Help & Beginner's Guide

What is a lithophane?

A lithophane is a 3D print that looks like a plain, pale panel in normal light — but reveals a detailed photo when you shine light through the back. It works because of thickness:

• Thick areas block more light → they look dark.
• Thin areas let more light through → they look bright.

This tool converts every pixel's brightness into a height, so dark parts of your photo print thick and bright parts print thin, then exports a printable STL for your slicer (Cura, PrusaSlicer, Bambu/Orca Studio, etc.).

What you'll need

Choosing a good photo

The photo matters more than any setting. Best results come from images that are:

• High contrast with a clear subject (faces, pets, silhouettes).
• Well lit, with the subject brighter than the background.
• Not too busy — fine background clutter disappears when backlit.
• Reasonably sharp, at least ~1000 px on the long edge.

Quick start

1. Upload a photo (clear subject, good contrast works best).
2. Pick a style from the menu and a Quick Preset (start with High Detail or Balanced).
3. Click Preview to see the original and the brightness map.
4. Optionally choose a shape, a hanging hole, or a frame.
5. Click Generate STL and open the file in your slicer.

Tip: always click Preview after changing settings so the output reflects your latest choices.

Lithophane styles

• Flat — a framed flat photo; supports shapes, hanging hole and frame.
• Cylinder — wrap one photo around a curved panel or full cylinder (lamp shade).
• Multi — 2–4 photos wrapped around a single cylinder.
• Cube — 2–4 photos on the flat walls of a box (4 = a closed cube lamp).
• Globe — 1–4 photos wrapped around a sphere (lamp with a bottom opening).

Quick presets

• High Detail — finest result (more triangles, larger file, slower). Best for portraits.
• Balanced — good detail with a reasonable file size and speed.
• Fast — quickest preview/print, lower detail. Good for testing.
• Large Format — tuned for bigger prints.

Image adjustments

• Contrast — increases the difference between light and dark; higher = more dramatic relief.
• Brightness — shifts the whole image lighter or darker.
• Gamma — fine-tunes mid-tones without crushing highlights/shadows.
• Blur — smooths noise and speckles for cleaner prints.
• Edge Enhance — sharpens fine detail (use sparingly).
• Flip Horizontally — mirrors the image (useful depending on print orientation).

Size & thickness

• Width / Height (mm) — the physical size of a rectangular lithophane.
• Maximum Thickness — thickness at the darkest areas (typ. 3–4 mm).
• Minimum Thickness — thickness at the brightest areas (typ. 0.6–0.8 mm). Don't go below ~0.5 mm or light won't pass cleanly.
• Base Height / Frame — solid base under the relief.
• Mesh Subdivision — higher = smoother surface but bigger file and longer processing.

Shapes

Beyond a plain rectangle you can crop the lithophane to: Circle, Oval, Heart, Diamond, Hexagon, Octagon, Star, Rounded Rectangle, Arch, and Egg.

1. Select a shape — a blue outline appears on the preview.
2. Drag the shape on the preview to position it over the part of the photo you want.
3. Set Shape Width / Height (mm) for the physical size.

The exported STL matches the on-screen shape exactly, and the edges are watertight (closed) so they slice cleanly.

Hanging hole

Tick Add hanging hole to punch a hole near the top — perfect for ornaments and keychains. Set the diameter and the distance from the top. Works with any shape except a plain Rectangle.

Raised frame / border

Tick Add raised frame to add a raised rim around the shape edge (shown as an orange dashed line on the preview).

• Frame Width — how wide the rim is.
• Frame Height — how tall the rim stands. It uses the same scale as relief thickness, so to make the border clearly stand proud of the photo, set it a bit higher than your Maximum Thickness.
• Corner style — flat, beveled, or rounded profile (flat photos).

Previews

• Brightness Map — shows where the print will be thick (dark) vs thin (light).
• Backlit Preview — simulates how it will look with light shining through.
• 3D Preview — an interactive, auto-rotating 3D view. Drag to rotate, scroll to zoom. It reflects the shape, hole, and frame. (Relief is slightly exaggerated so it's easy to see.)

Settings file

Click Save Settings (.txt) to download a text file listing every setting used (size, thickness, shape, hole, frame, image adjustments, etc.). Keep it next to your STL so you can reproduce or tweak a print later.

Slicer settings (the important bit)

Open the STL in your slicer. These settings make or break a lithophane:

Many slicers include a "Lithophane" profile, but the table above is all you really need.

Orientation on the plate

• Flat photos: print standing up vertically (like a picture frame), image facing front — smoothest tones, no supports.
• Cylinder / Multi / Globe: print upright as modelled — curved walls self-support.
• Cube: print upright (open top and bottom) so all walls form cleanly.
• Add a brim if a tall, thin print wobbles or won't stick.

Lighting & display

• Use a diffuse, even backlight — an LED light box or panel is ideal.
• Cooler/neutral white light shows the most contrast.
• For lamps (cylinder, cube, globe) use a low-heat LED — never a hot/incandescent bulb (PLA softens with heat).
• The hanging hole option turns any flat shape into an ornament or keychain.

Troubleshooting

Quick-start recipe (can't-go-wrong)