Posterize
Crush a photo to a few flat tone levels โ the screen-print look.
About this tool
A levels slider from 2 to 8, a grayscale-first toggle for pure tone posters, and a live count of how many colours survive. Full-resolution processing on your device, PNG export.
From printing constraint to pop art
Posterization is named for its origin: poster printing ran one ink per pass, and nobody paid for eight passes โ so artists designed in flat bands from the start, and the look became a language (think protest posters and Warhol prints). Digitally it's quantisation: each channel's 256 levels snap to your chosen few, and smooth gradients become terraced bands. The slider positions that matter: 2 levels is maximum drama (with grayscale on, pure black-and-white shapes โ instant stencil art); 3โ4 is the classic screen-print zone; by 6โ8 the effect turns subtle, useful mostly for a retro-print softness. Faces work best with strong, simple lighting โ the bands fall along light gradients, so flat lighting makes flat, shapeless results. The banding also maps an image's tonal structure โ you can SEE where the levels live, which the histogram shows as a chart. Dither solves the same few-colours problem the opposite way; duotone recolours the bands into brand territory.
Frequently asked questions
How many levels should I use?
3โ4 for the classic screen-print look; 2 (with grayscale on) for stencil drama; 6+ when you just want gradients gently stepped. The colour count readout shows what each choice keeps.
Why do faces sometimes posterize badly?
Bands follow light gradients โ flat, even lighting gives the levels nothing to band around. Strong directional light posterizes into bold, readable shapes.
What does 'grayscale first' change?
Tones are flattened before quantising, so the result is pure gray bands โ the stencil/tone-poster look, and the right starting point for cutting vinyl or screen-printing for real.
Posterize or dither โ which do I want?
Posterize keeps few tones in flat bands (graphic, bold). Dither keeps two tones arranged to FAKE many (textured, retro). Same constraint, opposite aesthetics.