While Elegoo got started in the world of 3D printing with resin printers, their move into FDM with the Neptune series of printers has been well received. Now, their PLA filament has also been met with good reviews for being a low-cost but reliable option. And that’s not the only filament they offer.

With an impressive 0.2-mm tolerance, many users reported successful prints right off the bat with this filament. However, some also stated that drying the filament was needed for best results. Although shared images from users working with this filament indicate a tendency for prints to come out cloudy, this does make a great option for printing LED diffusers.

• Color: Clear
• Sizes: 1.75 mm (1 kg)
• Price per kg: ~$14

Elegoo PLA Clear

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Sunlu is another popular 3D printing supply company, selling its own 3D printers, filament, and more. According to many customer reviews, their clear PLA filament is semi-transparent.

Sunlu states that its filament is clog-free, bubble-free, and prints easily. As a bonus, each filament spool is dried for 24 hours before packaging.

At Amazon, Sunlu features 4.4 stars with over 1940 ratings. Alexis has printed many models that accommodate LEDs, for which Sunlu’s clear PLA has been great. Nate added that the transparency of this material is excellent and that the filament is easy to print.

• Colors: 7 options, including purple, yellow, and orange
• Sizes: 1.75 mm (1 kg)
• Price per kg: ~$17

Sunlu Transparent PLA

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Next, Eryone is a company that makes and sells its own line of 3D printers and filaments. Eryone offers a clear PLA filament that it states was specially designed to prevent nozzle jams and filament tangles.

The company claims to have tested its filament on a few different brands of 3D printers. Based on the images provided, their filament looks to be very transparent.

Eryone’s PLA can brag a 4.4-star rating at Amazon with over 11,660 reviews! Customers are clearly happy with this filament. In particular, Justin Reina highlighted that it features excellent color and finish, as well as great printability. Britt T agreed with this feedback, stating that the material prints well and it’s clear.

• Colors: Natural
• Sizes: 1.75 mm (1 kg)
• Price per kg: ~$19

Eryone Clear PLA

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MatterHackers is an online seller of 3D printing supplies from brands like LulzBot, Creality, and UltiMaker. MatterHackers also offers its own line of filaments, including translucent PLAs as a part of both the Build and Pro series.

When it comes to the Build line of transparent filaments, in addition to translucent clear, there’s an assortment of colors, including blue, violet, and red, among others. The filament is manufactured in 1.75- and 2.85-mm diameters, though not every color is always available in both sizes.

Although there aren’t many reviews from the community about the Clear series from MatterHackers, on their product page, they claim a “success rating” of 100% based on the material’s sales. And at the very least, redditors seem to like and recommend it.

• Colors: 6 options, including red, blue, and purple
• Sizes: 1.75 mm, 2.85 mm (1 kg)
• Price per kg: ~$21

MatterHackers Build Series Translucent PLA

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FormFutura offers a wide range of filaments, amongst which is their Natural PLA that you have the option of purchasing as a spool-less refillable. You can print your own neat little holder for the filament and reuse that holder every time.

FormFutura recommends printing their filament at a 0.1-mm layer height and 215-230 °C, slightly hotter than normal PLA filaments, for best results. While they don’t specify the tolerance of their filaments, you can see good-quality prints from users who’ve tried it and posted their results.

Similarly to MatterHackers, there aren’t many reviews about this filament but at Amazon, it features 4 stars out of five, and at 3DJake, a customer has rated it 4 stars. Overall, this seems to be a nice option for a well-rounded semi-transparent filament with decent properties, good printability, and an affordable price.

• Color: Natural
• Sizes: 1.75 mm, 2.85 mm (0.25 kg, 1 kg, 2.3 kg, 4.5 kg, 8 kg)
• Price per kg: ~$25

FormFutura Premium PLA Transparent

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Giantarm is a popular filament manufacturer among hobbyists, as they offer high-quality filaments at a low price. While they only offer completely transparent PLA filaments with no assortment of translucent colors, they are still a top pick for their low cost and good print results.

Their filament provides a medium level of transparency but is easy to print. It requires a low nozzle temperature ranging from 190 to 220 °C, with users reporting the ideal temperature being around 205 °C. Giantarm states their filament has an astounding dimensional tolerance of ±0.02 mm, which should mean virtually no nozzle jams.

Many users have commented on how well the results come out. However, a reviewer noted that they had to do a bit of tweaking, mainly reducing the temperature when they had stringing issues.

• Color: Clear
• Sizes: 1.75 mm (1 kg)
• Price per kg: ~$25

GIANTARM Transparent Clear PLA

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Ziro is a less famous filament brand that offers an extensive listing of materials. Their mission is to offer great-quality filaments at an accessible price. Their transparent line is particularly interesting because it features not only clear PLA but also translucent filament in different shades, such as red, green, and purple.

So, if you’re looking for a colored transparent spool, this might be the ideal solution for you. With 4.4 stars at Amazon and over 1,100 reviews, this brand is quite appreciated by customers. A user noted that the filament is high-quality and the translucent look of the print is cool.

