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Thermal Printer Effect

Drop in a JPEG, PNG, or WebP to simulate the gritty, high-contrast aesthetic of a store receipt or dot-matrix printer. The tool converts your image into a 1-bit black-and-white dither pattern and applies simulated paper textures and ink tints. Everything renders locally in the browser.

Choosing a dither algorithm

Start by selecting a Dithering Mode. Atkinson is the standard for classic retro aesthetics, famously used on early Macintosh computers, as it intentionally loses some detail for a punchy, high-contrast look. Floyd-Steinberg diffuses errors more smoothly, retaining better shading on faces and gradients.

Tuning the exposure

Thermal printing is notoriously unforgiving. If your image turns out entirely black or washed out, use the Brightness and Contrast sliders. These adjustments happen before the dithering pass, allowing you to force the algorithm to pick up subtle midtones or crush the shadows exactly where you want them.

Simulating the medium

Use Paper Noise to inject procedural static into the image before processing, which translates into random stray dots of ink that perfectly mimic the imperfection of cheap, gritty thermal paper. Finally, select a Paper Tint to mimic faded receipt stock, blue carbon ink, or stark black-and-white.

Frequently Asked Questions

JPEG, PNG, and WebP. The downloaded image keeps the same format as your original file.

No.

Dithering Mode determines how grayscale tones are converted into pure black and white dots. Atkinson creates a high-contrast classic retro look, Floyd-Steinberg preserves more gradient detail, and Threshold creates a harsh stencil silhouette.

Because 1-bit dithering removes all grayscale information, adjusting the Brightness and Contrast before the dither runs is critical for ensuring the subject remains recognizable and isn't washed out.

Paper Tint maps the pure black and white pixels to specific ink and paper colors, such as faded Receipt paper, Blue Ink, or harsh Red Ink.

Yes. Once the page has loaded, the effect can work offline because the image processing happens fully in your browser.

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