Originally Posted by
Syd_Khaos
First off, welcome to the Qidi club =P
I have never printed with Makerbot brand filament, but I know that 220c is WAY to hot for all the brand PLA I have used. PLA is VERY heat sensetive due to how viscious it becomes when melted. It's this higher viscosity that makes PLA ideal for artistic/fine detail applications, but it can be a double edged blade so to speak.
Try running your nozzle temp at 190-200c. For the PLA I have used (Qidi, MakerGeeks, and OrbPolymer) the sweet spot seems to be in the mid 190s. The picture you have provided is case n point your running to hot.
Also make sure your running the active cooling fan for PLA, though I typically dont start that till 2nd layer.
If your using paper to level your plate your best off using standard stock business card, but your ALOT better off going to Lowe's or Home Depot and spending the $5 on a set of metric Feeler Gauges. Make sure the set has a 0.4mm slat, and use this to level. The issue with any type of paper is it can fray at the edge, leading to a false reading.
What slicing software do ya use?