Some fellow makers have shared a piece of advice to help colleagues avoid headaches. Michael W. wrote: “It prints like PETG. It prints okay at PLA temps, but you would never know it prints like PETG unless someone called it out or you did some serious testing.”. So, if you buy some Ziro transparent spools, make sure to play around with the settings to find the best parameters before starting with a big project.

• Colors: 7 options, including blue, green, and orange
• Sizes: 1.75 mm (1 kg)
• Price per kg: ~$26

Ziro Transparent PLA

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Filamentive is a well-established UK brand known for being one of the first to adopt cardboard filament spools. Not only that, their natural PLA is 87% recycled, and it’s always a nice touch to be able to help the planet in a small way.

The filament has had a positive reception and has even been used for “eco-friendly” chandeliers by B-lumen, as seen on Filamentive’s website. Despite its post-industrial origins, we love this filament because of its beautiful print quality. Not only is it made from recycled material, but it also comes in biodegradable packaging and can be purchased from a variety of sites globally.

Although there are only eight reviews on Filamentive’s website, they’re all 5 stars. For instance, user milks shared that the finish and the clarity are excellent.

• Color: Natural
• Sizes: 1.75 mm, 2.85 mm (1 kg, 0.75 kg)
• Price per kg: ~$33

Filamentive Natural Transparent PLA

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Fillamentum is a popular filament manufacturer that sells a huge range of materials and colors. Their Crystal Clear line of filament is food-contact approved, but make sure you follow other food-safe printing guidelines. Like a few other options on this list, Fillamentum offers its translucent filament in different colors.

According to the manufacturer, these prints should look very clear and glossy. It’s also stated that the filament works best when printed with a small layer height. One customer mentioned that you have to crank up the temperature for the best bed adhesion, and another confirmed that the filament yields shiny results.

You can read some feedback from customers directly on the Fillamentum website. The different color options feature 4 and 5-star ratings, along with reviews from users. For example, Liliane Eisgruber under Iceland Blue Clear PLA page shared that it’s “the most transparent” PLA she’s ever had, and that it prints just as expected.

• Colors: 6 options, including tangerine orange, smaragd green, and Iceland blue
• Sizes: 1.75 mm, 2.85 mm (0.75 kg)
• Price per kg: ~$37 (750-g spools for ~$28)

Fillamentum Clear PLA

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Protopasta makes several unique filaments, mainly in their own version of PLA known as HTPLA. HTPLA is said to have improved thermal and strength properties over regular PLA filament. The company offers translucent HTPLA filaments in a few different “translucent” colors, and their clearest is called Iridescent Ice.

Despite being their clearest filament, Iridescent Ice is still more translucent than transparent. Customers have noted that this semi-clear filament works great for printing vases and lampshades because it transmits light very well.

On the Protopasta website, you can read almost 40 reviews of the iridescent ice clear option, all of which average an impressive 4.8 stars. Devin C. noted that the clear look of this filament has even exceeded his expectations and George G. agreed by sharing that it’s the clearest filament he has worked with.

• Colors: 9 options, including brown, gold, and silver
• Sizes: 1.75 mm, 2.85 mm (0.05 kg, 0.5 kg, 1 kg)
• Price per kg: ~$50

ProtoPasta Translucent Ice HTPLA

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Of course, there are other alternatives to PLA when printing transparent objects. While PLA is generally chosen for its printability, other material options are available, such as PETG.

A reliable transparent PETG is from Overture, which offers bubble-free, high-tolerance filaments in transparent blue, red, green, and clear. Prusament’s transparent PETG has also been well-received.

If you need something completely transparent and not slightly frosted, you may have to look at more exotic filaments such as PMMA, also known as acrylic. A nice place to start could be the filament offered by Push Plastics.

PVB is a filament material type known for its ability to be smoothed with IPA. Polymaker’s PolySmooth is a popular choice for PVB that is also available in transparent. The ability to eliminate layer lines with ease has produced some glass-like results without needing special equipment.

Polycarbonate might be the clearest filament you can print, but it requires temperatures in excess of 300 °C, which only 3D printers with metal throats in their extruder can handle. Though, with polycarbonate, you’ll get the added benefit of high strength and temperature resistance. You’ll find more polycarbonate filaments than you will for PMMA, but Polymaker has a particularly nice option.

On the other end of the mechanical spectrum, transparent flexible filaments can be a pretty cool choice for printed accessories, such as phone cases. If you’re headed in this direction, it’s worth looking at the transparent TPU offerings from MatterHackers.

Printing in transparent PLA isn’t significantly different from printing with normal PLA. However, if you want greater transparency, you should use a higher hot end temperature, a larger layer height, and a low infill. This will ensure that the clear material is properly melted, spaced out, and hollow enough for optimal transparency.

Sometimes transparent filaments, particularly PLA, don’t adhere to the bed as well as color PLA. You can easily counteract this using traditional methods of increasing bed adhesion, such as glue sticks or painter’s tape.

Even more fun tips on what works well with transparent prints are available on Reddit. For example, you’ll find that layer lines transmit the light better and will often show slightly brighter on your print. When done right, this can lead to some stunning designs.

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Complete Guide to Clear & Transparent 3D Printing