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Papel picado from a picture

Papel picado, the Mexican cut-paper banner, as a print. A cut-out is a picture cut through a thin panel in a window. A portrait is a photo of a face in two colours on a solid backing. A border of flowers and scallops goes round it.

Photo

What the picture becomes

A cut-out cuts the picture through a thin panel. A portrait leaves the photo of a face on a solid backing, so nothing breaks off.

Picture

A photo, a drawing or a silhouette (PNG, JPG, WebP, SVG). In a cut-out the dark parts stay as paper and the light ones are cut away. In a portrait the dark parts are printed in the second colour on the backing.

A sharp, well-lit face seen from the front works best. The portrait lies on a solid backing, so small details stay attached.

10–90 %

Higher means more dark areas.

0–100 %

Less gives broader, simpler shapes. More gives fine lines of hair and features.

0–3
0–60 %

Cuts off the lower part of the photo so the face is bigger. Drawings and library motifs are not trimmed.

Frame

Pattern of the border
0.2–1
6–30 mm
Where the scallops are
Background round the person

A dark background needs the person separated, or a PNG with a transparent background. Its pattern is the one of the border and shows the colour of the backing.

Size

Size
80–250 mm
80–250 mm
1–3 mm
0.3–1.2 mm
0.8–2 mm
Wall thickness and more

Placement

0.5–1.5 ×
-125–125 mm
-125–125 mm
-45–45 °

Drag the frame in the preview to move the portrait. A corner of the frame changes its size, the grip above it turns it. What reaches past the window is cut off. The placement goes into the download and into the print.

Placement belongs to the portrait. A cut-out fills the whole window.

Colours

The 3MF carries both colours and the height where they change. The STL is one solid for a one-colour print.

Material and quantity

A finished print, as an examplelib:holidays/sugar-skull

Sizes and parts appear with the preview.

The calculation shows the exact price and print time, and you can download the model or a project for your printer. No sign-up.

A cut-out prints flat without supports, one colour per panel. For a garland print several panels in different colours and thread them on a string. A portrait prints flat too: the backing in the first colour, the frame and the picture in the second, with one filament change at the top of the backing. From the side the light edge of the backing shows. A thin PLA panel may warp in the sun behind a window.

Papel picado: a portrait from a photo or a cut-out panel from a picture

Papel picado is the Mexican banner of coloured paper with pictures and ornaments punched into it; it is hung at feasts, weddings and above all on the Day of the Dead. The tool does the same in plastic, in two ways. A cut-out is a thin panel with the picture cut through it as a window. A portrait is a photo of a face turned into a drawing of two colours that lies on a solid backing, so nothing falls out of it or breaks off. You can upload a photo, a drawing or a silhouette (PNG, JPG, WebP, SVG), or pick a motif from the library.

In a portrait the whole panel is a light backing plate, and on it the frame and the dark parts of the face are printed in a second, dark colour: hair, eyes, lips, shadows. The tool can separate the person from the background; the background then stays light, or becomes dark and strewn with flowers through which the backing shows. Sliders set how much is dark, how fine the drawing is and how much is trimmed below the shoulders. You move, size and turn the portrait in its window right in the preview. It prints flat, with one filament change at the top of the backing. Round the window runs a border pierced with one of seven patterns: folk flowers, flowers, diamonds, dots, hearts, leaves or stars. You set its width and how dense the pattern is. Scallops with a hole can run along the lower edge only or all round, and the top corners have two holes for the string. In a cut-out the tool ties with thin strips whatever would hang in the air, such as a face in a cut-out background. A panel is 80 to 250 mm wide and tall.

How it works

  1. Choose a cut-out or a portrait and upload a picture. After a photo is uploaded the tool switches to a portrait, after a drawing or a library motif to a cut-out. You can change the choice at any time.
  2. Tune the drawing. "Light / dark" moves the line between dark and light, "Portrait detail" says how fine the features stay. Next to the original photo you see the portrait exactly as it will be printed.
  3. Choose the frame, the size and the placement. The pattern and the width of the border, scallops, holes for the string. Drag the frame in the preview to move the portrait in its window; a corner changes its size and the grip turns it.
  4. Pick the colours and order a print or download. The colours of the backing and of the frame come from the spools we have on the farm. A print by us is one step away; the 3MF project with two colours and the STL are free to download without an account.

What the tool can make

A portrait of 190 × 190 mm from the drawn face of the library: a cream backing, a dark blue frame with folk flowers and scallops all round.
A portrait of 190 × 190 mm from the drawn face of the library: a cream backing, a dark blue frame with folk flowers and scallops all round.
A cut-out of 150 × 213 mm with the sugar skull of the library and a border of flowers.
A cut-out of 150 × 213 mm with the sugar skull of the library and a border of flowers.
A frame of 160 × 120 mm with folk flowers and an empty window: a plate for your own lettering or a photo stuck on.
A frame of 160 × 120 mm with folk flowers and an empty window: a plate for your own lettering or a photo stuck on.

Common questions

What photo makes a good portrait?

A sharp, well-lit face from the front or in half profile. A calm background helps but is not needed: we separate the person from it. Dark hair against light skin works best; for fair hair choose the dark background round the person, the head then has a clear outline.

Why does the portrait lie on a backing instead of being cut through?

A face is full of small islands: pupils, the glint of glasses, strands of hair. Cut through, nothing would hold them. On a backing every detail holds and the drawing can be much finer.

How are the two colours printed?

The backing is printed in the first colour and from its top the print goes on in the second. That is one filament change at a height, 2 mm by default. Our farm does it by itself. The 3MF project for OrcaSlicer and PrusaSlicer carries the change, so a printer with one nozzle is enough. From the side the light edge of the backing shows. One colour works too: the STL is one solid and the drawing stands out as a relief.

Why are there thin vertical lines in a cut-out?

Those are the ties. A piece of paper that nothing would hold once its surroundings are cut out is tied by them to the rim of the hole. The ties can be 0.8 to 2.4 mm wide. A portrait needs none.

How thick should the panel be?

A cut-out from 0.8 to 2 mm; 1.2 mm is the default. A portrait has a backing of 1 to 3 mm and a drawing of 0.3 to 1.2 mm on it; the default 2 + 0.6 mm makes a firm plate that does not bend.

How do I pay and how do I get the panel?

You pay from prepaid credit that you top up by card; prices are shown in Czech crowns or in euros. We send the print through Packeta to a pick-up point or to an address in the EU.

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