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Guides for better scientific visuals

Figures, presentations, structures and data, from the LabCanvas team. RSS feed

A crystal structure rendered in the LabCanvas 3D Studio
5 min read

Crystal structure and 2D-material figures: VESTA, Mercury, CrystalMaker, Avogadro, OVITO and LabCanvas compared

Which tool for crystal structure and 2D-material figures? VESTA, CrystalMaker, Mercury, Avogadro, Jmol, OVITO, the Materials Project viewer and LabCanvas compared: licence, platforms, file formats, rendering and how to cite each.

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Image analysis how-tos

The same synthetic nuclei image counted in two programs: on the left ImageJ 1.54f with 70 nuclei outlined in yellow and a Summary of count 70, average size 40.648 µm²; on the right LabCanvas Image Analysis with 70 numbered nuclei and the line 70 particles, mean 40.47 µm²
22 min read

ImageJ vs LabCanvas Image Analysis: an honest comparison

ImageJ/Fiji or LabCanvas Image Analysis? Six everyday jobs done in both, six newer ones (macros, vendor files, 3D, StarDist, big images) and which to use.

ImageJ 1.54f with its menu bar and toolbar, a synthetic nuclei image with 70 nuclei outlined and numbered by Analyze Particles, and the Summary and Results tables giving the count, area and mean intensity
11 min read

How to use ImageJ: a beginner's tutorial for the 10 everyday jobs (2026)

How to use ImageJ and Fiji: get started, open an image, then 10 everyday jobs (scale, measure, threshold, count, background, blots) with exact menu paths.

ImageJ Set Scale dialog over a synthetic stage micrometer: a line from 0 to 100 divisions measures 1,538.46 pixels, Known distance 1000 µm gives 1.5385 pixels per µm (0.65 µm per pixel), and a 200 µm scale bar sits in the lower right corner as an overlay
10 min read

How to set the scale and add a scale bar in ImageJ (with a calibration image to practise on)

Set the scale in ImageJ (Analyze › Set Scale) from a micrometer, scale bar or pixel size, add a scale bar, and practise on a free calibration image.

All 59 image-analysis guides

The apps, one guide each

LabCanvas Image Analysis counting nuclei: the image with numbered particle outlines, the Count panel on the right and the results table under the image
5 min read

LabCanvas Image Analysis: measure microscopy images, western blots and gels in your browser

How to measure images in LabCanvas Image Analysis: guided assays (nuclear translocation, spots per cell, wound healing, FRAP, calcium, tracking, branching), western blots with a ladder and total-protein normalisation, cell counting with a trainable classifier, ROIs with ImageJ definitions, on the raw pixel values, with results sent to Graphs.

LabCanvas Image Analysis measuring nuclear translocation: forty numbered cells with their nuclei and cytoplasm rings outlined, and the assay panel with the cell count and the nuclear/cytoplasmic ratio
20 min read

Image Analysis in LabCanvas: a complete guide to every tool and setting, with examples

Every tool in LabCanvas Image Analysis, tab by tab, with its settings and a real example: image check, display and scale, stacks and Z projection, background subtraction, filters, thresholds and binary operations, ROIs and Set measurements, Analyze Particles, a pixel classifier, spots, cell counter, western blot densitometry, colocalisation, colour deconvolution and eleven guided assays.

The LabCanvas Figure editor with a figure on the canvas, the Library of science objects on the left and the Design panel on the right
2 min read

The LabCanvas Figure editor: vector scientific illustration in your browser

How to make journal figures and graphical abstracts in the LabCanvas Figure editor: vector tools, 700+ adjustable science objects, lab glassware that connects, LaTeX equations, and export at the width and DPI your journal asks for.

LabCanvas Slides with the sample nanomaterials deck: a slide strip on the left, the title slide in the middle, transitions and speaker notes on the right
2 min read

LabCanvas Slides: scientific presentations built from editable figures

How to build lab meetings, conference talks and lectures in LabCanvas Slides: a slide strip, layouts and themes, transitions and motion paths, speaker notes, full-screen presenting and a vector PDF of the deck.

LabCanvas Research Poster with an A0 poster in three columns, the Blocks palette on the left and page settings on the right
2 min read

LabCanvas Research Poster: conference posters that arrange themselves

How to make an A0, A1 or 48 × 36 in research poster in LabCanvas Research Poster: blocks that stack in columns and re-flow their text, themes and block styles, QR codes, and a print-ready vector PDF.

