Black & White image converter

About the Black & White palette

A 1-bit image uses exactly two colors: black and white. Dithering is what lets those two colors fake an entire range of grays — by varying the density of black dots, the eye blends them into smooth tones.

1-bit images are ideal for e-ink displays, thermal receipt printers, laser engraving, risograph printing and the classic early-computer aesthetic. Files are tiny and look razor-sharp at any zoom.

Colors

Best for

• E-ink / e-paper displays
• Laser engraving & thermal printers
• Classic 1-bit art

Threshold or dither?

There are two ways to make a 1-bit image. Threshold turns every pixel darker than a cut-off black and the rest white — perfect for logos, line art and stencils. Dithering keeps the tones of a photo by varying the density of black pixels.

Save a true 1-bit PNG

Most tools save a black-and-white picture as an ordinary full-color PNG. Choose Indexed PNG next to the export scale and DitherImage writes a real 1-bit file: one bit per pixel and a two-color palette, which many e-paper libraries, label printers and microcontroller tools expect. It is also much smaller. Here is the sample scene (480 × 320, Atkinson) saved three ways:

For printing on fabric with a screen, see dithering for screen printing; for thermal printers and e-ink, the thermal printer guide and e-ink guide cover exact pixel sizes.

How to dither an image

1. Add your image. Click Upload image, drag a file onto the preview, or paste with Ctrl/⌘+V. JPG, PNG, WebP and GIF work.
2. Pick an algorithm and palette. Error diffusion (Floyd–Steinberg, Atkinson…) for photos, Bayer for a retro crosshatch.
3. Tune it. Raise pixel size for chunkier pixels; adjust brightness and contrast to control which tones become dark or light.
4. Download. Export a lossless PNG at up to 8× with crisp nearest-neighbour scaling.

FAQ