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Filament workflow for third-party and Creality CFS spools: write your own NFC tags

If your spools are not genuine Bambu Lab spools, the read-and-assign trick that works so nicely with the AMS does not apply. A Bambu AMS only reads its own encrypted tags, and most other systems either send no per-spool ID at all, or - in the case of the Creality CFS - only recognise an ID that SimplyPrint wrote itself. So for third-party filament and for the Creality CFS, Anycubic ACE, QIDI Box and the ELEGOO Canvas, the workflow flips around. Instead of reading a tag the spool already has, you write your own.

The nice part: you are writing the spool's identity, not buying the brand's filament. You create the spool in SimplyPrint, write that identity onto a cheap blank NFC sticker in the format your brand understands, and stick it on any spool you like. From then on the printer reads your tag and SimplyPrint assigns the matching spool automatically. This article is about the workflow and the trade-offs, not the click-by-click steps - each brand standard has its own deep-dive that you can follow once you have picked your path.

The Filament Manager basics and multi-material mapping are on every plan, including Free. Full NFC read and write - which is what this whole workflow needs - comes with the Filament Manager plan and with Pro and up; the Free plan includes a small monthly NFC-write allowance. Direct-printing labels to a Zebra or DYMO printer also needs the Pro plan.

Choosing the NFC tag standard to write for a spool in SimplyPrint

Why third-party and Creality spools need writing

First, the why - because it shapes everything else. The deciding factor for hands-free filament inventory is whether the printer hands SimplyPrint a unique per-spool ID when a spool is loaded. Bambu's genuine spools do, on an encrypted RFID tag, so the AMS can auto-create and auto-assign them. Almost nothing else does.

A third-party (or plain untagged) spool sitting in a Bambu AMS is not read at all - Bambu's system is closed and its tags are encrypted, so a third-party reader can only see the tag's raw ID, not the data on it. The AMS syncs that spool as material and color only, with no per-spool identity. The Anycubic ACE and ACE Pro never report a per-spool ID, so auto-create is simply not possible there (multi-color mapping still works fine, it just won't build inventory for you).

The Creality CFS is the interesting case. By default it does not send a tag serial that SimplyPrint can use, so a factory or untagged Creality spool gets no auto-create and no auto-assign. SimplyPrint does not read Creality's factory serial. But if you write the tag through SimplyPrint, SimplyPrint embeds its own spool ID into that tag. When the CFS later reads it, SimplyPrint recognises the ID it put there and assigns the matching spool. You are reading your own ID, not the manufacturer's.

That is the whole reason this workflow exists. For everything that isn't a genuine Bambu spool, you take identity into your own hands.

The write-and-assign workflow

The shape of it is the same for every brand standard. First you create the spool in SimplyPrint (set its material, color, brand and weight), then you write that spool's identity onto a blank NFC tag in the right format, then you stick the tag on the physical spool. After that, loading the spool lets the printer read your tag and SimplyPrint assigns it automatically, deducting usage as prints run through SimplyPrint.

The write-and-assign NFC workflow on the SimplyPrint mobile app

You don't need the brand's filament for this. The tag carries the spool's identity, and you choose what that identity is. Stick a Creality-format tag on a roll of generic PLA and the CFS will happily treat it as the tracked spool you defined. This is what makes the workflow work for cheap, unbranded, or leftover filament.

A few things worth knowing before you start:

Cheap blank tags are all you need

You are not buying special filament - you are buying small NFC stickers, the kind that cost a few cents each. The catch is that "NFC" is not one thing. Each brand standard expects a specific tag chip, and the wrong chip simply will not work. SimplyPrint shows a list of compatible tag products in-app so you can buy the right ones for the standard you picked.

Compatible blank NFC tag products shown in SimplyPrint

Pre-create your spools whenever you like

You can create spools at purchase or unboxing - even before a spool is ever loaded, even sealed in its bag - so your stock count is complete from day one. Then write and stick a tag when it is convenient. There is no rush to do it at first use the way there is with a Bambu AMS, because nothing is auto-creating these spools behind your back.

