PRACTICAL GUIDE

How to make a printable stencil from a photo

Choose a high-contrast source image, remove unnecessary background detail and decide whether your final project needs fine contours or bold cut-out shapes.

1. Start with the right preset

Tattoo and wood-burning presets preserve more contour information. Cricut and spray-paint presets simplify regions and use thicker lines.

2. Adjust threshold before line thickness

The threshold decides which tones become black. Move it until the important subject is readable, then use line thickness and despeckle to make the design physically practical.

3. Add bridges for cut-out stencils

Letters and enclosed shapes contain islands that would fall out. Bridges connect those islands to the surrounding material.

4. Choose the real print width

Enter the final width in millimeters, centimeters or inches. If the stencil is larger than the selected paper, export the tiled PDF and assemble the labelled pages.