How to use Relief Print Simulator

A relief print is what is left standing on the block. This tool cuts the picture the way a hand would, and lets you choose how rough the hand is.

A short guide to getting good results, plus answers to the questions people ask most.

Open the tool

How to use it

  1. 1

    Drop a picture

    It opens as a one-color woodcut on cream paper, cut along the form of the subject.

  2. 2

    Choose the technique

    Woodcut or Linocut at the top of the panel, then a preset that sets the character of the cut.

  3. 3

    Carve

    Stroke width, spacing, contour, surface roughness and ink — every control is a carving decision, and the preset name reads Custom the moment you make one.

  4. 4

    Export

    SVG at your print size for a cutter, or PNG of the impression.

About this tool

Drop a picture and it opens as a one-color woodcut on cream paper: strokes cut along the form of the subject, wider in the shadows and thinner in the light, with the grain of the block showing through the ink. Switch to Linocut and the strokes turn cleaner and more gestural, with the slight irregularity of a gouge in lino rather than a knife in wood. Every control is a carving decision — stroke width, spacing, how far the cut follows the contour, how rough the surface is — not a filter slider.

For a reduction print, add colors: each layer is a threshold on the picture, printed in order, and the tool shows what a second and third pass would leave on the block. Export the strokes as SVG at your print size to cut or laser them, or as a PNG of the impression. Everything runs on your device; nothing is uploaded.

Features

Strokes that follow the form

A direction field is read from the picture so every cut runs along the subject, the way a carver works with the shape rather than across it.

Woodcut or linocut

Two techniques on one block: wood grain and a knife's straight cuts, or lino's smoother gouge with its own irregularity and edge roughness.

Reduction layers

Add colors as layers, each a threshold on the picture printed in sequence, and see what each pass leaves standing.

Vector strokes at size

Every cut is a path. Export SVG at your print size for a laser cutter or a plotter, or PNG for the impression itself.

Frequently asked questions

Is the relief print simulator free?

Yes. Every technique, layer and export is free with no sign-up and no watermark, and the picture never leaves your computer.

What is the difference between woodcut and linocut here?

Woodcut shows the grain of the block and cuts with the straighter marks of a knife; linocut cuts smoother, more gestural strokes with the slight wobble of a gouge. The controls are the same; the character of the marks is not.

Can I make a multi-color reduction print?

Yes. Add a layer per color. Each layer is a threshold on the picture and the layers print in order, so you can see what a second and third pass would look like before you cut.

Can I cut the result on a laser or a plotter?

Export SVG at your print size. Every stroke is a path with its own width, so a laser cutter or a plotter can follow it.

More tools

Dither, Halftone & Separations

125 dithering algorithms and halftone screens, plus press-ready color separations for screen printing.

Screen Print Separations

Separate artwork into screen-printing films — six separation modes, trapping in millimeters, underbase and press-ready plates.

Halftone Generator

Turn photographs into halftone dots — 20 dot shapes, 12 grid arrangements, per-channel screen angles and vector output.

ProDesigner is free for everyone, everywhere. If it saves you time, consider supporting its development.

Support ProDesigner