How does a lithophane differ from a 3D-printed light box?

A lithophane is a thin relief panel — bright parts of the photo become thinner plastic, dark parts become thicker — that is read by transmitted light from behind. A 3D-printed light box is a hollow enclosure that holds one or more lithophane panels plus the LED and diffuser. The STL downloaded here is the lithophane panel itself (2.8 mm relief on a 0.6 mm floor, 40 mm long side by default); add a printed frame, a 5 V LED strip, and a diffusion layer to turn it into a full light box.

Where is the maker community for 3D relief sculpture and lithophanes?

The active communities for 3D relief and lithophane makers in 2026 are r/3Dprinting and r/lithophanes on Reddit, the Bambu Lab and Prusa forums, the LightBurn Software Forum (for laser-engraved reliefs on brass and wood), and several Discord servers linked from those forums. For discussion about the depth-map step specifically — 16-bit vs 8-bit output, AI depth-estimation models, bas-relief depth curves — the overlap between r/lasercutting and the LightBurn forum is the highest-signal thread.

Is this a curved lamp shade?

No. The mesh is a flat relief with walls and a base. Curved lithophanes are not in this version — a flat 40 mm panel is the default.

Why is the third picture a glowing panel?

That photograph shows the kind of backlit result. The file you download is the STL built from the depth map, not that picture.

What filament works best?

White PLA (translucent variants rated for lithophanes) at 100% infill, 0.08–0.12 mm layer height, printed vertically so the light passes through the Z axis. Matte PLA mutes the highlights; glossy or clear PLA gives the sharpest contrast.

Why 0.6 mm floor and 2.8 mm relief?

The bright parts of the photograph become the thinnest plastic (0.6 mm) and the dark parts become the thickest (3.4 mm total). This spread gives a readable backlit image on a standard 5 V LED panel without overexposing the highlights.

Lithophane

3D Printed Lithophane from Any Photo

The rose is inverted for a backlit print: 2.8 mm of relief on a 0.6 mm floor. Generate once, then change thickness locally.

Inverted · 2.8 mm relief · 0.6 mm floor · Closed STL

By Depth-Map.com TeamLast tested 2026-11-10Verified on Bambu X1C, Translucent White PLA, 5 V LED panelRose sample printed vertically at 0.08 mm layer, 100% infill

Inverted depth for backlit 3D-printed lithophanes — 2.8 mm max thickness, 0.6 mm minimum.

Preview

Window rose

Parameters

preset: Lithophane

Max depth2.8 mm

Base thickness0.6 mm

Long side40 mm

Invert

Local adjustments

Gamma1.00

Flatten background0.00

Crop0%

Depth map ready

Export

Sliders rewrite this result locally. PNG and STL match the preview.

This sample

Inverted 16-bit depth of the rose — 16-bit PNG, inverted

White panel of a rose lit from behind — Backlit result

Four steps

1
Use a clear subject
A single object against a bright or dark field reads better than a busy room.
2
Generate
The server returns one depth field for the rose.
3
Invert
The lithophane preset flips near and far so the bright rose is the thinner plastic.
4
Print the STL
Long side starts at 40 mm, floor 0.6 mm, relief 2.8 mm. The long-side slider does not call the model again.

Questions

Image to STL

The same mesh without the lithophane invert.

What is bas-relief?

How a grayscale file becomes a shallow carving.

A new photo is one upload.

Generate sends it once. Depth, invert, gamma, and crop then stay in the browser. The sample on this page is already a real file.

3D Printed Lithophane from Any Photo