Print Settings That Work for Desk and Kitchen Accessories: PLA or PETG, Layer Height, Infill, Supports

Every one of our designs is printed on our own machines before it goes on sale, and the same short list of settings prints all of them. This is that list, with the reasons, so you can print the free cable clip set or anything from the 23-design bundle without a test print first.

Material: PLA by default, PETG where the part flexes or gets warm

PLA prints the cleanest and holds sharp edges, which is what you want for a nameplate, a pen cup, a dice tray or a bookend. PETG bends a little before it breaks and tolerates heat better, so it is the better choice for parts with a snap or a lip that opens repeatedly (the cable clip mouths, the bag clips) and for anything that lives near hot water or a dishwasher's steam (the soap dish, the sponge holder, the tea bag organiser). Both print from the same files; nothing in the geometry changes.

Layer height: 0.2 mm, and 0.16 mm for small lettering

0.2 mm is the right trade of speed against finish for every full-size part. Drop to 0.16 mm for the small pieces where text has to read from close up: the pet tag, and the nameplate when the name is long. Going finer than that adds print time without a visible gain on these shapes.

Infill: 15 to 20%, 30% where the part carries weight

Most of these designs are decorative or hold light objects, and 15 to 20% gyroid or grid is plenty. Three groups carry load and get 30%: the wall hooks and the leash hook (a coat or a leash pulls on a short lever), the phone and laptop stands, and the headphone stand's post. Three walls everywhere: walls, not infill, are what make a thin part stiff.

Supports: none, except two designs

The files are oriented so that the flat face is down and the overhangs stay under 45 degrees, which is why almost nothing needs supports. Two designs do: the headphone stand arc and the bookend pair, which both have a long unsupported curve. Use tree supports for those; they pull away clean from PLA and PETG and leave the curve untouched.

Orientation and scale: as exported

Every STL is exported flat face down at 1:1 in millimetres. If your slicer asks whether to scale an imported file, say no; if a part lands on its side, use the slicer's "place on face" tool and pick the large flat face. The two personalised designs, the nameplate and the pet tag, take your text in the slicer or in Tinkercad before slicing: add the text as a raised body on the flat panel, 1.2 to 1.6 mm high.

A checklist before you press print

• Material matches the part (PETG for flexing or warm parts).
• 0.2 mm layers, 0.16 mm for the pet tag and long names.
• 15 to 20% infill; 30% for hooks and stands. Three walls.
• No supports, except tree supports for the headphone arc and the bookend pair.
• Scale 100%, flat face down.

Files, or finished pieces

The cable clip set is free (six clips in three sizes, with this settings sheet in the download). The bundle is all 23 designs for $24.99 with a licence to sell printed copies in small batches. If you would rather not print at all, the same designs are printed to order, in your colour, in our Etsy shop.

By Addison Lopez, Workshop Media Co., Washington State. These are the settings we use on our own printers with the filament we stock; a different machine or filament may want a small adjustment to temperature and speed, which the file itself does not carry.