Is a hotend needed for ABS? (filament wont stick)

Hey guys, after alot of help i got my printer going, it will walk through all the steps of a print (as far as i can tell) only problem is i cant get the ABS to stick to the print bed (prusa/painters tape) is it necessary to have a heated bed for ABS or am i doing something wrong?

You can get it to stick to cold acrylic but I don't think painters tape works with ABS. It's more for PLA. Here's a better explanation. [reprap.org]

I was able to get ABS to extrude onto painters tape by applying a thin spray of adhesive (Scotch Super 77) to the tape.

I still had considerable trouble keeping prints from warping, but this was most likely caused by Skeinforge extruding too much material when you attempt to scale down the print.

In the end, I switched to PLA, and will print with that until I'm convinced that I've solved the printer's other problems.

ABS can print on painters tape but it needs to be heated to stick properly and not warp. you will have more luck with PLA.

You can print ABS to cold acrylic if you cover it with Kapton tape. You will be limited to smaller parts, and fewer layers before separation becomes a problem. More perimeter layers, fewer solid layers (0) and low infill will give better results, as it will reduce the force created when cooling.