Lithophane maker
Turn an image into a printable height field — a raised relief, or an inverted lithophane that lights up from behind
Turn a photo into a lithophane: the picture is carved as thickness, so it reads as a flat plate until a light goes behind it. Pick an image, set the plate width, the base that keeps highlights opaque, and the relief depth the picture is carved into — the preview updates as you go. The photo is sampled in your browser. Download a print-ready STL or 3MF.
How the Lithophane maker works
What you can adjust
- Width — 5–500 mm
- Base thickness — 0.1–20 mm
- Relief depth — 0.1–50 mm
- Smoothing — 0–4
- Invert (lithophane)
Lithophane settings that work
Starting values for a first lithophane. The first four are set in the generator; the last two in your slicer.
| Setting | Start with | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Invert (lithophane) | On | Dark parts of the photo print thick, so they block the light. |
| Width | 80 mm | The height follows the photo’s proportions. |
| Base thickness | 0.8 mm | This is what the brightest parts print as. Under about 0.6 mm they tear or print as holes. |
| Relief depth | 2.4 mm | The range the picture is carved into: the darkest point is 3.2 mm thick. |
| Smoothing | 1 | One pass cleans up JPEG noise; more starts to eat fine detail. |
| Infill (slicer) | 100% | Any infill pattern shows through when it is lit from behind. |
| Orientation (slicer) | Standing upright | Each layer then carries one row of the picture. |
Getting a lithophane that looks right
- Fix the photo first. Contrast is the whole medium: thickness is brightness. Crop to the subject and raise the contrast in any photo editor before you choose the photo. It matters far more than resolution.
- Turn on Invert (lithophane). Without it, bright areas rise and you get a relief you read by its shadows. With it, dark becomes thick, and the picture appears when a light is behind it.
- Do not thin the base to gain contrast. The base is what the highlights print as. Under about 0.6 mm the brightest parts tear or print as holes, and the slicer cannot rescue that.
- Print it standing up, at 100% infill. Upright, each layer carries one row of the picture, which is where the vertical detail comes from. Solid infill stops a pattern showing through when it is backlit. No supports, and slow the first layer down.
- Give the light some room. A point light touching the back shows up as a bright spot. Keep the light a centimetre or so behind the panel.
Lithophane questions
How do I make a lithophane from a photo?
Choose the photo, turn on Invert (lithophane), set the width, and download the print-ready STL or 3MF. The part keeps only a grid of brightness values, not the photo.
How thick should a lithophane be?
Start with a 0.8 mm base and 2.4 mm of relief, so the panel runs from 0.8 mm at its brightest to 3.2 mm at its darkest. Keep the base above about 0.6 mm or the highlights tear.
Why does my lithophane look like a grey slab?
That is how it should look unlit: the picture only appears with a light behind it. If it still looks flat when lit, the photo needs more contrast. Crop to the subject and raise the contrast before you choose it.
Should I print a lithophane flat or standing up?
Standing up, at 100% infill, with no supports and a slow first layer. Each layer then carries one row of the picture, and no infill pattern shows through when it is lit.