16kg at $14.74/kg | 41% Off | Metallic Sheen, No Post-Processing, Free USA Shipping
Sixteen kilograms of High Speed Silk PLA+. Any 16 colors from our full Silk range. Vacuum-sealed per spool. Free shipping across the USA. At $14.74/kg — 41% off individual pricing — this is the production pack for Etsy sellers, product designers, and cosplay makers who need the metallic aesthetic at volume without paying per-spool prices.
Silk PLA+ prints come out with a glossy, light-shifting metallic sheen straight off the printer — no paint, no primer, no post-processing. What you pull off the bed is what you sell. At 16 spools, you have production-level stock across your 16 best-performing Silk colors, ready to run.
What Makes Silk PLA+ Look the Way It Does
Regular PLA+ is matte or slightly shiny. Silk PLA+ is different because of what's mixed into the base material — silk-like additives that change how light interacts with the surface of the finished print.
Think of the difference between a regular crayon and a metallic marker. Same basic tool, completely different visual result. The crayon lays down flat, opaque color. The metallic marker produces a sheen that shifts with the angle of the light. That's what Silk PLA+ does to a 3D print — the surface catches and reflects light from multiple angles, creating depth and movement in the color that looks hand-painted or chrome-dipped but requires zero extra work.
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Metallic sheen straight off the printer — the surface finish is produced by the material itself during printing. No sanding, no priming, no painting required.
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Color depth that shifts with viewing angle — silk prints look different from different angles under the same light, which makes them photograph dramatically and stand out on shelves or in product listings.
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Consistent finish across the entire print — including curved surfaces, which would require significant effort to achieve with hand-painting.
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PLA+ base means easy printing — the aesthetic upgrade comes with minimal technical trade-off. No enclosure, similar temperatures to standard PLA+, works on any FDM printer.
Silk PLA+ vs Standard PLA+ — Key Differences
| Property |
Standard PLA+ |
Silk PLA+ |
| Surface finish |
Matte to slightly glossy |
✅ Glossy metallic sheen — shifts with light angle |
| Post-processing needed |
Optional |
✅ None — finish is off-the-printer ready |
| Print temperature |
200–230°C |
215–240°C (slightly higher for best sheen) |
| Print speed |
40–80mm/s |
30–60mm/s for best sheen / up to 200mm/s+ High Speed |
| Overhang performance |
Good |
⚠️ Weaker — higher temp + less cooling hurts overhangs |
| Stringing tendency |
Low |
⚠️ Higher — additives increase oozing on travel moves |
| Impact strength |
Good (PLA+ upgrade) |
Moderate — additives slightly reduce mechanical strength |
| Best use case |
Functional and structural parts |
✅ Display, decorative, and product items where look is the priority |
Pack Contents & Value Breakdown
| Spec |
Detail |
| Pack size |
16 × 1kg spools (16kg total / 35.2 lbs) |
| Material |
High Speed Silk PLA+ |
| Filament diameter |
1.75mm ±0.02mm |
| Color selection |
Any 16 colors from our full Silk PLA+ range |
| Price per kg |
$14.74 (41% off individual spool pricing) |
| Packaging |
Vacuum-sealed with desiccant — each spool individually sealed |
| Shipping |
Free across the USA |
Print Settings for High Speed Silk PLA+
Silk PLA+ requires slightly different tuning from standard PLA+ in three areas: higher temperature, reduced cooling, and slower speed for maximum sheen. The High Speed formulation extends the speed ceiling significantly on capable machines — but the best surface finish still comes from printing at moderate speed with the right temperature.
| Setting |
For Best Sheen |
High Speed Mode |
Notes |
| Nozzle temperature |
225–235°C |
235–245°C |
Higher than standard PLA+ — the silk additives need more heat to flow and produce the characteristic sheen. Start at 230°C. Too low = dull, matte surface. Too high = stringing and oozing. |
| Bed temperature |
55–65°C |
55–65°C |
Standard PLA+ bed temp range works. 60°C on PEI is the universal starting point. |
| Enclosure |
Not required |
Not required |
Open-frame printers work fine. Keep ambient below 30°C to prevent heat creep. |
| Part cooling fan |
20–40% |
50–80% |
⚠️ This is the biggest difference from standard PLA+. Silk PLA+ sheen is produced at slightly higher temperature — too much cooling kills the metallic effect. Start at 30% and adjust. If the sheen looks dull, reduce fan. If overhangs are sagging, increase fan. |
| Print speed |
30–50mm/s |
Up to 200mm/s+ |
Slower speed = better metallic sheen and surface quality. High Speed mode on capable machines (Bambu, Voron, RatRig) trades some surface quality for throughput. |
| First layer speed |
15–20mm/s |
15–20mm/s |
Always slow the first layer regardless of print speed mode. |
| Retraction — Direct Drive |
2–4mm at 40–50mm/s |
2–4mm at 40–50mm/s |
Silk PLA+ strings more than standard PLA+ because of the additives. Slightly more retraction than standard PLA+ helps. Enable Combing mode in your slicer to reduce visible stringing without increasing retraction further. |
| Retraction — Bowden |
5–7mm at 50–60mm/s |
5–7mm at 50–60mm/s |
Run a retraction tower per color — sheen intensity varies by color pigment load. |
| Layer height |
0.15–0.2mm |
0.2–0.28mm |
Thinner layers improve surface smoothness and maximize sheen on curved and detailed surfaces. For flat display items where sheen matters most, 0.15mm is worth the extra print time. |
| Drying (if needed) |
50–55°C for 4–6 hours |
Wet Silk PLA+ loses sheen before print quality degrades — the surface looks dull and uneven before you see stringing or layer issues. If the metallic effect looks flat, dry the spool first. |
Getting the Best Sheen — Design and Print Tips
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Ironing (top surface smoothing) — enable Ironing in your slicer for flat top surfaces. The nozzle passes over the top layer again at low flow, smoothing micro-bumps and producing a near-mirror finish on flat faces. Makes a dramatic difference on display items with large flat surfaces.
