# 16 bit images yet?

**URL:** <https://discourse.mcneel.com/t/16-bit-images-yet/152006>\
**Category:** Rhino\
**Tags:** windows\
**Created:** [December 13, 2022, 1:37am UTC](https://discourse.mcneel.com/t/16-bit-images-yet/152006 "2022-12-13T01:37:14Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![FlynnAD](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/mcneel/user_avatar/discourse.mcneel.com/flynnad/32/507116_2.png) [@FlynnAD](https://discourse.mcneel.com/u/FlynnAD)\
**Post date:** [December 13, 2022, 1:37am UTC](https://discourse.mcneel.com/t/16-bit-images-yet/152006/1 "2022-12-13T01:37:14Z")

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There are several posts on the forum about using / importing 16-bit images. It seems that the majority of the posts state that Rhino / Grasshopper can only use 8-bit images. However, many of these posts are years old.

I would like to import an image file within Grasshopper, query it, then make a heightfield mesh out of the image. However, 8-bit images (of any type: jpg, png, bmp) show too much stepping and will not produce the quality I need in the final mesh. I’d have to go to another software.

Can Grasshopper, or any of its plugins, use a 16- or 32-bit image yet?

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**Author:** ![tay.othman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/mcneel/user_avatar/discourse.mcneel.com/tay.othman/32/766134_2.png) [@tay.othman](https://discourse.mcneel.com/u/tay.othman)\
**Post date:** [December 13, 2022, 6:42am UTC](https://discourse.mcneel.com/t/16-bit-images-yet/152006/2 "2022-12-13T06:42:36Z")

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I haven’t seen an RGB value with (65536,65536,65536) so I guess 16-bit images are not supported in Grasshopper. I tried (Native GH components + Bitmap + enhanced image sampler)

Heightfield was able to read a 16 bit per channel image, but I couldn’t verify if it is actually working as 16 bpc.

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**Author:** ![zweers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/mcneel/user_avatar/discourse.mcneel.com/zweers/32/490961_2.png) [@zweers](https://discourse.mcneel.com/u/zweers)\
**Post date:** [October 24, 2024, 8:41am UTC](https://discourse.mcneel.com/t/16-bit-images-yet/152006/3 "2024-10-24T08:41:11Z")

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hi tay, i’m working with 3d prints of mountains and indeed stepping is an issue. i now have to convert my elevation data into a couple of different maps (mapping it in Qgis with a scale function) which can be “heightfielded” and stacked upon each other, thus avoiding the stepping. Did you have any succes with using a 16 bit map in heightfield? Just asking, i’m going to try this for myself as well

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**Author:** ![Charles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/mcneel/user_avatar/discourse.mcneel.com/charles/32/747625_2.png) [@Charles](https://discourse.mcneel.com/u/Charles)\
**Post date:** [October 28, 2024, 10:56am UTC](https://discourse.mcneel.com/t/16-bit-images-yet/152006/4 "2024-10-28T10:56:43Z")

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Here’s some info:

> [@Bug: Displacement from Height Map only uses 8-bit precision](https://discourse.mcneel.com/t/bug-displacement-from-height-map-only-uses-8-bit-precision/189787):
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> I am testing out World Creator and it’s export functionality to Rhino. I am using their manual export of meshes and textures. Importing the mesh works, but the meshes are extremely large and Rhino takes a very long time to import them. The .stl file of the terrain is 1.6GB. Therefore I think it would be better to use the exported height map from World Creator and use Displacement on it. As you can see there is some problem with the displacement. It’s almost like it is sampling from …

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**Author:** ![tay.othman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/mcneel/user_avatar/discourse.mcneel.com/tay.othman/32/766134_2.png) [@tay.othman](https://discourse.mcneel.com/u/tay.othman)\
**Post date:** [November 2, 2024, 8:01am UTC](https://discourse.mcneel.com/t/16-bit-images-yet/152006/5 "2024-11-02T08:01:33Z")

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so far, no idea about this possibility, potentially you can interpolate the numbers from the high field to get rid of the stepping effect but it will lead to a reduced accuracy.

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**Author:** ![zweers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/mcneel/user_avatar/discourse.mcneel.com/zweers/32/490961_2.png) [@zweers](https://discourse.mcneel.com/u/zweers)\
**Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 1:07pm UTC](https://discourse.mcneel.com/t/16-bit-images-yet/152006/6 "2024-11-06T13:07:41Z")

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still working on it. i think i will have to use GDAL transformations to map the 16 bit dem to several 8 bit maps that represent various elevation ranges that can be stacked on top of each other. ok, i’’ have to learn how to work with the command line in gdal and hope for the best