Anyone Ever Try Different Print Beds?

Has anyone ever tried a new print bed for any of their 3D printers? Which are the best in terms of sticking? I have a new reprap and a Ultimaker. Have a few issues.

I don't think that it is the print bed, per se. The causes seem to be:
1. Heat setting in relation to the filament type.
2. Regulating cooling of the print bed using barrier material.
2. Uneven cooling of the bed and object due to air draughts.

Cures seem to be
1. Experimenting to find a suitable bed temperature for each type of filament. (Problems arise due to the variability in filament properties)
2. Providing another surface by the use of kapon tape for ABS and blue tape for PLA. (Then you need to experiment with other filament types - wood, stone etc.)
3. Applying a sticky film to the print bed (hairspray)
4. Cleaning the print surface with an alcohol based glass cleaner.
5. Excluding draughts by erecting a screen around the machine.

Old Man Emu

Thanks! I did try hairspray and it helped a lot, but still having some issues. I guess maybe some more experimentation is all I need :)

hairspray is all in how you apply it. when i first did it i couldnt figure out what the big deal was. i couldnt get anything to stick to it. what i found is that my quick spray was all wrong. you need to do 2-3 super wet coats. i mean it should look like you poured water on it. a complete full wet coat. if you tilt the bed it would pour off the side....yes that wet. let it dry then do it one more time. also brand makes a difference. the garnier fructis #5 is the strongest that i have found and is what many are using. the aqua net extra super hold, purple/wht can, also works but that is watered down a bit. i use that for touchups once the bed has a good coating on it. once you have that inital good coating then semi quick touchup sprays are all thats needed. printing everyday i will only rinse the bed off and redo it once every week or two.

I use blue painters tape for PLA. If I have a print that is thin walled or if I am worried it might lift, I wipe the tape with a alcohol wipe first. This make it stick like crazy! I usually have to pry the tape up with the part and then peel off the tape. The down side is you use a lot more tape, the up side is that the tape is cheap and I get 99.9% success.

We tape an 8x10" glass plate to the build platform, and print on it as-is with most materials. For ABS, we heat the bed to about 60C and give it a light dusting of Aqua Net hairspray. We clean it off every 8 or 10 builds.

Wow, all great tips. I will try the painters tape idea John! I'm printing with PLA mainly.

I should add that we only use the 3M original painters tape. There are newer ones that stop paint from leaking at the edge but the top finish in not good for using on a HBP.

For PLA I use Kapton tape and wipe it over with Isopropyl Alcohol (100%).

Never really get an issue, Blue painters has never worked for me.
Kapton has worked well for me with ABS also - (in a heated build chamber)

I also had success with clean glass - Heated to around 60, then a big spray and Windex, let the heat evaporate it - Print!

I print on a glass build plate coated with Elmer's glue sticks (purple). It works for PLA, ABS,and Nylon. In the past, I have had issues using kapton tape, painter's tape, hair spray, ABS slurry...even tried rubber cement. My success came with using the glue sticks. You just coat the glass with a thin layer in your print area when the plate is cool and print. After printing, it pops right off after the glass cools and it washes off with water easily for the next print. Gets ☺☺☺☺☺ rating from my experience.

Thin Cardboard - notepad backing and hanging retail packaging cardboard.

A couple months ago my son was working a print project - an InMoov Robot hand. He was having some warping and sticking problems (Like you haven't heard or seen that.) when, he quickly got up and took the glass off the printer's heated bed. He next tore the cardboard backing off a hang up retail package of chair coasters and taped it to the heated bed. I started to kinda wobble and make gurgling sounds and he said --- the heat would transfer through the thin cardboard, it would bend with the part as the part warped, if it did, and glue sticks to the cardboard. Why not the plastic? My head spun. My mouth hung and my mind grappled at smoky thoughts as my lips quivered trying to form words to convey something. Anything. Then, I shrugged my shoulders and said, "Makes sense, give it a go." He was anyway.... Thin cardboard worked very well. He progressed to the lousy plastic and hot end jamming. :-P

I personally swear by glass with painters tape. Just seems to work the best for me on the majority of my prints. Anyone else in the same boat?