Create a Flat Lithophane from an Image
Create a flat STL lithophane from PNG or JPG/JPEG. Set panel width and thickness bounds; dark regions become thicker for a backlit printing workflow.
Supported input and output
PNG and JPG/JPEG → closed binary STL. Select millimetres when defining physical print dimensions.
Brightness controls material thickness
Dark pixels make thicker regions; light pixels make thinner ones, unless inverted. The panel has a flat back at Z=0 and uses your minimum and maximum thickness settings. This geometry is intended for backlighting, but its appearance still depends on material translucency, printing settings and light placement.
How to use this tool
- Load a PNG or JPG/JPEG suitable for backlighting.
- Choose panel width and minimum/maximum thickness; select millimetres for physical dimensions.
- Inspect the flat panel mesh, export STL and test print settings with your chosen material.
Limitations to check
- Dark regions are thicker; light regions are thinner. Invert reverses the mapping.
- Minimum and maximum thickness apply to the panel, with a flat back at Z=0.
- Flat panels only; no curved shapes or frame. Preview and thickness mapping are not calibrated for a printer or material.
- Transparent pixels use a white background. Mesh resolution controls downsampling.
File and processing limits
- PNG/JPG/JPEG up to 8 MiB, 4,096 pixels per axis and 8 million pixels total.
- Mesh sampling: at most 96 samples on the longest grid side.
- 20 seconds per job; 150,000 vertices, 50,000 triangles and 3 MiB output.
Processing happens in this browser; your file and filename are not uploaded. Cancel, reset or replace the file to stop its worker. Downloads are generated locally.
Questions about this workflow
Can I make a curved or framed lithophane?
This maker produces a flat panel without a frame. Curving or adding a frame needs a separate modeling step. Image sampling and thickness mapping are not calibrated to a particular printer.