3D printing and especially fused filament fabrication (FFF) has attracted research and industry interest over the last years due to relatively low investment cost (even for private customers), the wide range of processable materials and good printing results as well as easy handling. In this research work, the surface topology of specimens manufactured by FFF 3D printing technique has been investigated. Thereby, special interest was given to the influence of the relative angle between the axis of the extruder nozzle and the plane of the specimen surface. Furthermore, flat, edged and curved contours have been evaluated to characterize the surface topology for differently shaped objects. To characterize the impact of different materials investigations have been conducted with commonly used polymers for FFF printing such as polylactic acid (PLA), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) as well as poly methyl methacrylate (PMMA). The materials for 3D printing were used in form of pre-manufactured polymer filament produced on a single screw extruder equipped with a melt pump. For the production of the specimens a cartesian type FFF printer with dual nozzle print head and heated print bed was employed. The characterization of the generated specimen surfaces was conducted on a contactless microscopy 3D-mapping system regarding surface roughness and topology. The developed results give information regarding the improvement of printing strategies as well as 3D printing friendly design of components.