Effects — Retro
Thermal receipt effect
Print your photo like a thermal receipt: coarse dots, streaks and a faded ink look. Adjust dot size and streaking.
- Status
- Live
- Category
- Retro
- Settings
- 4
What is the Thermal receipt effect?
Thermal printers, the kind used for shop receipts, heat tiny dots on special paper, which makes high-contrast, slightly streaky prints that fade over time. The pattern of dots and the uneven darkness are instantly recognisable.
This effect converts your photo into a dot-based print and adds streaking, the horizontal banding of an unevenly heated print head. It is a fun way to turn a photo into a receipt, label or ticket.
Thermal receipt settings
- Dot size
- Streaking
- Ink
- Paper
Best photos for it
- Simple, high-contrast subjects
- Portraits and logos
- Receipt-style or zine layouts
Tips for better results
- Tip 01
Increase dot size for a coarser, more obvious printer look.
- Tip 02
Add streaking gradually; too much hides your subject.
- Tip 03
Use a pale cream paper with dark grey ink for realism.
Common questions
Is this the same as Dither + palette?
It is built on a similar dithering approach but tuned for a single-colour thermal-paper look.
Similar effects
- Dither + paletteConvert photos into retro pixel art with Bayer, Floyd–Steinberg, Atkinson or noise dithering and classic palettes like Game Boy, C64 and NES.Available
- Xerox / photocopyGive photos the high-contrast, gritty look of a photocopier. Set the threshold, add toner noise and choose your ink and paper colours.Available
- HalftoneTurn photos into the dot patterns of newspapers and comics. Choose CMYK or mono, dot, square or line shapes, plus cell size and screen angle.Available
Also searched as: Receipt filter, Thermal printer effect, Ticket print effect.