Can you dry PLA and PETG at the same time?

By Asked 3D Content TeamPublished Last verified

Can you dry PLA and PETG at the same time?

Yes, but only at the PLA’s setting, never the PETG’s. Makers dry standard PLA (polylactic acid) at 45 to 55 °C and PETG (glycol-modified polyethylene terephthalate) at 55 to 65 °C, so the two meet only at 55 °C, Prusa’s 6-hour PETG setting. Below 55 °C, no maker publishes a PETG drying time.

The number

Maker PLA setting PETG setting Glass transition, PLA / PETG Shared setting
Prusa (Prusament) 45 °C, 6 h 55 °C, 6 h not given none
Bambu Lab, forced-air oven 50 °C, 8 h (PLA Basic); 55 °C, 8 h (PLA Silk, Aero, Galaxy) 60 to 65 °C, 8 h (PETG Basic sheet: 65 °C) 60 °C / 69 °C none
Bambu Lab AMS 2 Pro 45 °C, 12 h 65 °C, 12 h 60 °C / 69 °C none
Polymaker 55 °C, 6 h (PolyLite PLA) 60 °C, 6 h (Polymaker PETG); 65 °C, 6 h (PolyLite PETG) 61 °C / 81 °C none
All three 45 to 55 °C 55 to 65 °C 55 °C, where PolyLite PLA and Bambu PLA Silk meet Prusament PETG

Drying settings come from the Prusa Knowledge Base drying article, Bambu Lab’s Filament Drying Recommendations wiki and Polymaker’s PolyLite PLA, PolyLite PETG and Polymaker PETG pages. Glass transitions come from Bambu’s PLA Basic and PETG Basic data sheets and Polymaker’s two PolyLite sheets. Prusa’s article gives none.

Why

PLA sets the limit. It starts to soften at its glass transition: 60 °C on Bambu’s PLA Basic sheet, 61 °C on Polymaker’s. At 60 to 65 °C, the PETG settings from Bambu and Polymaker would soften PLA. Prusa warns that going over its temperatures makes filament “soften and stick together,” and Bambu keeps PLA out of its AMS static drying mode because the coils “may stick together or deform.”

PETG has the margin: its glass transition is 69 °C on Bambu’s sheet and 81 °C on Polymaker’s, so a PLA run won’t soften PETG. The open question is whether it dries. Polymaker counts PETG among the filaments “particularly prone to absorbing moisture” and calls PLA “less likely to be affected,” so PETG is the spool to check.

A filament dryer with its front cut away, holding a PLA spool and a PETG spool side by side over one heaterBoth spools sit in the same warm air, so the dryer can only run at the PLA's setting, and the PETG is the spool to check with a test print afterwards.1PLA, softens first2PETG, has the margin3One heater sets one temperature
  1. PLA, softens first
  2. PETG, has the margin
  3. One heater sets one temperature
Both spools sit in the same warm air, so the dryer can only run at the PLA's setting, and the PETG is the spool to check with a test print afterwards.

Can I dry PETG with PLA?

Yes, on the PLA’s numbers. None of Bambu Lab, Prusa or Polymaker publishes a combined recipe. This one uses each maker’s own figures:

  1. Set the PLA’s temperature, not higher: 45 °C for Prusament PLA, 50 °C for Bambu PLA Basic, 55 °C for PolyLite PLA or Bambu PLA Silk.
  2. Run the PLA’s time: 6 hours for Prusament and PolyLite, 8 hours for Bambu in a forced-air oven. Prusa also says to “stick to the recommended drying times to prevent overdrying.”
  3. Know that only 55 °C has a published PETG time. Prusa gives 55 °C for 6 hours for Prusament PETG. Bambu Lab’s AMS drops PETG to 55 °C during a print but lists no time, and no maker gives one at 45 or 50 °C.

Can you dry PLA and PETG together in a multi-spool dryer?

Not at PETG’s setting. Bambu Lab’s notes for the AMS 2 Pro say: “When drying high-temperature filament, you need to take out the low-temperature filament. For example, when drying ABS, PLA filament cannot be placed in the AMS.” Its example is ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene), but the same table sets PETG at 65 °C and PLA at 45 °C.

So in one AMS 2 Pro, run both at 45 °C or take the PLA out for PETG’s 65 °C. A forced-air oven can take several spools at once, Bambu says, if it is tall enough and they sit away from the heating elements.

How to check it on your own print

  • Print a short PETG test first. Polymaker says popping or cracking noises while PETG extrudes mean it needs drying. Excess stringing is the other sign.
  • If it still pops or strings, dry the PETG alone at its maker’s setting: 55 °C for 6 hours for Prusament, 60 to 65 °C for 8 hours for Bambu, 60 or 65 °C for 6 hours for Polymaker. Take the PLA out first.
  • Check the spool’s rating. Bambu’s PLA Basic and PETG Basic spools are ABS rated to 70 °C. Prusa’s current black spool takes 90 °C. The older one loosens above 45 °C unless a screw holds its two sides together.
  • Use a filament dryer or forced-air oven. Bambu rules out microwave and kitchen ovens: near the heating elements they “can become extremely hot and easily damage the spool or filament.”
  • Seal both spools straight away. Bambu Lab says freshly dried filament at about 55 percent RH (relative humidity) can pick up enough moisture to hurt print quality within 2 to 12 hours. Store them with desiccant below 20 percent RH.

Sources

  1. Filament Drying Recommendations, Bambu Lab Wiki (accessed October 17, 2026)
  2. Drying filament, Prusa Knowledge Base (accessed October 17, 2026)
  3. Bambu Filament Technical Data Sheet V3.0, PLA Basic (accessed October 17, 2026)
  4. Bambu Filament Technical Data Sheet V3.0, PETG Basic (accessed October 17, 2026)
  5. PolyLite PLA Technical Data Sheet, Polymaker Wiki (accessed October 17, 2026)
  6. PolyLite PETG Technical Data Sheet, Polymaker Wiki (accessed October 17, 2026)
  7. Polymaker PETG [NEW], Polymaker Wiki (accessed October 17, 2026)
  8. Wet Filament, Polymaker Wiki (accessed October 17, 2026)