Lithophanes are etched or molded artwork that can only be clearly seen when held up to the light. 3d printed lithophanes are a fun piece of art that can be easily made on your printer.
Having been around since the 1800s, early lithophanes were made by carving images in warm wax on a glass plate. A mold was made from plaster gypsum or metal, and porcelain was used to create the finished product.
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Can You 3d Print a Lithophane?
Today, most lithophanes are made using 3d printers. Lithophanes can be 3d printed using a resin printer or filament-based printer.
The small details that resin printers are capable of producing will ultimately make for a better lithophane, but filament printers can produce great images as well.
If you want to learn to make your own lithophane using your 3d printer, you’ve come to the right place.
How to Choose a Good Image for Lithophane
Low Contrast Image vs High Contrast Image
Deciding which image to use is an important decision when it comes to making the perfect lithophane. Choosing an image with great contrast will give you the best results.
An image that is mostly the same colors or shades will likely not turn out as well as a bright subject on a dark background (or vice-versa). A good rule of thumb- if it looks good in black and white, chances are it will make a good lithophane.
Creating Your Lithophane .STL File
There are three different methods to choose from to create your lithophane file: (1) use a 3d modeling software such as Blender or Adobe, (2) manipulate settings using your slicer, and (3) using an Image-to-Lithophane Generator.
An image-to-lithophane maker is by far the simplest and most efficient way to create an .stl file for your lithophane.
Image-to-Lithophane Generator
Using an Image-to-Lithophane generator is the easiest way to 3d print your own lithophane. These generators use a browser-based service that converts your image to a .stl file.
There are a few different options: 3DP Rocks, ItsLitho, and Lithophane Maker. Lithophane Maker is the most popular, and we will be using it to make our 3d print lithophane.
Step 1. Choose your image. Be sure that it is well contrasted.
Step 2. Go to Lithophane Maker.
Step 3. Choose what type of lithophane you want to make and click on the link. Here, we are making the Flat Lithophane Maker.
Step 4. Upload your photo.
Step 5. Manipulate settings. (For now, just go with the standard settings).
Step 6. Create the file by clicking “Create .stl” button
Filament to Use for 3d Print Lithophane
When choosing a filament for your lithophane 3d print it is important to choose a material that is easy to work with. PLA is the easiest filament to work with due to its low melting temperature and is the go-to option when it comes to making lithophanes.
The color of your PLA is also important. You do not want a filament that is transparent.
Most people (including myself) print lithophanes using white PLA filament because it make the images stand out the most. Sometimes different kinds of white PLA can give off different glows/colors from lighting.
It is possible to make a lithophane with PETG and may be desirable if you need it to withstand very hot temperatures or if it is going outside. Using PETG for lithophanes will take more time and fine-tuning of your printer, possibly resulting in a fair amount of test prints.
Tips for 3d Printing Lithophanes
- Print slowly
- Why? In general, the slower you print the better your lithophane will look. You want to find the “sweet spot” between time and quality lost. Most will say that time is between 30-45 mm/s. I usually print my lithophanes at 30 mm/s.
- Print vertically
- Why? Printing your lithophane standing up dramatically improves the quality of your lithophane 3d print. This is because 3d printers have a much higher resolution on the z axis than on the x,y plane. If you print your image flat, you will loose more detail and see less of the contours than if you were to print vertically.
- Orient your lithophane 3d print on the y-axis.
- Why? It creates less wobble when oriented on the y-axis and reduces the likelihood of your print from coming off the bed.
- Set walls/perimeters to 3-5 and/or infill to 99 percent.
- Why? The idea with this is that you want the entire image portion of the print to solid. Using perimeters instead of infill is something commonly debated in the 3d printing community. Using perimeters instead of infil is said to improve your print quality because the extruder is more gentle and uses less “jerky” movement when printing perimeters.
- Set your layer height low as possible.
