How to Use Variable Layer Height in PrusaSlicer

Variable layer height in PrusaSlicer is the Variable layer height tool on the toolbar to the right of the 3D view. Select the object, open the tool, and either use Adaptive for automatic layer heights or paint them on by hand. It prints thin layers where the surface is curved or detailed and thicker layers on straight walls, keeping quality where it shows and saving time where it does not.

Open the tool

1. Select the object.
2. Choose the Variable layer height tool from the right-hand toolbar.
3. Use Adaptive, or paint layer heights on the height bar beside the model.

Adaptive mode

Adaptive assigns layer heights automatically from the model's surface angle, driven by a quality-versus-speed slider. Toward quality, curves get thinner layers; toward speed, layers are thicker overall. After it runs, use Smooth to blend the transitions so layer-height changes are not abrupt.

Painting by hand

When only one region needs detail, drag on the height bar to the side of the model to increase or reduce layer height in a band. This is the manual counterpart to Adaptive, useful for a single fine feature on an otherwise fast part. The Reset option clears your changes back to the profile's fixed layer height.

Why this matters for a print farm

Variable layer height is a direct time-versus-quality lever, and the right profile for a part balances the two once so every copy prints the same. Re-painting it per job does not scale.

Printago bakes the quality profile into every slice the fleet runs, so the time-versus-quality balance you painted once holds on each copy without re-touching it per job. See cloud slicing and the PrusaSlicer overview.