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Posterize Image

Reduce an image to flat bands of colour.

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Drop an image here, or click to choose one

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Quick Tool Overview

Posterize Image snaps every pixel to the nearest of a small number of levels, collapsing gradients into flat bands. Four or five levels gives the classic poster; two gives a stencil; above eight the effect vanishes. Per-channel level counts shift the palette in ways that read as deliberate rather than broken.

What it does
Reduces an image to flat tonal bands
You give it
A photo and a level count
You get back
A banded, screen-print style image
Best for
Posters, screen printing and graphic styling
Image Tools Free, unlimited use No sign-up Runs in your browser

About the Posterize Image

Posterising snaps every pixel to the nearest of a small number of levels, which collapses smooth gradients into flat bands. It is the look of screen printing and of the political poster, and it is one setting away from either working or looking like an error.

The number of levels is that setting. Two gives a stark stencil; four or five gives the classic poster; above eight the effect stops being visible at all. Levels can be set per channel for the shifted, slightly wrong palettes that make the effect look deliberate, and an edge outline can be drawn on top, which is what turns a posterised photograph into something that reads as illustration.

Key features of the Posterize Image

Per-channel levels

Different counts for red, green and blue shift the palette into combinations that look intentional.

Edge outlines

Optional edge detection drawn over the bands turns a posterised photo into something reading as illustration.

Screen-print ready

Set the level count to the number of inks you can print and each band becomes one screen.

Clear about the sweet spot

The page says four or five levels rather than leaving you to discover that eight does nothing.

Distinguished from compression

This snaps to even levels for a visible effect, unlike the PNG Compressor which picks an optimal palette to stay invisible.

How to use the Posterize Image

  1. 1

    Load the image

    High-contrast photographs with a clear subject posterise best.

  2. 2

    Set the levels

    Start at 4. Two is a stencil, eight is barely visible.

  3. 3

    Try per-channel levels

    Different level counts per channel shift the palette in ways that look intentional.

  4. 4

    Add an outline

    Edge detection drawn over the bands turns the result into illustration.

Frequently asked questions

Four or five for the classic poster look. Two produces a stark black and white stencil. Above eight the banding stops being visible and the effect disappears.

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