Creality SparkX i8 First Look: Setup, Multicolor Prints, and Purge Waste

The Creality SparkX i8 made a good first impression in my multicolor PLA tests. It finished everything I tried, from a small color plate to a large owl, and I saw no visible color bleed on those prints. In the most useful test, I printed two identical Benchies and weighed the discarded material. The setup with the prime tower and flushing into supports and infill left 12 g of waste, including the tower, versus 29.1 g when I used the fallback that purged at every color change.

This is my hands-on first look. I assembled the printer, ran the guided self-check, and worked up from quick color tests to a multipart 911 and an owl. The results give me a reason to keep using the i8 for multicolor PLA. I still want to run a matched job against my other printers and see how the i8 holds up over longer use.

What the SparkX i8 is built to do

The i8 uses Creality’s QuarTeks system, which feeds four filament channels into one toolhead. The stock spool holders sit on the printer frame, and four PTFE tubes run from the holders to numbered ports on top of the head. The arrangement makes the filament paths easy to follow while you set it up. It also leaves the spools exposed, so allow room to change them and keep your usual filament storage routine.

Creality advertises a color change in under one second. The swaps looked about that fast to me, but I couldn’t identify precise start and stop points by eye. For a long multicolor job, I’d pay more attention to the sliced job time and where the filament goes at each change. The motion of the swap is only one part of the transition. Creality’s specifications and i8 FAQ.

Unboxing and assembly

My unit came with the gantry and base separate. I also pulled out the build plate and an accessory box with the tubing and power cable. Lay out the fasteners before starting. The base hardware and the spool-holder hardware go in different places, and the spool mounts need shoulder screws that look similar to the screws you’ll already have installed. Creality says some regional packages require assembly and documents the differences in its packaging list.

Seat the frame and connect the base

1. Clear the packing tape and ties as you unpack the machine. On my kit, I brought the base into the frame at an angle and seated it before installing the fasteners.

1. Secure the bed base with the ten M4 × 34 screws. On my unit, eight were accessible from one bed position. Sliding the bed exposed the other two. Install the four M3 × 8 side screws, two per side.
2. With the printer unplugged, turn it over and open the underside cover. I connected the base lead first, fed the frame leads through the channel, seated the USB-C connection, and plugged the remaining leads into their matching sockets. Tuck the cables into their guides before closing the cover.
3. Set the printer upright. Remove the rear shipping restraints and the tape behind them. Use the current Creality unboxing guide to identify the restraints and confirm the hardware for your version before starting the self-check.

Fit the spool brackets and route the tubes

Assemble the left and right bridges as mirror images. Viewed from the rear, each bracket should extend toward its side of the printer. On my unit, the mounting brackets needed the supplied shoulder screws in place of the four original frame screws. The unthreaded shoulders give the brackets room to slide into their slots. Creality’s instructions say to replace the original screws one at a time. If a bracket won’t slide into place, check the screw style and bracket orientation before applying pressure.

Install the four spool supports and match each holder’s channel number to the same number on the toolhead. I used the longer tubes for the bottom holders and the shorter ones for the top, then grouped the tubes with the supplied clips. Seat each tube fully in its fitting and check that the routing has enough slack for the head to move. I fitted the rear twist-lock piece before turning the printer around for power-on.

First boot, filament loading, and the first layer

On my first boot I selected the language, confirmed the shipping restraints were off and the plate was clear, and connected to Wi-Fi. I also paired the printer with my account using the QR code. Creality’s current guide lists Creality Cloud sign-in as optional. The printer displayed about 12 minutes for its self-check. That was the time shown for the check alone, with unpacking, assembly, and loading done separately.

I entered the brand, material, and color for each spool on the printer. For example, channel 1 was red Creality Hyper PLA. When I selected the built-in multicolor model, I accepted the mapping to the colors I had on hand and left calibration and time-lapse enabled. The printer then reminded me I had assigned the filaments without loading the channels. Load All resolved it. If you get the same prompt, check whether the channel is physically loaded even if its color is already displayed correctly.

A small color plate makes a useful first job. Check that the first lines adhere consistently, the expected color prints from each channel, and the transitions land in the right places. You can catch a swapped tube or slicer mapping while there are still only a few grams and minutes at stake. If the first layer itself looks uneven, start with the calibration and slicer settings guide before changing purge settings.

