Turn photos into glowing night lights
A lithophane is a thin translucent 3D print that reveals a photograph when lit from behind. 3DPlotter converts any portrait into a print-ready STL — flat panel, curved lamp shade, heart ornament, or framed stand.
See it glow before you print it — a live backlit simulation shows exactly how the finished piece will look with an LED behind it. Part of the Creator Bundle.
Personalised gifts people actually keep
Lithophanes are one of the strongest-selling handmade gifts on Etsy. Here is what makers print most.
Baby Portraits
Give new parents a warm night light they will keep forever. A 100 × 100 mm flat panel in front of an LED tea light sells for €18–45 on Etsy.
Pet Memorials
Heart-shaped ornaments and curved lamp shades make intimate memorial pieces for beloved pets. Buyers pay premium prices without hesitating.
Wedding Gifts
First-dance photos, venue shots, or couple portraits on a curved lamp or framed stand — personalised for every couple you print for.
Christmas Ornaments
Star and circle ornaments with hanging holes turn family photos into backlit Christmas tree decorations. Print a new one every year.
How It Works
From photo to finished backlit print in four steps.
Upload Your Photo
Drag and drop a JPEG, PNG, WEBP, or HEIC (iPhone) photo. The image is processed entirely in your browser — nothing is uploaded to a server. Portraits with strong contrast and an evenly-lit face produce the best results.
- Supports JPEG, PNG, WEBP, and HEIC from iPhone
- All processing happens locally in your browser
- Auto contrast stretch brings out midtone detail
- Unsharp mask sharpens face features
Tune the Image
Adjust contrast, sharpness, and brightness. Set the minimum wall thickness (bright areas) and maximum wall thickness (dark areas). A live backlit simulation shows exactly how the print will look with an LED behind it.
- Live warm / neutral / cool LED simulation
- Min thickness 0.4–2.0 mm, max 2.0–5.0 mm
- Optional face-region detail boost
- Real-time 3D preview of the mesh
Choose an Output Shape
Pick flat panel (lay flat on a stand), curved lamp shade (wraps around an LED candle), shaped ornament (circle, heart, star, hexagon, rounded square), or framed stand (panel + matching frame printed separately).
- Flat panel — classic lithophane
- Curved — wraps around an LED candle at your exact diameter
- Ornament — circle, heart, star, hexagon, rounded square
- Framed — panel + stand / hanging / wall frame
3D Print & Light It Up
Download the STL and print in white PLA or PETG at 0.12–0.16 mm layer height. Insert a warm white LED tea light, USB candle, or light strip behind the panel. The darker areas of your photo become thicker walls that block light — the image appears when lit.
- Print in white PLA or PETG (coloured filament blocks light)
- 0.12–0.16 mm layer height recommended for faces
- No supports needed — panels print flat, curves print upright
- Any warm white LED (3000 K) completes the lamp
Features
Every control you need to nail the look before you commit to a multi-hour print.
Live Backlit Preview
See the exact warm glow of your lithophane before you commit to a multi-hour print. The canvas simulates light transmission through white PLA using Beer–Lambert attenuation.
Four Output Modes
Flat panel, curved lamp shade, circular / heart / star ornament, or framed stand. Each mode outputs a watertight, slicer-ready STL.
Five Ornament Shapes
Circle, heart, star, rounded square, and hexagon. Each shape masks your photo into the outline with an opaque border ring and optional hanging hole.
Curved to Exact Diameter
Set your LED candle diameter in mm and the curved mesh wraps to that exact radius. 180° to 360° wrap angle, with automatic seam smoothing for full wraps.
Three Export Resolutions
Draft (150 px, ~70k triangles) for fast iteration, Standard (250 px, ~250k) for FDM, Fine (400 px, ~640k) for resin printers and fine portraits.
Privacy-First Processing
Photos never leave your browser. Canvas API + typed-array pipeline runs entirely on your device. Nothing is uploaded, stored, or transmitted.
Why 3D Print Your Lithophane?
Custom lithophane orders from online shops cost €25–60 each and take a week to arrive. With a 3D printer and the right generator, every photo is a unique personalised gift in a few hours.
Order Online
- €25–60 per lithophane
- 3–14 day shipping wait
- No live preview — hope it looks right
- One size, one shape, one photo per order
Free Web Tools
- No backlit preview
- Flat panels only — no curved or shaped modes
- Poor face-area contrast handling
- Bare STL, no frame or stand generator
3DPlotter
- €39.90 once — unlimited lithophanes
- Live backlit simulation before printing
- Flat, curved, 5 ornament shapes, framed
- Photos never leave your browser
What You Need
Everything required to design and 3D print custom lithophanes.
Hardware
- Any FDM or resin 3D printer
- White PLA or PETG filament (1.75 mm)
- Warm white LED: tea light, USB candle, or LED strip
- Calipers for measuring LED holder diameter (curved mode)
Software
- 3DPlotter Creator Bundle (€39.90 one-time)
- Modern web browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge)
- Your favourite slicer (OrcaSlicer, Bambu Studio, Cura, PrusaSlicer)
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a lithophane?
A lithophane is a thin translucent plaque with a photographic image embedded as variations in thickness. When lit from behind, the thicker regions block more light and appear darker, while thinner regions let light through and appear brighter — revealing the original photo. Lithophanes have existed since the 1820s; 3D printing made custom ones accessible to everyone.
What 3D printer do I need?
Any FDM printer with 0.12–0.16 mm layer-height capability works well. Resin (SLA/DLP) printers produce sharper detail for fine portraits but are not required. Most Bambu Lab, Prusa, Creality, and Ender printers handle lithophanes perfectly.
Which filament should I use?
White PLA or PETG. The filament must be white or cream — coloured filament blocks light and ruins the effect. Translucent white works best; opaque bright white also works. Avoid any warm-tone or cool-tone whites: they tint the final image.
What LED should I put behind it?
Any warm white (2700 K–3000 K) LED tea light, USB candle, or LED strip. Warm whites give the classic amber glow associated with lithophanes. Neutral white (4000 K) and cool white (6000 K) also work — the live preview in the app lets you simulate all three before you commit.
How long does a lithophane take to print?
A 100 × 100 mm flat panel at 0.1 mm layer height typically prints in 3–5 hours. A curved lamp shade 70 mm diameter × 100 mm tall prints in 2–4 hours. Ornaments at 80 mm diameter finish in 1–3 hours. Fine resolution adds significant time; draft resolution is for preview only.
How do I print a curved lithophane?
Load the STL into your slicer, orient it with the cylinder axis pointing up (the open circular end on the build plate), disable supports, set infill to 0% (it is already hollow), use 2 perimeters or vase mode for 360° wraps. The printed piece slips over a standard LED candle at the exact holder diameter you set in the app.
What resolution should I choose?
Standard (250 px) is ideal for most FDM prints and Etsy orders — the sweet spot of detail and file size. Fine (400 px) is for resin printers and fine portraits where you need every facial detail. Draft (150 px) is for fast iteration while tuning settings; do not print from draft exports.
Do my photos get uploaded anywhere?
No. All image processing and STL generation happens entirely in your browser using the Canvas API and typed arrays. Your photos never leave your device. The only data sent to our servers is usage analytics (page views, feature clicks) — never the photo or the STL.
Ready to Turn Photos into Glowing Gifts?
Get the Creator Bundle for €39.90 — includes the lithophane generator plus pen plotting, string art, wax seal, and roll press tools. One-time purchase, lifetime access.