The first layer of your print makes a big difference whether it comes out perfect, or at worst, doesn’t even finish at all. You’ll hear from a lot of different places that leveling your bed will get you a good first layer. While that is true, it’s a lot more complicated than that. I’ll first explain why having a good first layer is so important for having great-looking prints. Then everything that’s associated with getting that bed level not only with the hotend but with the whole frame of the printer.
So, why is having that perfect first layer so important? Your first layer is the foundation of your whole print. If you get this wrong, it could cause a bunch of problems later in the print. The biggest problem that this will cause is bad bed adhesion. If your print comes loose from the bed, it could either ruin the following layer above the area that lifted off the bed or could come completely off. This usually happens when you print with ABS or other filaments that are prone to high shrinking. (insert photo of shinkage) Another problem that will happen is the first layer will have gaps in between the extrusions if the nozzle is too far away from the bed. Some will think this is under extrusion. (insert photo of nozzle to far away) On the other hand if the nozzle starts too close to the bed this will cause something called “elephants foot.” This isn’t so much of an issue because you can fix this in post process using a razor blade to trim off the corners. (insert photo of elephants foot)