Image to lithophane
Turn a photo into a 3D lithophane (STL) ready to print, in your browser.
Processed on your device: your file never leaves your computer
One file, 50 MB max.
What Image to lithophane does
A lithophane is a thin plate that shows a photo when light shines through it: dark areas are thicker and let less light pass. Upload a picture, choose the plate width, the level of detail and the thickness, and download a closed (watertight) STL ready for your 3D printer's slicer. You can add a frame for stiffness. Everything happens on your device: the photo isn't uploaded to any server.
Limits
- One file at a time, up to 50 MB.
- With Pro: up to 500 files per batch.
- A job that takes longer than 2 minutes is stopped so it doesn't freeze your device.
- Processed in your browser: your files are never uploaded to a server.
Frequently asked questions
How do I print it?
Lay it flat side down on the bed, use white filament (white PLA is the usual choice), 100% infill and a layer height of 0.1–0.15 mm. Light it from behind to see the photo; it reads correctly from the relief side.
Which photos work best?
Ones with good contrast and a large subject: portraits, pets, landscapes with sky. Very light areas end up almost transparent and very dark ones opaque. The photo is turned to grayscale.
What do detail and thickness mean?
Detail is the distance between points of the surface: 0.4 mm is enough for a 0.4 mm nozzle and makes lighter files; 0.2 mm keeps more detail. Thickness goes from white (thinnest) to black (thickest): a larger range gives more contrast but needs more light.
Is there a limit?
One image at a time, up to 50 MB (JPG, PNG, WEBP, GIF, BMP or AVIF). The surface has about 560,000 points at most: for very tall pictures the detail is reduced automatically. The plate is flat (not curved).