament PEI 1010 — material page Prusa Polymers · 2026-08 · doc
  18. THERMAX PPSU — product page (print recommendations) 3DXTech · 2026-08 · doc
  19. Nozzles — material and compatibility Bambu Lab Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  20. TECASON P black (PPSU) — stock shape properties Ensinger · 2026-08 · tds
  21. Wet Filament — signs, causes and drying Polymaker Wiki · 2026-08 · doc
  22. BambuLab PLA Basic vs PLA Tough vs PLA-CF — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
  23. Polymaker PLA Pro vs PLA-CF — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
  24. Carbon Fiber PLA vs META-PLA vs PLA+ vs PLA by Sunlu — results spreadsheet My Tech Fun (Igor Gaspar) · 2026-08 · test
  25. Mechanical Properties of Additively Manufactured Polymeric Materials — PLA and PETG — For Biomechanical Applications Polymers 16(13):1868 · 2024-06 · paper
  26. PLA — material guide Prusa Knowledge Base · 2026-08 · doc
  27. 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
  28. Solubility Study of Ingeo Biopolymer Grades in Common Organic Solvents (NWPD003) NatureWorks · 2019-10 · tds
  29. Radel PPSU, Veradel PESU, Acudel modified PPSU Design Guide — environmental stress cracking tables Solvay Specialty Polymers · 2026-08 · tds
  30. Improve your 3D prints with chemical smoothing Prusa Research · 2026-08 · doc
  31. 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