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More walls = better sheen on curved surfaces — 3–4 walls ensures the outer perimeter has enough material to express the metallic effect without infill lines showing through.
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Avoid steep overhangs where possible — silk additives make overhangs more prone to drooping at the temperatures needed for best sheen. Orient parts to keep overhangs under 45° or use tree supports at low support density for minimal scarring.
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Gold and copper colors photograph best under warm light — silver and chrome tones under neutral or cool light. Match your product photography lighting to your color palette for maximum impact in listings.
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Print direction affects sheen uniformity — layer lines run perpendicular to the print direction, so the metallic effect appears differently on vertical vs horizontal surfaces. Orient your most visible face parallel to the build plate for the cleanest, most uniform sheen.
3 Common Silk PLA+ Problems — Fast Fixes
Dull, matte surface instead of metallic sheen
Almost always one of three causes: temperature too low (raise 5°C), cooling fan too high (drop to 20–30%), or wet filament (dry at 50°C for 4 hours). Fix in that order — temperature is the most common culprit for lost sheen.
Excessive stringing
Silk additives make this material string more than standard PLA+. Fix: enable Combing mode first (resolves most stringing without hardware changes), then lower temperature 5°C, then increase retraction in 0.5mm steps. Don't chase stringing by raising retraction aggressively before trying lower temp.
Sagging overhangs and bridges
Silk PLA+ needs higher print temperatures, but heat and overhangs are in conflict. Fix: increase cooling fan for overhang sections (use per-layer fan control if your slicer supports it), reduce print speed on overhang segments only, or redesign part orientation to reduce overhang angle.
Best Applications for This Pack
| Application |
Why Silk PLA+ Works |
| Decorative figurines and collectibles |
Metallic sheen produces a premium look at PLA print cost — no painting or finishing labor required. |
| Cosplay props and armor pieces |
Chrome, gold, and copper variants produce convincing metallic armor and prop finishes without spray paint or vacuum metallizing. |
| Jewelry, pendants, and wearable accessories |
Small detailed parts where the metallic effect is most dramatic and post-processing would be impractical at scale. |
| Trophy and award pieces |
Gold and silver tones look genuinely premium — suitable for custom awards, plaques, and recognition items. |
| Product presentation and packaging inserts |
Branded display pieces, logo models, and product stand-ins that need to look high-end in photos or on shelves. |
| Gift items and personalized products |
The perceived value of a silk-finish print is significantly higher than standard PLA — supports premium pricing without premium materials cost. |
Storing 16 Silk Spools
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Keep sealed until the spool goes on the printer — each spool ships vacuum-sealed with desiccant. Moisture affects sheen quality before it affects print quality — don't leave open spools exposed.
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Airtight storage with desiccant for open spools — same protocol as standard PLA+. Rechargeable silica gel packs work well for 3–4 open spools in a storage bin.
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Batch color consistency: all 16 spools ship from the same manufacturing batch. Matched sheen intensity and color tone across your full production run — no variation between the first and last spool of a given color.
Who Is This 16-Pack For?
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Etsy and print-on-demand sellers whose product photography already features Silk PLA+ and who need a consistent supply of their 16 best-performing metallic colors at bulk pricing. 41% off adds meaningful margin to aesthetic-premium product lines.
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Cosplay vendors and prop makers producing metallic armor, weapons, and accessories at convention volume — where the visual impact of silk finish sells the product and the bulk pricing makes the economics work.
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Product designers and brand agencies producing presentation models, mock-ups, and branded display items where the client expectation is premium finish without premium budget.
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Trophy and award producers printing custom recognition items at volume — gold, silver, and bronze variants at $14.74/kg is a fraction of the cost of traditional award materials with fully custom geometry.
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Print farms adding a premium aesthetic SKU — Silk PLA+ commands a significant price premium over standard PLA items in the resale market. The margin differential at 41% bulk pricing makes this a compelling catalog addition.
Browse individual spools in our Silk PLA Filament collection. Explore everything in our 3D Printing Filaments guide.
