How can I reduce the impact of seams on prints  

Re: How can I reduce the impact of seams on prints

Slic3r is limited in options. Have you tried 'nearest' which will try to put the seam in an angle near the layer shift? You could try notching back your extrusion multiplier a bit. IME, seams show up somewhere with Slic3r. You can mitigate them, but not eliminate them. Are you running the latest Slic3r with Linear Advance and other tweaks?

If you are after detailed prints, you might try using Cura as your slicer. Cura provides a lot of additional tweaks for hiding seams that might be useful. I really love Cura for the finish control options, but it is lacking some of the sophisticated extrusion control features for the Prusa Mk3 that Slic3r provides. What I'm doing now is working out rough calibrations in Slic3r, then translating those into Cura as feature speeds.

Re: How can I reduce the impact of seams on prints

I have tried nearest before and it does similar to what I have in the picture is it just throws a line down one face of the print. I have tried printing in simplify3d as well though that profile is a bit crappy it does produce similar results as the 2nd picture but maybe in a slightly different pattern its still there. My old printer I don't think I ever had this issue with seams showing up like this so I don't know if this is related to the extrusion problem the MK3 has or if there is some other underlying problem with the printer causing this. I can maybe give cura a try and see how that might work out I just had bad experience with cura in past but those issues might of been fixed since I last used it.

Re: How can I reduce the impact of seams on prints

Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) I don't have other printers to compare with firsthand, so my experience is limited to the Mk3. Slic3rPE is the best tuned slicer for the Prusa Mk3, but it does lack some of the granularity of control that the other slicers I've used (Cura, Simplify 3D primarily) provide. I gave up on Simplify 3D due to the clunkiness of having to adjust speeds with a spreadsheet nearby.

Cura gives a lot of "artistic" settings that matter for finish. Some aren't as important with the Linear Advance and other features provided in the Mk3. You might have luck playing with the Coasting settings. I have had decent luck using Prusa's latest profiles for Cura in the latest version. It gives a fair amount of control over seam placement. "Sharpest corner" and "Hide seam" worked well for hiding it in my experience.

Unfortunately, Cura lacks volumetric settings that I've come to depend on with Slic3r, so my current strategy is to do all the coarse tuning in Slic3r, then translate individual profiles to Cura (e.g. speed, filament settings) when "cooked".

Re: How can I reduce the impact of seams on prints

> If you are after detailed prints, you might try using Cura as your slicer. Cura provides a lot of additional tweaks for hiding seams that might be useful.

Slic3r already hides the seams into corners, Slic3r also tries to avoid placing the seams over overhangs. I think the first has been implemented in Cura recently (and made configurable, while Slic3r does that by default), while I bet the other feature is still missing in Cura.

Re: How can I reduce the impact of seams on prints

I have never really used cura sept once on my old printer and I never liked the program and never used it since. I recently retried simplify3d with several different profiles and all seem to get the same result with seams on models including ones I have done in the past so I don't know if its something with the machine or what the deal is but I really wish I could get rid of these marks on models.

Re: How can I reduce the impact of seams on prints

I have never really used cura sept once on my old printer and I never liked the program and never used it since.
I can understand your opinion of Cura. Personally, I have transitioned over the Slic3rPE as my primary slicer given the amount of focus Prusa is giving it. It really is "the" choice now from a technical perspective. Linear Advance (LA) is supposed to mitigate a lot of the seam issues by slowing flow at the end of a layer. That is definitely the way to go long-term, and Slic3r is incorporating that approach better than any other slicer I've tried (Mostly Simplify 3D, Slic3r and Cura -- just staring to look at Kiss). You might try tweaking your extrusion multiplier down a bit to see it helps.

Are you using the default Slic3rPE settings for your filament? Are you using the Prusa "official" filament and print profiles? If not, try the print again using them. They include LA tweaks that might help. The Prusa profiles also include a tweak to extrusion rates for thicker layer heights.

I recently retried simplify3d with several different profiles and all seem to get the same result with seams on models including ones I have done in the past so I don't know if its something with the machine or what the deal is but I really wish I could get rid of these marks on models.
Some of the Cura settings might be worth experimenting with if you aren't having luck with Slic3r. Keep in mind, layer seams are inevitable, and cannot be removed completely. On cylindrical shapes, there are no corners to hide them. You can hopefully minimize them. Cura's coasting settings might be worth trying, if only to see if they have an impact. If you can get the blob reduced with some combination of coasting and multiplier reduction, that will give you some strong clues on where to focus.