The standards you can write

SimplyPrint can write to each of these systems' own formats, plus a set of open standards. Which one you pick depends on the printer or multi-material unit that has to read the tag back:

Creality CFS - write a tag and the CFS recognises the embedded SimplyPrint ID
Anycubic ACE - you can write and read tags; note the ACE does not auto-create inventory, but the tag still identifies the spool for you
QIDI Box - write-and-assign for the QIDI multi-material box
ELEGOO Canvas - write-and-assign for ELEGOO spools (read by the Canvas)

On top of those brand formats, SimplyPrint also supports the open NFC standards - OpenPrintTag, OpenSpool and OpenTag - as well as a plain SimplyPrint URL format. Those open formats are a good choice if you are not tied to one brand's reader and just want a tag any NFC-capable phone can scan to find the spool in SimplyPrint.

Which device can write which tag

This is the part that trips people up, so it is worth being precise. The format you choose dictates the chip on the tag, and the chip dictates which device can write it. There is no single tool that writes everything. The big split is between MIFARE Classic tags (which Apple does not let apps write) and NDEF tags (which the browser can handle but the MIFARE brands cannot use).

iPhones and iPads cannot write Creality CFS or QIDI Box tags. Those use MIFARE Classic, which iOS does not allow third-party apps to write. For Creality and QIDI you need the Android app or the desktop NFC Agent. Anycubic ACE and ELEGOO Canvas tags do work on iOS.

Here is how the brands line up against each method. A ✓ means that method can write that standard:

Standard	Tag chip	iOS app	Android app	Web NFC (browser)	Desktop NFC Agent
Creality CFS	MIFARE Classic	✗	✓	✗	✓
QIDI Box	MIFARE Classic	✗	✓	✗	✓
Anycubic ACE	NTAG / MIFARE Ultralight	✓	✓	✓	✓
ELEGOO Canvas	NTAG213	✓	✓	✗	✓
OpenSpool / OpenTag / SimplyPrint URL	NDEF (NTAG)	✓	✓	✓	✓

A couple of the gaps are worth spelling out. Web NFC works straight from an Android browser with no app, but it can only handle NDEF tags - so it can write the NDEF open standards (OpenSpool, OpenTag and the SimplyPrint URL format) and the NTAG-based Anycubic format, but it cannot touch the MIFARE Classic brands (Creality, QIDI), the ELEGOO Canvas's raw NTAG213 format, or OpenPrintTag (that one uses ISO 15693 ICODE SLIX2 tags, which Web NFC does not support - use the mobile app or the desktop NFC Agent for those). The desktop NFC Agent app is the one tool that reads and writes every standard, including the MIFARE Classic ones - it runs on Mac, Windows and Linux and needs a supported USB reader plugged in.

Setting up the desktop NFC Agent for full read and write support

So your practical decision is short. If your spools go in a Creality CFS or a QIDI Box, plan on an Android phone or the desktop NFC Agent. For an Anycubic ACE, an ELEGOO Canvas, or any of the open standards, your iPhone or Android phone is enough (via the mobile app). When in doubt, the NFC Agent on a computer covers everything.

Scanning an NFC tag with the SimplyPrint mobile app

No NFC reader? Use labels and your camera

If your printer can't read NFC at all - or you just don't want to deal with tags - you don't have to. Labels are the no-NFC alternative, and they work for any "dumb" printer.

SimplyPrint can generate QR-code and barcode labels for your spools and print them anywhere: a regular printer, a sheet of label stickers, or direct to a Zebra or DYMO thermal printer (direct printing to those needs the Pro plan). Stick the label on the spool, and from then on you identify it by scanning instead of tapping.

Scanning a filament label barcode with a phone camera

The scan side is just as flexible. Point a phone camera or a webcam at a QR code, or use a USB barcode scanner, and SimplyPrint pulls up that exact spool so you can assign or unassign it in a couple of seconds. It is slower than a tag that the printer reads on its own, but it needs no special hardware on the printer and works with absolutely anything. For a lot of mixed workshops this is the simplest path, and it scales fine: a sheet of printed labels, a phone in your pocket, done.

Putting it together

The mental model is simple once the why clicks into place. Genuine Bambu spools carry their own identity, so you read it. Everything else - third-party filament, the Creality CFS, Anycubic ACE, QIDI Box, ELEGOO Canvas - either sends no usable ID or only recognises one you provide, so you write it yourself.

Create the spool, pick the standard your hardware reads, write a cheap tag on a device that supports that standard, and stick it on whatever roll you want. If NFC isn't in the cards, fall back to QR or barcode labels and a camera. Either way you end up where the Bambu workflow ends up: a tracked spool with a real identity, automatic usage deduction when prints run through SimplyPrint, and a runout warning before a job starts if the assigned spool can't finish it.

Updated on: 26/06/2026

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