Guides, Tips & How-Tos for Images
Step-by-step guides on converting, compressing, and editing images. No jargon, no fluff, just what works.
OCR Workflows: Extract Text from Screenshots and Scans
OCR has gotten startlingly good. The use cases where it actually replaces typing — receipts, business cards, lecture slides — and where it still gets confused.
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Document Workflows: Convert Word and Excel to JPG for Signage
Print shops, kiosk displays, and digital signage often demand JPG, not DOCX. The reliable conversion workflow with examples for retail, restaurants, and offices.
Scanning Old Photo Albums: The Definitive Guide
Flatbed, sheet-feed, smartphone-scan-app, professional service — all four have specific strengths. Plus the post-scan steps that make 1970s photos look good in 2026.
Self-Publishing: Photo Book Production Workflow (Blurb, Mpix)
Photo-book printers demand specific DPI, bleed margins, and colour profiles. The end-to-end workflow from camera to printed book that doesn't get rejected at proof.
Archiving Family Photos for the Next 50 Years
JPG is universal today but no format is guaranteed forever. The conservative archival strategy — formats, copies, locations — that maximizes long-term readability.
Photo Printing at Home: JPG Settings for Inkjet vs Laser
Inkjet and laser printers have different ideal source formats. The settings — DPI, colour space, compression — that produce the print you saw on screen.
Image SEO in 2026: Alt Text, File Names, and File Types
Alt text isn't just for accessibility — Google uses it to rank images. The current best practices, plus the file-name and file-type choices that compound the win.
How to Convert JPG to PDF and Keep Your Images Looking Professional
Converting JPGs to PDF preserves image quality, layout, and dimensions for professional sharing. Learn how to convert in your browser and keep file size in check.
Mobile Page Speed: The Image Optimization Checklist
Mobile bandwidth is the bottleneck. The full checklist — formats, sizes, srcset breakpoints, lazy-loading — that gets your mobile page to under 2 seconds.
Lazy Loading vs Compression: The Right Way to Speed Up Images
Both help, but they don't substitute for each other. The order of operations — compress first, lazy-load second — and what each actually changes.
How to Convert Every Image on a Site Without Breaking SEO
Switching from JPG to WebP across a thousand pages can wreck your SEO if you do it wrong. Redirects, srcset, and the <picture> tag pattern that won't.
WordPress Image Optimization: Plugin vs Server-Side
EWWW, Smush, and Imagify all do something — but they don't all do what you want. The tradeoffs, plus the cases where server-side optimization is just better.
Improving Core Web Vitals: Image Optimization for LCP
Largest Contentful Paint is usually a hero image. The conversions and serving tweaks that flip a failing LCP score into a passing one without a full redesign.
BMP: The Format That Refuses to Die
BMP is 35 years old, uncompressed, and demanded by a surprising amount of industrial software. Where it lives now and how to handle it gracefully.
GIF in 2026: Still Relevant or Dead?
WebP and APNG do everything GIF does and better. So why are GIFs still everywhere? The honest answer — and when you should still use them.
PDF vs JPG: When to Convert and When to Stay
PDFs are pages; JPGs are images. The decision framework for choosing between them — receipts, portfolios, contracts, scans — with examples.
What Is SVG? When You Should (and Shouldn't) Use It
Vector graphics scale infinitely — until they don't. SVG's real wins, real limits, and how to convert in and out without losing quality you wanted to keep.
WebP vs AVIF: The Modern Image Format War
Both formats target the same web-performance problem. Honest results on file size, browser support, and CDN tooling — plus when to pick each (or both).
TIFF vs JPG: Why Print Shops Still Demand TIFF
Print shops want 16-bit colour, no lossy compression, and embedded ICC profiles — none of which JPG handles well. The history, the workflow, and when JPG actually is fine.
What's the Difference Between JPG and JPEG? (Spoiler: Nothing)
The shortest answer: just a file extension. The longer answer covers why both extensions exist, why Windows used to truncate it, and which one to use in 2026.
Understanding RAW vs JPG: When to Shoot Each
Every camera offers both modes. RAW gives you editing latitude; JPG gives you a finished file. The actual situations where each is the right pick — and why.
What Is HEIC and Why Does My iPhone Use It?
HEIC's compression is genuinely better than JPG — but the rest of the world can't open it. The honest case for and against, plus when to switch your iPhone back to JPG.
JPG vs PNG vs WebP vs AVIF: The Definitive 2026 Comparison
Side-by-side tests on the same 12 MP photo at matched quality. The honest breakdown of file size, transparency, browser support, and when to choose each.
iCloud Full? Slim Your Photo Library in an Afternoon
iCloud's free tier is 5 GB. A 1-year iPhone library fills it. The systematic workflow for converting, archiving, and offloading 10 GB of photos in a single afternoon.
Quick Format Guides
Short answers to common image format questions. Part of our full FAQ.
JPG vs PNG: Which Format Should You Use?
When to use each format, file size differences, and what transparency means for your choice.
JPG vs WebP: Size, Quality and Browser Support
WebP is smaller but not universally supported. Here is when that matters and when it does not.
HEIC vs JPG: Apple's Format vs the Standard
Why your iPhone shoots HEIC, what it means for Windows users, and how to convert.
JPG Compression Guide: Quality vs File Size
What quality setting to use, how much size you can save, and when compression hurts your image.
How to Convert JPG to PDF (Including Multi-Page)
Combine multiple JPG images into a single PDF, or convert one image to a shareable document.
RAW to JPG: Converting Camera Raw Files
How to convert NEF, CR2, ARW and other RAW formats to JPG without losing too much quality.