Filament is best on plastic rolls with RFID not Cardboard
I mentioned that, but the context is with their AMS where the outside of the spool is the bearing surface for spool rotation. The cardboard can subject the AMS to lots of dust and/or not roll as smoothly. You can print plastic rims that snap on the cardboard, I did that to use up the ones I had, but its extra steps and small pita. Less likely to get a jam with the Bambu plastic spool .... which you reuse. It comes apart and you load a new coil of filament. Buy a bunch with spools then you have some stock and just buy filament replacements thereafter. The RFID is similar - only a thing if staying within the Bambu system (which imo is best, part of "everything just works" with minimal hassle....I never even think about tweaking print settings for the filament) If you don't have the AMS, cardboard or rfids are not an issue.
PLA - best all round for newbies. Get Black, White, Grey, and wife's fav colour.
It's my go to, just because the finish is consistently great and you almost never have a problem. White Black and their blue grey are personal favorites.
The other filament I love is there interface layer stuff. imo one the biggest advantage of the AMS. As you can imagine, you cannot print in thin air for any distance and not everything is going to sit flat on the bed and have all elements supported from bed/part itself. So you have to have supports - break off sacrificial sections used a surface (other than the bed) to print on.
The problem is, if the support is the same material as the part, the support material can be hard to remove and very often leaves behind a bit of a messy surface. The solution is an interface between the top of the support and the part, printed in a material that barely adheres to the parent material. It's expensive, but because you only printing a single layers where it's needed, it lasts a long time. It snaps off easily and the surface underneath is trouble free.
Get some PLA to get going with, but you love the AMS and the support material the first time you need to print something with support.
PLA has some moisture problems. Moisture proof storage containers and dessicant or dryers help.
Where is the printer located - can you dry the room,? I've got a few areas of the basement I've commandeered over the years and the printer is in one. Given basements can be damp, I have a few dehumidifiers running and keep that room at the lowest setting (30 or 35 irrc). With that tiny precaution I find there is no need for additional drying. Half used, open spools sit on a shelf and work without issue. I have a filament dryer which I guess could be useful for more finicky materials, but rarely use it. Keeping the room dry has been no fuss solution and makes for a more pleasant workspace.
