Inland filament isn’t fancy. But it sets the standard for what a cheap, budget-friendly filament should be like.
Helpfully, Inland filaments are also sold in Micro Center stores at most locations. I decided to take a field trip to my local Micro Center to pick up a couple of rolls and had a fantastic experience.
Inland is technically a version of eSUN filaments (more on that below). So if you are looking for the same quality and price range, check out my eSUN review.
Inland Filament Review: Introduction
For many years, the filament industry has struggled to produce a brand that can:
- Sell filament at a cheap, rock bottom price
- Offer a wide range of colors and materials
- Deliver consistent quality from one spool to the next.
Well, the wait might finally be over.
Inland filaments, produced by eSUN and sold by Micro Center, are cheap and have fairly consistent diameters per spool. But like other Chinese imports, there are still some quality issues with tolerance from time to time (although this has vastly improved in recent years).
I took a trip to Micro Center recently to check out Inland filament for myself. I basically wanted to find out if it was worth going all the way to a store to buy filament instead of just ordering it on Amazon like I usually do.
Micro Center Filament: Here’s What A Huge Wall Of Inland PLA Looks Like At Micro Center
Micro Center is a 3D printing nerd’s paradise. As soon as I walked in, I noticed they had an entire section at the back of the store devoted entirely to 3D printing supplies.
They had 3D printers and filament everywhere, as well as awsome collections of 3D printed objects:
One of the staff was also super into star wars:
I asked what shade of green that toad was printed in, and was told “peak green” by Inland. So back to the Inland filament section I went:
Bingo. Last one on the shelf.
The Micro Center I went to actually carried a few different brands of filament:
- eSUN (link to my review)
- XYZ filament (XYZprinting)
- 3Doodler filament (for 3D pens)
- Algix filament (link to my review)
They had more colors of Inland PLA than any of the other brands, and the same was true for Inland ABS. Micro Center even had the full range of types of filament that Inland produces, from wood to flex.
But probably the most useful thing that Micro Center had at the store were these color keys:
They were tabs of each type of filament and each color so that you can see what each filament would like after it has been printed. That is super useful because you can see exactly what you are getting with each filament before you buy it.
In total there were 3 separate sets of tabs for Inland:
I found a couple of filaments that were on clearance for some reason, and decided to pick it up and see what was wrong.
It’s good to check out the duds they catch so you can get a sense of what the duds that they don’t catch might look like.
They looked fine to me. So I bought both of the clearance filaments I found.
Deeper Analysis: Inland PLA Filament Review of Price, Quality, and Color Range
Here’s a video you might find helpful. It goes into a deeper discussion of Inland:
Source: Fugatech 3D Printing
Price: The Best Cheap Filament?
Final verdict: No other major filament brand sells a full range of filaments for prices as low as Inland’s prices.
Just to be clear, Inland spools sell for around $15 in Micro Center stores at the time of this writing. Inland might sell for different prices on Amazon and Ebay.
But so far, that price point for a good quality filament cannot be beaten currently.
Check out the tables above and below for the latest prices and customer reviews.
Color Range
Inland offers a large color range, at around 30 colors per type of plastic. There are a few different shades of each primary color so you can usually find the color you are looking for.
But Inland also offers many specialty colors for a relatively cheap prices compared with competitors. This is where the brand really offers something unique.
Where else can you find a roll of Gold PLA for such a cheap price?
Quality and Materials
The quality of Inland filament is good. Inland is sourced from eSUN and produced with high-quality control standards, higher than other eSUN sourced brands like Toybuilder labs.
This means that Inland filaments are often similar in quality to other cheaper brands, like Solutech or Hatchbox.
But, even with the higher quality control standards that Micro Center requires, Inland sometimes has problems with consistent tolerance from one spool to the next.
Here’s the bottom line: Each spool tends to have consistent tolerance along it’s entire length. But each spool may have a different tolerance.
If you are ok with saving money and making minor adjustments every once in a while when switching out spools, then Inland is the brand for you.
Website, Packaging, and Spool Design
Website
Inland doesn’t have it’s own website since it is sold by Micro Center. But the Micro Center website is excellent.
As a major retailer, Micro Center has a state of the art ecommerce shop where you can find all of Inland’s filaments as well as a few other brands.
Inland also shares it’s social media presence with Micro Center. But you can check out eSUN’s website and social media pages if you are wondering more about where Inland comes from.
Packaging And Spool Design
Inland filaments come in a laminated white cardboard box with the Inland logo prominently displayed on the front. The box is also labeled with the type and color of the filament inside.
A small window on the side of the box lets you see the filament spool.
The spool is shrink-wrapped and desiccant is included to keep the filament dry.
The spool itself is made of black hard plastic and the design is standard. The label on the spool is again basic with basic information about the filament including color and type.
Not much effort has been put into the spool, but the box is nice.
The spool has the standard 2.2 inch center hole, so there are no problems mounting the spool or with tightness as you get to the end of the roll.
The Take-Away: Inland Filament
Inland filament offers probably the best cheap filament for under $20 per spool available today. The diameters are fairly consistent and the quality is good.
This is a great filament to buy if you are looking to add new colors to your filament collection or simply don’t want to waste a high end filament on a print where a cheap filament will do just fine.
At such low prices per spool and with around 30 colors of PLA and ABS, Inland filament is hard to beat.
Check out the full review of eSUN filaments or head over to Amazon.com to buy Inland filaments now.
Hi John, thanks for this excellent article. I got some inland PLA from a friend returning from the US wanted to find out more about it. Your article has mentioned all I needed to know and more. Thanks a lot. I looked at some of the other topics you have discussed and they are quite interesting. I will subscribe to your mailing list.