I'm noticing more brands embracing cardboard spools and I'm for it

They're easier to recycle

My only issue is when they're full they squeak on my filament holder during printing, but I'm planning to fix that... Eventually.

If companies that still used plastic spools are starting to switch to cardboard, I think that's a good thing. Not only is it easier to recycle, but probably also lighter (your typical 1kg filament spool weighs around 200-300g), so the bulk should save some fuel for transportation.

Though I personally prefer using no spool at all (during shipping) 😉 Wherever possible I buy Masterspool refills.

I prefer the cardboard spools. Recyclable, yet still reusable at least for a few times. I hate the idea of accumulating a bunch of non-recyclable plastic spools I don't need and can't get rid of in an environmentally friendly way. Latest Inland spool I got is cardboard, though I've had both cardboard and plastic spools from them in the past.

Many manufacturers have been moving to cardboard. Less wasteful than plastic spools, more convenient than reusable spools.

It's a trend, away from the plastic spools which were decidedly made from a non-recyclable plastic.

It's always been curious to me that recyclable plastic was never even considered to be an option.

That said - cardboard is recyclable and biodegradable, so it's good no matter how you dispose of it.

But - it does have environmental downsides. If not carefully sourced, the wood can come from places where deforestation is a problem. It's also rather energy intensive to make, so depending on the energy source can contribute to CO2 emissions.

Nothing will be perfect, but cardboard is likely better than the alternatives.

Nah been getting rolls like that for a while now.

I started ordering polymaker coming from overture. Both brands had swapped to cardboard spools. But as mentioned polymaker has a file uploaded to printables to print a ring border so they can roll easier. Especially since the cardboard rolls can get dented if shipped haphazardly.

https://www.printables.com/model/495778-polymaker-cardboard-spool-adapter

But I've gotten lucky, and the spools I have received with cardboard haven't been damaged. But I have considered printing a few of these just in case...

Been getting cardboard spools with Overture for some time. Honestly I like it much more than plastic.

Not new but probably done for cost saving purposes.

I have had cardboard spools for a while. I am on the fence. They are much easier to recycle (no matter how many 1million and 1 uses for plastic spools exist). however they creak horribly on my spool holder, and are much larger than most of the similar weight poly spools i have, so i had to create bespoke spool holders for all 3 printers i have!

Some people get uneven extrusions with paper spools, since they can have higher friction against the spool holder compared to plastic spools. Usually only an issue with weak ungeared extruders, i.e. where the hobbed gear is attached directly to the motor's shaft. But if you get this problem then you can try wrapping the spool holder with teflon tape, or printing a mod that puts a ball bearing in the spool holder.

I’ve been getting a ton of cardboard spools, but I prefer plastic - cardboard is incompatible with my Bambu AMS. To resolve I have to wrap the edge with electric tape, use a printed adapter, or in the worst cases (the cardboard is damaged) respool.

I like them. Only issue I’ve had was self made, dropped a spool and it dented the cardboard which caused it to hang in the Sunlu dryer. Probably print some rings for my next bout of clumsiness.

It depends on the brand. The shop I get mine from still uses plastic for their in-house brand but apparently they're looking into switching to cardboard.

The other solution I like is selling reusable spools that come in half so you can load new rolls of filament on them. Even less waste!

Eryone has been doing this since at least last year.

I mean why not. The spool is useless anyways after its empty, better to use cardboard

Hope so. Love it. Fuck plastic where it's not needed.

I dug up filament rolls from almost ten years ago at work. Those were on paper as well, so definitely nothing new. It's probably just becoming more common. I'm all for that, as it doesn't really have any obvious downside to storing filament on a plastic spool and it just feels much less wasteful to me.

I usually get my filament without any spool and put it on Dasfilament's little masterspool. That's even less wasteful and also cheaper.

Inland just started using cardboard spools as well.

As others have said those are good for recyclability If you have problems with them spinning on your filament holder, polymaker provided this file for their spools and it should be fairly easy to modify for others. Link