What I printed and how it turned out

• Small color plate. This was my first chance to watch the new toolhead switch colors. The plate finished without an issue.
• Color blocks on one build plate. These gave me more transitions to watch. I noticed external purging near the bottom and top of the print. That’s where I’d expect fewer opportunities to put transition material inside a part, although I didn’t log the individual purge events.
• Multicolor Benchy. The first boat looked good, and its size made the model practical to repeat for a weighed comparison.
• Creality 911. I printed the individual parts together on one plate. It was a longer job, with about 550 changes in the slicer comparison. I was happy with the print quality, even if I’d pick different colors next time.
• Large owl. The finished owl came out well, and I weighed 31.9 g of discarded purge. The owl slice shown in the video listed 1,847 changes. The purge weight describes what I collected from the print, while the count describes the slice shown on screen.

I didn’t see visible color bleed on the i8 prints I inspected. In the video I show a separate print made on another machine, where black visibly carried into a section that was supposed to be white. That sample illustrates what to look for on high-contrast parts. My early i8 prints were encouraging, and a matched black-to-white test would give me more confidence for parts where a slight tint would be obvious.

Prime tower on versus off in Creality Print

In the slicer build used for the video, I found the Prime Tower toggle under Multifilament. With the tower enabled, there were also options for flushing into supports and infill. In that build and profile, turning the tower off in my comparison sent the job through the fallback that purged at every change. Here are the estimated print times and total filament weights from the G-code previews.

The owl times come directly from the on-screen previews. They show a difference of a little over nine hours. The total filament includes the model and whatever else the slicer assigns to the job, so the difference is a planning number. For the amount I actually collected, use the weighed tests below.

Creality’s current No Prime Tower Mode guide describes a different outcome when you disable the tower in a slicer version that supports that mode. The slicer can use internal paths for color transitions and still discharge purge material when there’s insufficient room on a layer. Read the toolpaths and estimates in your own preview after toggling the setting. A checkbox by itself tells you very little about how much waste will land outside the model.

What the scale showed on two Benchies

I printed two copies of the same model. One used the fallback that purged at every change. The other ran with the tower enabled and flushing into supports and infill. I counted the tower in the second weigh-in so the comparison included the material I actually threw away.

That’s 17.1 g less discarded material, about 59% less for that pair. It measures the two workflows as configured. Since I used the tower and internal flushing together in the second run, this test can’t assign a share of the savings to each setting.

How I’d choose settings for another multicolor job

1. Slice the job with the normal i8 profile first. Note the total time, total filament, and change count. Inspect the first layers and visible top surfaces in the preview.
2. Reslice with the other tower setting. Look for where the transitions go on the layers that matter. A thick model may have useful internal paths. Thin parts, exposed surfaces, and strong dark-to-light transitions deserve more attention.
3. Print a small sample before committing to a long run. Use the same filament pair and similar wall thickness. If you see residual tint or uneven extrusion, try a tower and reslice. Give yourself a quick way to compare changes before running the full job.
4. Keep estimates and measurements in separate columns. The multicolor print planner can turn slicer estimates into a project cost. To compare actual waste, collect and weigh the same categories each time, including any tower you discard.

Who should consider the i8?

The i8 makes the most sense to me for someone who frequently prints multicolor PLA and wants to spend less of each job on color transitions. I’d put it on the shortlist for signs, figures, and decorative parts with repeated changes. The first prints went well, and the stock filament route was straightforward once the shoulder screws and tube positions were sorted out.

If most of your prints use one color, the main reason to buy the i8 will come up less often. The SparkX i7 series covers setup and one-week use on the related printer. For a workflow built around different materials for the part and its support interface, see my Snapmaker U1 review, where I actually tried those combinations. A matched multicolor comparison between the two printers is still an open test.

FAQ

Does the SparkX i8 need a prime tower?

It depends on the model and how your slicer generates the transition paths. My tower-enabled settings used less filament than the purge-at-every-change fallback shown in the video. With a current i8 profile that supports No Prime Tower Mode, check for internal transition paths and external purges in the preview before deciding.

Does fast switching eliminate purge waste?

The i8 still discharged purge material in my tests. On the color blocks I noticed it near the bottom and top, and I collected 31.9 g from the large owl. The amount you’ll see depends on the model, settings, and how often the colors change.

Can I upgrade a SparkX i7 into an i8?

Creality lists no supported conversion kit. The i8 uses a different toolhead, extrusion mechanism, hotend, and control system. Creality’s i8 FAQ.

What I’d test next

I’d run the same color-heavy model and filament on the i8 and the Snapmaker U1, record elapsed time, and weigh everything that went in the discard bin. I’d also include a small high-contrast part to check for carryover where it’s easiest to see. If you’re still deciding between printer designs, the 3D printer catalog connects specifications with hands-on coverage. If you already have an i8 on the bench, start with the small color plate and use your slicer preview to decide how to handle the next, longer job.