Image Tools — Complete Guide

This guide covers every image tool on ToolStackTools: format conversion (JPG/PNG/WebP), resizing, compression, cropping, rotation, watermarking, colour picking, base64 encoding and background removal. Everything runs on the browser's Canvas API and WebAssembly — your photos never leave your device. If you're preparing images for the web, social media, e-commerce, or print, the correct workflow is the difference between a 4 MB blurry mess and a crisp 120 KB asset.

Alle Tools

Choose the right format for the job

JPG for photographs and complex imagery where a small quality loss is invisible but file size matters. PNG for logos, icons, screenshots, and anything with sharp edges or transparency. WebP when you control the target platform (all modern browsers, most CMSs) — typically 25-35% smaller than JPG at the same quality. GIF only for tiny animations. Using the wrong format is the single most common reason images look bad or load slowly.

The correct order of operations

Always resize before compressing. A 4000×3000 image compressed to 80% quality is still ~4000×3000 and still huge; a 1200×900 image at 80% quality is a fraction of the size with no visible difference at typical viewing sizes. Correct order for a web hero image: (1) crop to the aspect ratio you need, (2) resize to the target pixel dimensions, (3) convert to the right format, (4) compress. Reversing these steps wastes bytes.

Compression that doesn't destroy quality

Lossy compression removes information your eye barely notices — start at quality 80 and drop only if the file is still too big. Compressing an already-compressed JPG multiple times causes cumulative degradation (this is why memes look worse each repost). Always keep the original and re-export from it rather than re-compressing an existing output.

Background removal and colour picking

Background Remover uses an AI segmentation model that runs in your browser — no upload. It works best on subjects with clear edges (people, products, animals). For fuzzy edges (hair, glass, motion blur) manual touch-ups may still be needed. Colour Picker extracts hex/RGB/HSL values from any pixel, useful for matching brand colours or building a palette from a mood board.

Preparing images for specific platforms

Instagram feed: 1080×1080 or 1080×1350 (portrait). LinkedIn post: 1200×627. Twitter/X card: 1200×628. Blog hero: 1600×900 at ~150 KB. Product listing: 2000×2000 square, WebP, under 200 KB. E-commerce zoom: same aspect ratio, higher resolution, then compressed. Resize with our Image Resizer to exact pixel dimensions, then compress to hit the file-size target.

Häufig gestellte Fragen

Do the tools upload my images?

No. Everything is processed in your browser using the Canvas API and WebAssembly. Your photos never leave your device.

What's the largest image I can process?

Practical limit is around 50 MP on a modern laptop and 20 MP on a phone. Extremely large images will slow down or crash the tab because they run in your device's memory.

Will compression damage my image?

Below quality 80, JPG compression is almost always invisible. Below 60, artefacts start showing on flat colour areas. Never compress an already-compressed file multiple times — always re-export from the original.

Is Background Remover really free?

Yes. It uses an in-browser AI model — no account, no credits, no watermark.

Can I batch-process images?

Most tools accept a single image at a time to keep the interface simple. For high-volume batch work, desktop tools like ImageMagick or Squoosh CLI are better suited.