I guess I am not the only one with this problem: I always save by purchasing refills and never have enough spools free to use them!

I know I can print always more spools, but why do so if they are reusable?

By attaching these handy TPU band stripes before putitng the refill on the spool you can then quicly close back the filament and remove it safely without risking making a mess.

It makes it easy to switch color on the spool and store your refills seamlessly. The stripes open then remain in place and being thin and flexible are able to move out of the way and not interfere with the printing.

Notes:

It requires TPU for the band, while the latches can be printed with PLA or others.

3 Bands fit in one A1 Mini plate and are enough for a single filament refill. Largers plates should have no problems in fitting more bands at once.

The band makes the spool fit slightly tighter on the refill, but I tested and they fit in quite easily anyway.

Big shout out to IdleBit and his Hex Spool printable with A1 mini (the spool in the pictures), love this model.