# Specific 3D Printers, Scanners, & Hardware > CTC 3D Printers >  Painters tape not sticking kapton tape? tape discussion

## thefreshmakers

(I posted this on another forum but after 5 hrs its still not published)

Hi I'm very new to 3d printing I just got my first printer a little over a month ago
it is a ctc dual  (I think thats the name of it)
I have been trying to find an answer all over the place and am seeing a lot of conflicting information or at least I'm not quite getting it

I'm having problems with painters tape peeling up
 the printer has a heated bed and has kapton tape on it with the blue painters tape on top of the kapton tape 
it seems to always peel up in the same place 
I've seen people saying to only use kapton tape with a heated bed
however when I tried this the prints wouldn't stick to the bed and I just ended up with a mess of plastic 
the platform is being heated to 38c and I don't have the extra cooling fan mod

does anyone have any tips on what I might be doing wrong here
should I try different tape ?
should I change the bed temperature ?

any help would be greatly appreciated

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## curious aardvark

38c ? 
why ? 

Pla needs 50, abs needs 90

I always used to apply the painters tape with the bed heated to 60c
Found that it stuck much much better if applied when warm.

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## Roberts_Clif

I would remove all kapton tape from the bed clean with goof off, then 70% alcohol. Then I would buy a sample roll of Vinyl Transfer Paper Tape. 
Most any brand will work as long as it is paper would only buy a short sampler roll. I buy a 12" X 300' roll for about $30.00 this will cover my bed 300 times.
The transfer paper comes in low, medium, high and extra high tack adhesion, I use medium tack.

Short video showing how well it holds.


https://youtu.be/qzWKE3TO9UU

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## curious aardvark

ah that video makes me all nostalgic for the days I had to fight the prints. Don't know how you guys can keep on doing it ;-)

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## Roberts_Clif

> ah that video makes me all nostalgic for the days I had to fight the prints. Don't know how you guys can keep on doing it ;-)


Actually that print was way too close to the bed, I was showing how secure you could get your prints on Vinyl Transfer Paper. 
When adjusted up a little higher the prints come off with a couple light taps, and a little bit higher again you can slide the putty knife right under the print without damage to the paper.
After 3 or 4 prints in the same location you may need to buff with a 1500G sand paper to get good adhesion again.

I tested the Vinyl transfer paper it too stuck much better if applied when warm.

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## Roberts_Clif

> Hmm..  Bed adhesive show down?
> 
> I'm down with that.  Let's find a relatively smallish print and see what works the best!  
> 
> PLA, 60° bed temp, .4 nozzle, .2 layer height, .4 layer width, 60mm/s ALL layer speeds.  This should be doable for all printers.  Maybe a new thread needs to be started on this.  Of course, we'd have to have some video proof.


No need for a Showdown. There will always be different opinions it does not mean one is wrong and one is right, they are merely different.. 

I have always printed with Nozzle 190-198C, bed temp of 36-56, 76mm/s ALL layers.

Will Vinyl Transfer Paper release my Print
https://youtu.be/Y5ut1OtMSp0

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## noiseboy72

Personally I've used Printak for the past 2 years and can print ABS and PLA without issue.

The crucial bit is platform calibration and getting the gap right. To close and either the part is stuck so hard it's difficult to remove, or the head picks up the last layer and screws up the print. Too far away and the print just won't stick at all. 

I find a sheet of Printak is good for around 30-50 prints in the same area, so with a little bit of movement of parts, I can leave the sheet fitted for months at a time. I use a blunt butter knife to lift parts.

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## iDig3Dprinting

> (I posted this on another forum but after 5 hrs its still not published)
> 
> Hi I'm very new to 3d printing I just got my first printer a little over a month ago
> it is a ctc dual  (I think thats the name of it)
> I have been trying to find an answer all over the place and am seeing a lot of conflicting information or at least I'm not quite getting it
> 
> I'm having problems with painters tape peeling up
>  the printer has a heated bed and has kapton tape on it with the blue painters tape on top of the kapton tape 
> it seems to always peel up in the same place 
> ...


try getting rid of the kapton tape. and just apply painters / masking tape direct to printbed. We have never had an issue with masking tape peeling off. Kapton tape on its own will also work. For PLA we have the bed set at 60C which works very well. if the PLA is coming off I would check that your bed is level and aslo that your nozzle to bed height is a single sheet of paper's thickness. 

When you first use the bed after you have added the tape, heat it up and then smooth it down.

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## curious aardvark

And don't try and use cheap poundshop tape. You will need the proper expensive decorators tape. 
3m or duck brands seem to work best. 

Blue or green - the cheapo generic white stuff won't stay stuck for any length of time.

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