Lithophane Maker
Turn a photo into a lithophane you can 3D print: flat, curved, a full cylinder for a lamp shade, a heart or a circle. Set the thickness in millimetres, see it with a light behind it, and download a watertight STL.
- 1Pick a photo
- 2Shape and thickness
- 3Download STL
Preview
Drag the preview (or use the arrow keys) to turn it. The preview uses fewer points than the STL; the size is true to scale.
Your photo is read on this device. The lithophane is built in your browser and nothing is uploaded.
1Photo
Or drop a picture on the page, or paste one with Ctrl/Cmd+V.
2Shape and thickness
How to make a 3D printed lithophane
- Pick a photo with a clear subject and a range of light and dark. Faces, pets and landscapes with sky work well.
- Choose the shape. Flat for a frame or window; curved to stand on its own; 360° for a cylinder you can put over a tea light or LED; heart or circle for gifts and ornaments.
- Set the thickness and check the Backlit preview. If faces look too dark, raise Brightness or Gamma a little. Lithophanes usually look darker printed than on screen.
- Download the STL and slice it. It's in millimetres and comes standing up, which is how most people print lithophanes.
Best settings for printing a lithophane
These are the settings lithophane makers commonly start from. They aren't rules: printers and filaments differ, so a small test print is worth the time.
| Setting | Common practice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Orientation | Vertical (standing up) | The layers then stack across the picture, so the detail is drawn by the nozzle path in X and Y instead of by layer steps. |
| Infill | 100% | Any gap inside the plate shows up as a pattern when light shines through. |
| Filament | White PLA | White lets the most light through evenly. Other light colours work but tint the picture. |
| Layer height | 0.12–0.2 mm | Thinner layers give smoother tones on a vertical print but take longer. |
| Bed adhesion | A brim | A standing plate has a small footprint. A brim (or this tool's stand) helps it stay put. |
Best thickness for a lithophane
The picture comes from the difference between the thinnest and thickest parts. The defaults here are 0.8 mm and 3.0 mm, a range many lithophane guides use as a starting point.
- Thinnest (0.8 mm): this is where light areas glow. It equals two lines from a 0.4 mm nozzle, which prints solid. Going much thinner can leave gaps or pinholes that show as bright spots.
- Thickest (3.0 mm): this is where shadows go dark. Thicker gives deeper blacks, but the gain gets smaller with each extra millimetre and the print takes longer.
- Bright light behind it (an LED panel or a strong bulb) can take a thicker maximum. A dim tea light usually looks better with a thinner one.
- Frame: keep it a little thicker than the thickest picture area so it reads as a solid border. The tool starts it 0.2 mm above.
What the check means
Before the download button turns on, the page reads the STL back from its own bytes. It joins matching corners, then checks that every edge is shared by exactly two triangles facing opposite ways (a closed, manifold mesh), that the triangle count matches the file, and that the size and volume match what was built. If any check fails, the download stays off. It can't predict how the print will look; that depends on your printer, filament and light.
FAQ
What is the best thickness for a lithophane?
A common starting point is about 0.8 mm for the brightest areas and about 3 mm for the darkest. Thinner minimums glow more but can print with gaps; thicker maximums give darker shadows but need a brighter light. Try the defaults first, then adjust after a test print with your own filament.
What infill should a lithophane be printed with?
100%. A lithophane works by how much plastic the light passes through, so any infill pattern inside the plate shows up as lines or grids when it's lit. Most of a lithophane is thin enough to be all walls anyway.
Should a lithophane be printed vertically or flat?
Most people print them vertically. The fine detail is then traced by the nozzle across each layer, and layer lines don't break up the shading. Flat prints are quicker and easier to stick to the bed, but they usually show more banding. This tool exports standing up by default; choose "Lying flat" if you prefer.
What filament is best for lithophanes?
White PLA is the usual choice: it lets light through evenly and prints thin walls well. Natural or translucent filaments let more light through but give less contrast. Dark or strongly coloured filaments block too much light to show the picture.
Can I make a color lithophane?
Not with this tool. A color lithophane stacks layers of cyan, magenta, yellow and white filament, so it needs a multi-material printer and a tool that splits the photo into color layers. This tool makes single-color lithophanes, which work on any printer.
What kind of photo makes a good lithophane?
One with a clear subject, good contrast and not too much fine noise. Busy backgrounds turn into clutter, and very dark photos print mostly at full thickness, so they look murky. Crop close to the subject and use the Backlit preview to judge before you print.