diff --git a/src/laybasic/laybasic/layLayoutCanvas.cc b/src/laybasic/laybasic/layLayoutCanvas.cc
index 2d93485f0..6ddd22956 100644
--- a/src/laybasic/laybasic/layLayoutCanvas.cc
+++ b/src/laybasic/laybasic/layLayoutCanvas.cc
@@ -855,7 +855,9 @@ LayoutCanvas::image_with_options (unsigned int width, unsigned int height, int l
   lay::RedrawThread redraw_thread (&rd_canvas, mp_view);
 
   //  render the layout
-  redraw_thread.start (0 /*synchronous*/, m_layers, vp, resolution, font_resolution, true);
+  int workers = mp_view->synchronous () ? 0 : mp_view->drawing_workers ();
+  redraw_thread.start (workers, m_layers, vp, resolution, font_resolution, true);
+  redraw_thread.wait ();
   redraw_thread.stop (); // safety
 
   //  paint the background objects. It uses "img" to paint on.