PenPlot Studio
Turns a photograph into a pen drawing, then plots it with a 3D printer.
2026
Desktop app
open source
Python, Computer vision, G-code, Marlin, RepRapFirmware, Klipper, GRBL
Clamp a pen in the tool holder of an Ender 3, connect over USB, and this turns photographs, drawings and PDFs into plotted line art. Swap the pen for a blade and it cuts stencils instead. Drop an image in and it is ready to plot, because the tonal range is set from the histogram automatically. An optional 232 KB face detector recognises portraits and switches to local contrast with form following hatching.
Twenty two drawing techniques are implemented, from crosshatch and stipple to flow fields, Hilbert curves, single line TSP paths, Voronoi cells and mazes. Dot only mode lifts the pen between every mark, so dots cluster in the shadows and thin out in the highlights. Stencil mode splits an image across sheets and generates the bridges that hold the islands in place, then simulates the cut before anything moves.
Nineteen machine profiles are supported across Marlin, RepRapFirmware, Klipper and GRBL, with the USB protocol tested in simulation against six different firmware behaviours.
