Dry
Moisture before math
Store opened PETG sealed. If the spool sat open in humidity, dry it per brand guidance, then re-test on a small travel model—not after changing five fields at once.
OrcaSlicer · PETG stringing & first layers
Clean PETG without another download page
Starting settings for stringing and first layers—dry filament, temperature, retraction, and Z-hop before you chase exotic seams.
If you need how to stop PETG stringing in OrcaSlicer, begin with a dry spool, apply conservative retraction and temperature moves, confirm the first layer, then open a matching guide.
Four-row starting table
Select a row to highlight the matching card. Values are starting points for PETG travel cleanliness—not defaults for every printer.
CheckStarting pointWhy it matters
Temp
Temperature ladder
Use the spool range, not a generic “always 250 °C” tip. Prefer OrcaSlicer’s Temperature Tower on the same spool. If whiskers remain after drying and mild retraction, step slightly cooler and keep bed temp separate.
Retraction
One axis per print
Note direct-drive vs Bowden, nudge one control, print a short stringing test, and back off if filament grinds. Use built-in Retraction calibration when guesswork stalls.
Z-hop
Lift only what you need
Enable a short Z-hop when hairs drag across tops. Keep hop small; if edge blobs appear, reduce hop or revisit temperature.
Five jobs OrcaSlicer handles next
Pick the job that matches the failure on the plate. Each card routes to a guide on this site.
First layer
When the skirt won’t stick, clean the plate, confirm probe or level, then adjust Z-offset and first-layer speed before raising nozzle heat to mask a high live-Z.
Open first-layer helpPETG stringing
After drying, pair retraction with modest Z-hop and a calm temperature ladder. Change one variable per test.
Open stringing helpCalibration
Use OrcaSlicer’s built-in Temperature Tower, Retraction, Flow Ratio, and related tools—then save kept values to the correct profile layer.
Browse calibration guidesPrinter profiles
Keep machine limits on the printer profile; keep PETG temperatures and retraction bias on the filament profile.
Open profile guidanceAMS caveats
Multi-material paths add drying, purge, and slot complexity. Treat AMS stringing as filament condition plus purge strategy—not only one retraction number.
Open multi-material notesTrust, kept short
Settings library
Guides on Orca Print Notes collect practical setup paths for stringing, first layers, and calibration—so you leave with a checklist.
Downloads stay on the download page
Installers are published by the OrcaSlicer project on its GitHub releases page. This page focuses on PETG starting settings and guide routes.
Starting points, labeled
Numbers here are conservative starting points. Results vary by kinematics, hotend, filament lot, and enclosure.
FAQ
Wet PETG often strings and pops no matter how polished the retract chart looks. Dry first so each OrcaSlicer change means something.
Start from a PETG preset matched to direct-drive or Bowden, change one field per print, and use Retraction calibration for a structured sweep. Back off if filament grinds.
No. Modest Z-hop helps on long travels, but excess hop adds time and edge artifacts. Pair it with drying and temperature discipline.
Separate the problems. Revisit plate cleanliness, probe or level, first-layer height/speed, and Z-offset—not endless nozzle heat to mask a high offset.
On the OrcaSlicer project's GitHub releases page. Use this page for PETG starting settings and guide entry points.
Work through OrcaSlicer calibration
Calibration is a sequence, not a single print. Settle the order, measure the flow numbers with the calculators, then apply what the test actually showed. Start from the step you are on.
Plan the sequence
- Work out your calibration order
The documented sequence runs temperature, then max volumetric speed, pressure advance, flow and retraction, and covers when to revisit an earlier stage.
Measure the flow numbers
- Cap your max volumetric speed
Turn the speed where a flow test started to under-extrude into the mm³/s ceiling, plus the equivalent limit at other layer heights.
- Read the pressure advance tower
Enter the tower's start value, the increment per step and the step that printed cleanest to get the number to save in the filament profile.
- Correct the flow ratio
Convert the wall you measured on a single-wall calibration cube into a corrected flow ratio, with the two-pass result side by side.
Apply what the print showed
- Set the first-layer Z offset
Where the value lives and the ordered checks that put the nozzle at the right height, so the flow numbers you measured mean something on the plate.
Open the guide that matches your plate
Take the starting table into a full OrcaSlicer settings guide—troubleshooting, profile ownership, and calibration paths.