The HueForge Filaments I Wish I Had Bought First

I bought my first HueForge palette before I had made a single HueForge print.

The filament order went in at the same time as the printer. A bulk discount made a large order look efficient, while waiting for another delivery to Cyprus made it tempting to prepare for every colour I might eventually need. Marine Blue, Ice Blue, Grass Green, Dark Green, Desert Tan, Ash Grey, Lilac Purple, Sakura Pink and several translucent filaments all seemed capable of becoming useful later.

After two months and around 15 prints, many of them have barely left their boxes. More than €120 of that discounted PLA order is tied up in colours that I have rarely or never used so far. That estimate covers Marine Blue, Ice Blue, Grass Green, Dark Green, Desert Tan, Sakura Pink, Latte Brown and the translucent colours. It excludes Ash Grey, which I have used despite not liking its results, and Lilac Purple, which has found a narrow purpose.

The filament can still serve ordinary 3D prints or a future HueForge design. The mistake was buying it in the hope of finding a purpose before my projects had shown a need.

After 15 prints, this is the purchasing decision I would personally change.

HueForge does not need a spool for every visible shade

HueForge converts a two-dimensional image into a model↗ (opens in a new tab) whose height can be driven by brightness or colour. Thin layers of different filaments allow light to pass through and combine their colours. The software uses each filament's Transmission Distance, or TD, to predict how it will appear at different thicknesses.

That changes the usual logic of buying filament. The colour visible on a spool is not the only colour it can contribute to a finished HueForge print. Layering a basic colour over a dark or light foundation can produce intermediate tones, shadows and highlights. A small, considered palette can therefore do more than a row of unrelated specialist shades.

HueForge includes a library of measured filament profiles, including Bambu Lab products. I have used those library TD values rather than measuring my own, and they have been reliable across my first 15 prints. HueForge notes that values can vary between batches, so this is a practical starting point rather than a guarantee for every spool.

Start with four useful foundations

If I were placing that first order again, I would begin with four filaments from Bambu Lab's PLA Matte↗ (opens in a new tab) and PLA Basic↗ (opens in a new tab) ranges:

A dependable black and white are the essential part; they do not need to be these exact products. Charcoal and Ivory White came in my original order and have worked well for me. I bought Blue Grey and Beige later. They were the neutral colours I should have prioritised: both blend easily with the rest of the palette and appear across far more of the images I want to print.

I name Bambu Lab products because those are the filaments I have used. The principle matters more than the brand: begin with dependable black and white, plus a cool neutral and a warm neutral, all with reliable TD profiles.

Add ordinary colours before interesting ones

Four neutral filaments do not cover every subject. A standard red, yellow and blue are reasonable additions if the budget allows. Bambu Lab PLA Matte Scarlet Red and Lemon Yellow have worked well for me. I would choose a straightforward mid-blue rather than repeat my mistake with Marine Blue or Ice Blue.

Green can wait until the images you choose begin asking for it. If I wanted a broad palette immediately, I would personally stop at eight filaments: the four foundations, then a standard red, yellow, blue and green. That is a ceiling, not a target.

The word "standard" can sound boring beside names such as desert tan, ash grey, silver, gold or cyan. In HueForge, boring is useful. You can give a basic colour character through its position in the stack, the filaments beneath it and its TD. Buying a dark green as your only green or a pale ice blue as your only blue narrows the palette before you have learnt how to use it.

More colours did not give me the right colours

One of my Hell's Paradise prints captures the problem. I used Desert Tan where I would now choose Beige, and Ash Grey where I would now choose Blue Grey. The print works, but its palette reflects what happened to be in my first order rather than the colours I would deliberately select today.

I owned plenty of filament. I still did not own the versatile options the design needed.

Lilac Purple shows the other side of the decision. It is a niche colour, but I repeatedly return to purple imagery from Jujutsu Kaisen, particularly Satoru Gojo. That gives the spool a real purpose. Even then, I would not make it part of a general first order. It makes sense only after the subjects I choose have demonstrated the demand.

I have not tested my translucent PLA in HueForge. That alone is why it did not belong in a beginner palette before I had selected a project that required it.

A one-kilogram spool is a long commitment

My HueForge prints have used around 50 grams of filament each, although dimensions, base thickness and layer settings change the total. Because several colours share that weight, a rarely selected one-kilogram spool can last through far more projects than expected.

Bambu Lab's EU store lists these PLA Basic and PLA Matte colours only in one-kilogram sizes. Depending on the colour, they are sold as a refill, with a spool, or both. Other brands may offer smaller options, but every speculative colour in my order was a full kilogram.

Bulk pricing does not fix that problem. A discount only saves money when the discounted material is useful. My order reduced the price per roll while increasing the amount of money committed to colours I did not yet understand.

Make the print earn the next spool

Before adding a specialised colour, I would now ask four questions:

1. Can I name the first design in which I will use it?
2. Does the same colour appear in several other images I genuinely plan to print?
3. Can my current palette approximate it through layering and blending?
4. Am I buying the colour because it solves a recurring limitation, or because the spool looks good in the shop?

There is no need to predict a perfect lifetime palette. Print enough to understand colour order, blending and the difference between the preview and the physical result. Notice which gaps recur. Then buy the filament that fills one of those gaps.

Niche colours are not bad; Lilac can be exactly right for Gojo, and another maker may repeatedly need a particular blue or tan. But those preferences should emerge from making. Let the first palette teach you what HueForge can produce, then make the next spool answer a need you have already found.