3D printed cake topper material

Most home printers melt a plastic thread, called filament, and lay it down one thin layer at a time. PLA is the most common filament. PETG is tougher and less brittle.

Filament prints show fine grooves where each layer sits on the last. Those grooves are hard to clean. The pigments and additives in filament are not always known.

Resin printers harden a liquid resin with light, one thin layer at a time. The result is smooth, with almost no visible layer lines. Standard resins are not food safe, even after they cure.

A basic resin or filament printer prints in one color. Any other color on the figure is painted on, or comes from a printer that prints in color.

A hand-painted print up close. The layer lines show.

Many printed toppers come off the printer in plain gray and are painted by hand. The paint is a layer on top, so it can chip where the figure gets bumped.

Paint does not hide the print below it. On one hand-painted print in our test, the layer lines showed across the whole figure.

For how a figure of the two of you goes from photo to print, see our guide to 3D printed wedding cake toppers.

Full-color printers put the color in as they print, so there is no paint layer to chip or peel. They print in colored powder, often called sandstone, or in colored resin.

Sandstone prints look rougher and show less detail. Colored resin comes out smoother, with sharper detail. We compared the toppers we bought side by side. The faces on one sandstone print turned to a speckled, sandy blur up close. A smooth full-color print kept small details sharp.

A full-color print in a sandy powder, up close.

A smooth full-color print, up close.

No printed material is food safe by default. A filament sold as safe for food contact does not make the finished print food safe.

Treat a printed topper as decor. Set it on a clean layer, such as a clear acrylic disc from your baker. Lift it off before anyone cuts the cake.

Here is how to place a topper on the cake safely.

Our glossy Full-Color topper. The clear coat shines.

We print our toppers in polymer, in Single-Color or Full-Color, with a matte or glossy finish. Our Full-Color toppers are printed in color, not painted.

Our glossy Full-Color topper has a clear coat. From across the cake, it looks like glazed porcelain. None of our toppers is food safe.

Is silk PLA food safe?

Not by default. Silk and colored PLA get their look from additives that may not be safe for food. At least one maker of silk PLA says it has no data on whether it is food safe. Keep a silk PLA topper off the frosting, like any other print.

Can I 3D print my own cake topper?

Yes. Model sites sell topper files and name generators you can download. Print in PLA or PETG, and keep the print off the frosting. Many topper files advise wrapping the stick in food film before it goes into the cake.

Will a printed topper soften in the sun?

PLA softens at lower heat than PETG. Keep any printed topper out of direct sun and away from heat.

Do printed toppers break easily?

Thin parts break first. Sandstone prints are fragile and are made for display.