- Why? Layer height is a huge factor in determining the quality of your lithophane. The larger the layers, the less detail and contours your will see in your lithophane. You will also see more layer lines as well.
- Add a 2-3mm brim
- Why? A brim can help prevent warping and curling. You may want a larger brim depending on how your adhesion is. Prior to upgrading to a textured steel plate, I would have made the brim 5mm.
Interested in some ways to make your 3d printer better and easier to use? Check out this article on 3d printing improvements that are actually useful.
Slicing Your Lithophane 3d Print
Use the slicer you are most familiar with to 3d print your lithophane. If you already have slicer settings that work for your specific printer, then you only change one thing.
Assuming you already have your printer settings dialed in, the only thing you really need to change is the infil or perimeters.
Changing the perimeters and/or infil will make sure that the image is solid. Having infil that is not compelety solid will cause you to see the infil lines when lit.
When I 3d print lithophanes, I set the perimeters at 3 mm. This basically “replaces” the infil and uses perimeter as the infil. We do this because the printer is more “gentle” when printing perimeter versus infil. This ultimately allows your print to come out nicer, with less lines.
If you would rather make the lithophane solid using the infil setting, set it to 99%. This is because at 100% the print time is a lot longer. By setting the infil to 99% you will be dramatically decreasing printing time, without really sacrificing the quality of your lithophane.
Recommended Slicer Settings For PLA Lithophane
- Printing Temperature: 200 – 210 ºC
- Bed Temperature: 50 – 65 ºC (this can change depending on build plate)
- Layer height: 0.12 mm (0.20 mm max layer height)
- Retraction: 5-6 mm for bowden tube extruder (0.5-2.0 mm for direct drive extruder)
- Perimeter: 3 mm
- Infill: 99%
- Speed: 30-45 mm/s
- Initial Layer Speed: 20 mm/s
- Initial Layer Height: 0.2 mm
- Initial Fan speed: 0%
- Fan speed (after the initial layers): 100%
Recommended Slicer Settings For PETG Lithophane
- Printing Temperature: 235-245 ºC
- Bed Temperature: 80 ºC (this can change depending on build plate)
- Layer height: 0.12 mm (0.20 mm max layer height)
- Retraction: 5-6 mm for bowden tube extruder (0.5-2.0 mm for direct drive extruder)
- Perimeter: 3 mm
- Infill: 99%
- Speed: 30 mm/s
- Initial Layer Speed: 20 mm/s
- Initial Layer Height: 0.2 mm
- Initial Fan speed: 0%
- Fan speed (after the initial layers): 100%
Resin Printed Lithophanes
Resin printing is capable of printing at a much higher level of detail as compared to filament printers. SLA printed lithophane is also much faster than filament printing.
This gives resin printers a distinct advantage when wanting to 3d print lithophane images. The downside to resin printing is the small build plate (aka you are limited to a smaller lithophane).
It is recommended to print your image flat. Resin lithophanes should be slightly thicker (4.5-5mm) in comparison to filament-based lithophanes (3.5mm max).
Once your image is printed, you can continue with your usual post-processing methods. If you would like a more ambery glow to your lithophane when lit, you can experiment with over curing your lithophane.
Lighting Your Lithophane
The look of your lithophane can change depending upon the light source you use. Putting your lithophane in the window will look different versus putting in front of an LED light, red light, white light, green light, etc.
You will get the most pronounced shading/color by using a white light. To save on money and energy, I generally like to use LED light bulbs.
Putting your lithophane in a bright window also looks great, and requires very little effort. Simply prop it up in a window and you are good to go. You can also print little holes in your image and use suction cup hangers, this looks very nice in a window.
Conclusion
Making your own 3d printed lithophane is a fun and easy 3d printing project. 3d printed lithophanes make great gifts and keepsakes. Lithophanes can be made using resin and filament printers. While resin printers can print in very fine detail, filament printers can also make great lithophanes.