LabCanvas MolDraw with a nitrophenyl amide drawn with wedge and hash stereo bonds
1 min read

MolDraw online: free chemical structure drawing in your browser

Draw molecules and reaction schemes online, free, with nothing to install. LabCanvas MolDraw: atoms, bonds, rings and charges, reaction arrows, structures from PubChem, SMILES, a 3D view of the same molecule, and placing structures in figures.

The LabCanvas 3D Studio with MOFs, a carbon nanotube and a gold nanoparticle in the scene
2 min read

The LabCanvas 3D Studio: adjustable 3D models of cells, nanomaterials and devices

How to make 3D scientific renders in the LabCanvas 3D Studio: adjustable models of cells, viruses, nanoparticles, 2D materials, MOFs and devices, molecules from PubChem, proteins from the PDB, crystals from CIF files, and renders placed in figures.

The LabCanvas Protein viewer showing a protein structure as a cartoon coloured by chain, with the sequence bar along the top
1 min read

The LabCanvas Protein viewer: PDB structures styled for figures

How to show a protein structure in the LabCanvas Protein viewer: load any PDB ID or your own PDB and mmCIF file, choose cartoon, surface or ball-and-stick, colour by chain or secondary structure, select residues on the sequence and snapshot a transparent PNG for your figure.

LabCanvas Graphs & statistics with a cell viability graph, a one-way ANOVA and significance brackets
2 min read

LabCanvas Graphs & statistics: 70 scientific graph types with checked statistics

A visual guide to LabCanvas Graphs & statistics: Prism-style data tables, 70 graph types from scatter dot plots to Kaplan–Meier, volcano and PAE plots, t tests, ANOVA, curve fits and survival tests checked against SciPy, and graphs that stay linked to their figure.

LabCanvas Optics with a Michelson interferometer on a breadboard: a HeNe laser, a beam splitter, two mirrors and a camera, with the beam traced in red
1 min read

LabCanvas Optics: draw optical setups with the beam path simulated live

How to build optical setup diagrams in LabCanvas Optics: lasers, lenses, mirrors, beam splitters, gratings and detectors on a breadboard, rays and beams traced as you move parts, interference, ready-made setups and clean schematics for figures.

The LabCanvas Pixel editor adjusting levels and curves on a six-panel figure of micrographs
1 min read

The LabCanvas Pixel editor: edit micrographs and photos inside your figure

How to adjust microscopy images and photos in the LabCanvas Pixel editor: crop, levels, curves and exposure, false-colour lookup tables, healing and clone stamp, selections and masks, with an edit log for your methods section.

More guides

A scientific figure being built in the LabCanvas figure editor
5 min read

Free tools for scientific figures in 2026: BioRender, Inkscape, Affinity, Canva, PowerPoint and more

An honest comparison of tools for scientific figures: BioRender, Mind the Graph, Inkscape, Affinity, Canva, PowerPoint, Adobe Illustrator and LabCanvas. What each free plan includes, publication rights, file formats and who each one suits.

The LabCanvas figure editor with a scientific figure on the canvas
5 min read

Journal figure size guide: column widths, DPI and fonts for 38 journals

Figure requirements for 38 journals in one table: single, 1.5 and double column widths in mm, maximum height, DPI for photos and line art, fonts and file types, each linked to the journal’s author guidelines.

LabCanvas Graphs & statistics with a cell viability graph, a one-way ANOVA and significance brackets
5 min read

A free GraphPad Prism alternative: graphs and statistics in your browser

Looking for a free GraphPad Prism alternative? What LabCanvas Graphs does (data tables, t tests, ANOVA, curve fits, survival, cluster analysis, 70 graph types checked against SciPy), what it does not, and when Prism is still the better choice.

Illustration of the LabCanvas window: a molecule, a crystal lattice, a graph, a graphical abstract and a slide on one canvas, joined by a workflow line
7 min read

What is LabCanvas? One workspace for scientific illustration, data and presentation

A guide to LabCanvas: ten connected apps for figures, molecules, 3D crystals, graphs, slides and posters, the workflows between them, ready-made templates, and why one editable canvas makes scientific illustration faster to learn and easier to change.

A six-panel figure on mRNA delivery made in LabCanvas: 3D chromatin and DNA, a lipid nanoparticle with mRNA, inorganic carriers, a lab setup, release kinetics with a curve fit and an uptake schematic
6 min read

A BioRender alternative for scientific figures: what LabCanvas does differently

Looking for a BioRender alternative? An honest comparison with LabCanvas: adjustable objects, vector tools, 3D and graphs, and when BioRender fits better.