In order to achieve a three dimensional appearance to a pair of two dimensional images, two off-axis images can be produced and colorized. These can be overlayed slightly apart and then viewed through glasses with two differently colored sides, one color for the left eye and another for the right eye in combinations containing red, green or blue colors. These off-axis and colorized images are referred to as anaglyphs.

Off-axis images can be achieved through the use of a tilting stage on a microscope, by physically changing the position of a camera in relation to a still object, or through changing the axis of an optical stack of sections, such as what is created by confocal/CT scans. Some images lend themselves more to a 3D look both by virtue of inherent three dimensionality limited by the resolution of the imaging system.