PNG to JPG

Why convert PNG to JPG

PNG keeps every pixel exactly. That’s right for logos and graphics, but it makes photos big, and phones and computers often save screenshots and some exported photos as PNG. As a JPG, a photo usually takes far less space, which helps when an email, a website or a form limits the file size, or simply asks for a JPG.

How to convert

1. Choose up to 30 PNG images, each up to 50 MB. You can also drop them on the box or paste one, such as a screenshot you’ve just copied.
2. Leave the quality at 90, or change it (below).
3. Press Convert to JPG, then download each JPG, or all of them together as a ZIP.

Converting a screenshot straight from the clipboard

You don’t need to save a screenshot first. On Windows, Windows key + Shift + S copies the part of the screen you pick; on a Mac, Control + Shift + Command + 4 does the same. Then click this page and paste with Ctrl + V or Command + V. The picture is added as a PNG, ready to convert.

Transparent areas become white

JPG can’t store transparency. Wherever the PNG is see-through, soft edges and shadows included, the JPG shows white, as if the image had been placed on a white page. That suits most documents and forms. If you need the background to stay clear, for a logo on a colored web page for example, keep the PNG.

Choosing the quality

The quality number, from 1 to 100, sets how much detail the JPG keeps. 90, the default, suits photos and most screenshots. JPG works by smoothing over small details, so sharp edges such as text, thin lines and flat shapes can pick up faint smudges around them, more visible as the number goes down. For screenshots of text, keep it high. For logos and diagrams, staying with PNG is often better.

What else to know

• Size in pixels doesn’t change. To make the image smaller in pixels too, use the Image Resizer; to aim for a file size in KB, the Image Compressor.
• Hidden details, such as text notes stored inside the PNG, aren’t copied into the JPG. Colors are converted to sRGB, the standard range screens use.
• Names: each JPG keeps its PNG’s name with a new ending, so screenshot.png becomes screenshot.jpg. A file that can’t be read gets its own message, and the rest still convert.