3D Printing Lithophane Software
Aside from your favorite slicing software, what else do you need to create high quality lithophanes?
Surely, as my grandmother used to say "there's more than one way to skin a cat!" With all of the software choices and ways to create a 3d printed lithophane, where do you start?
Luckily, I have done all the hard work for you. I have experimented with a wide range of tools and developed my own list of software and websites, that will help you quickly create high quality Lithophanes.
I have broken the software list into 3 parts, Photo Editing, Image to Lithophane Converters, and Slicers.
Also be sure to check out my article on the Best Filament For Lithophanes.
Photo Editing
Surely, editing your photo's is not a complete necessity, but it will definitely improve your final product.
Editing your photos allows you to enhance the over all clarity and contrast between colors. For the sake of time I will not be exploring how to use these tools however, if you would like more further take a look at my Lithophane Editing Tutorial
There are really only 2 options here, Photoshop and Gimp.
The major downside to Photoshop is that it is paid tool. On the other hand, Photoshop is by far the best photo editing tool on the market.
If you are looking for a free photo editing software, with excellent features, I highly recommend Gimp.
Gimp is also 100% free and easy to use, so definitely check it out!
Image To Lithophane Conversion
Now that you have your photo, the next step is converting it to an .stl file. In other words, a file that you can 3d print.
- 3dprocks - 3dprocks is the first Lithophane software that I used, if you want something quick and easy this is the one for you.
- lithophanemaker.com is another great Lithophane tool. lithophanemaker.com provides a number of tools including lamp shades, boxes and globes.
- Itslitho.com is one of the newest Lithophane conversion tools to come into play. One thing that Itslitho.com has that none of the other tools has, is the ability to edit your photos. YES, you can change the brightness and contrast, along with enhancing the colors all in the same tool.
Read More About 3dprocks Settings Here
Check out this Christmas Ornament Tutorial using Itslitho.com
Slicers
Out of all the Slicing software's there seems to be 3 that are the most popular Simplify 3d, Slic3r PE and Cura.
Simplify 3d is the leader in the paid options category even though, it does have some cool features like the ability to import gcode and visually see tool paths. For me it doesn't justify the cost of the software.
Free Slicers have done just fine by my standards and there is a huge support community around each one. Everything from support forums to Facebook groups.
Cura by far is the most popular in the free category. It has a wide range of user support and is fairly easy to use. I used this for a long time, before venturing off to Slic3r PE. I found that some of the features you want to use are hidden, and there isn't a lot of information on them.
Which brings me to my personal choice in slicers, Slic3r PE. The main reason why I prefer Slic3r PE, which stands for Prusa Edition, it is continuously being optimized my the Prusa Research Team.
Some of the most notable features of Slic3r PE is that you can print multiple materials, add support blockers, and add support enforcers.
Support blockers allow you to specify an area where you do not want supports automatically generated. Support enforcers do the opposite and allow you to add supports in a specific area.
The ONLY thing I do not like about Slic3r PE is the fact that it lacks physical measurements. Meaning if you want to scale an object to a specific size, you cant. Instead Slic3r PE allows you scale by ratios.
Granted, this issue does not arise often but, when it does I have found a work around. For those cases where I need to scale an object by specific dimensions I use Meshmixer. It is a free .stl editing program that you will also find useful.
In addition, Slicer PE allows you to create separate tabs or settings for different types of filament, printers, and print settings.
So when you change your filament, you do not need to load a whole new profile, simply select a new filament type.
Head over to lithophanemaker.com and chose the “Curved Lithophane Maker”, basically what we want to create is a hollow cylinder so our lamp will fit inside. Upload your file and choose your setti
Summarized List of Software's
FINAL VERDICT
If you are looking to simply 3d print a flat or curved lithophane quickly, then 3dprocks is the site for you. Quick intuitive interface to get you lithophanes converted quickly.
If you are looking to create the perfect lithophane and edit your photo as well the Itslitho.com is your best bet!
However, If you want to experiment add clarity and definition to your Lithophanes, definitely explore the photo editing software's along with lithophanemaker.com.
As always, if you liked this post, please share on social media and feel free to comment down below. Thank you for reading!
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