Free, in your browser, for any 3D printer
Lithophane Maker: Your Photo, Lit From Behind
Pick a photo, set the size and the thickness, and download a lithophane STL. Printed in white PLA, it looks like a plain plate until you hold it up to a light. The photo never leaves your device.
A real photo, and the lithophane this page made from it
Made with this page’s default settings on 5 Nov 2026. The picture on the right is drawn from the thickness stored in the STL itself.
- 100 x 76.5 mm, 0.8 to 3 mm thick
- 249,036 triangles, a 11.9 MB STL
- The bark texture survives: every 0.25 mm of the photo is a point of the plate
- Built in the browser, the photo is never uploaded
The picture on the right simulates light through white PLA. Your print will look warmer or cooler depending on the filament and the lamp.
Photo: Peter Cooper Jr., Wikimedia Commons, CC0
How the Lithophane Maker Works
Choose a photo
A JPG, PNG or WebP. It is read by your browser and never uploaded.
Set the size and thickness
Width 60 to 180 mm with the frame. Bright areas get thin (0.8 mm by default), dark areas get thick (3 mm by default). The preview shows the light coming through.
Download the STL and print
One watertight STL, flat on the bed. Open it in any slicer, print it in white PLA, then put it in front of a window or a lamp.
Which Photos Make Good Lithophanes
Good choices
- A face or a pet, close up
- Clear contrast between light and dark
- A photo that is a little bright rather than dark
- Sharp, not blurry
Harder
- Dark photos: everything becomes thick and dim
- Tiny faces in a wide group shot
- Busy backgrounds that compete with the subject
- Text smaller than a few millimetres
The Usual Print Settings
These are the settings lithophane makers commonly use. Your printer and filament may want small changes.
- White PLA: it lets the light through evenly.
- 100% infill, so the thickness, not the infill pattern, decides the shade.
- Thin layers, 0.12 to 0.16 mm, for smoother shades.
- Many people print it standing up for the finest detail, with a brim to keep it steady. Flat on the bed, relief side up, works too.
Lithophane Questions
Is the lithophane maker free?
Yes. The STL is built in your browser, with no account, no watermark and no limit on the number of lithophanes.
Is my photo uploaded?
No. Your browser reads the photo, builds the STL and hands you the file. Nothing is sent to a server.
Why does the lithophane look grey and bumpy in daylight?
That is normal. A lithophane is a plate whose thickness follows the photo: dark areas are thick, bright areas are thin. The picture only appears when light shines through it from behind.
How thick should a lithophane be?
The defaults, 0.8 mm for the brightest areas and 3 mm for the darkest, are a common starting point. A thinner minimum gives brighter highlights but is more fragile; a thicker maximum gives deeper blacks. The frame is printed at the maximum thickness.
What size can I make?
From 60 to 180 mm wide, frame included; the height follows the shape of your photo. The finest detail level at the largest size makes a file too heavy for a browser, so the tool asks you to pick a smaller size or a coarser detail level.
Can it make curved, round or heart-shaped lithophanes?
Not yet. This tool makes flat rectangular plates, with or without a frame.
Which slicer and printer can I use?
Any. The download is a standard binary STL: Bambu Studio, PrusaSlicer, Cura, OrcaSlicer and Creality Print all open it.
I want a colour print of a logo, not a lithophane. What do I use?
Image to STL or Image to 3MF: they trace a logo into flat colours and give one part per colour for multicolour printing. If you already have an SVG, the free SVG to STL tool does it in your browser.
Make your lithophane now
Free, in your browser, ready in seconds.
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