ImageMagick image processor - what are the optimal settings?

[alwayspaws]

what are the optimal settings for the ImageMagick image processor, please? Thank you @mdekker for creating it.

[roband7]

I have around 5000 images of all sorts of origins, mostly from professional women's fashion photographers, and I'm using these settings: Enable ImageMagick: Yes Use progressive JPEGs: Yes Strip image: Yes Resize filter type: Lanczos PNG data encoding filter: Adaptive Blur: 0.9 Trim whitespace: Yes Fuzz: 10% Original copy: Yes

[alwayspaws]

@roband7 Thank you very much! I updated my settings to match yours!

[alwayspaws]

@mdekker said in ImageMagick image processor - what are the optimal settings?:

It totally depends on your needs. Let the discussion begin!

Yes, let's! @roband7 seems to have the settings I need since I'm selling clothes (and jewelry, etc.)

[Traumflug]

Nice to have such a module! Maybe it should even become part of the standard image handling page. Still I wonder a bit why there's an "original copy" switch. Hard to imagine a reason to not keep the original unless one never again wants to regenerate thumbnails. Same for the "progessive" switch: there's AFAIK no point in having non-progressive JPEGs.

Each switch, choice, checkbox comes at a cost:

• Every user has to learn about the "better" position of that switch/choice/checkbox. This is time consuming and if the outcome of that learning is the same for virtually all shop operators, a waste of efforts.
• More options require more code, so more chances for bugs, additional code maintenance burden, larger memory footprint, etc.

My $0.02

[roband7]

@Traumflug This module was developed for PS 1.6 and just quickly moved over to thirty bees. I agree with your comments. I was in fact quite shocked when I discovered that PS didn't keep the original image.

[Traumflug]

Good point, @roband7 :-)

[alwayspaws]

@Traumflug said in ImageMagick image processor - what are the optimal settings?:

Nice to have such a module! Maybe it should even become part of the standard image handling page. Still I wonder a bit why there's an "original copy" switch. Hard to imagine a reason to not keep the original unless one never again wants to regenerate thumbnails. Same for the "progessive" switch: there's AFAIK no point in having non-progressive JPEGs.

Each switch, choice, checkbox comes at a cost:

• Every user has to learn about the "better" position of that switch/choice/checkbox. This is time consuming and if the outcome of that learning is the same for virtually all shop operators, a waste of efforts.
• More options require more code, so more chances for bugs, additional code maintenance burden, larger memory footprint, etc.

My $0.02

@Traumflug I totally agree with your whole 2 cents! I came running over here (and am still out of breath) as soon as I saw those ImageMagick choices.

What person besides a graphics designer (possibly) would know what lanczos & the other "resize filter types" are? The only filter I heard of is Gaussian but would have to Google it to know what it is and what it does.

I have no idea what "PNG data encoding filter", progressive jpegs, blur, fuzz, etc (you get the 'picture'. pun intended!) are used for.

Of all the settings, the only ones that make sense to me are "turn on" ImageMagick and keep original images known as "Original copy", which is an oxymoron, but ...

@roband7 - agreed!

[Pedalman]

I thought that it kicks in when I upload images via ThirtyBees backend (catalogue and products).

But I did some tests with product photo on white background. Since I try to shoot my products myself :dancer: mostly the backgorund in the JPG is not 255 255 255 (pure white). Sure I could do some GIMPing or so but -fuzz and trim could also do the job.

I started with 10% up to 110% and IM never seemed to kick in in any way.

In a nutshell: a) IM kicks only in if I do an image rebuild via backoffice b) it is incompatible with my Kraken Image Optimizer v2.0.3 - PresTeamShop module c) I do not met the min. requirements*

I just read on the GIT docu: *Minimum requirements

PHP imagick extension 3.4.0
ImageMagick 7.0.2 (anything below is vulnerable and not supported!)
PHP 5.5
thirty bees 1.0.x

*

[30knees]

Does ImageMagick replace tools such as tinyjpg.com? I forgot to minimize some of the uploaded jpgs. Now I am looking to do that on the server without having to reupload them all. Based on https://www.imagemagick.org/script/index.php it looks to me like it's more an image enhaccement tool.

[the.rampage.rado]

It doesn't matter if you minimize them. The original you upload is not shown anywhere to the customer. If you have additional module which uploads the newly generated files to the service and then download and replace them this is different.

This module doesn't minimize the images but it provides better quality and more options.

[Pedalman]

But correct me if I am wrong everymodule that compresses or touches images in anyway in TB does utilizes the image controller. As does the ImageMagick module. In order to do so in a convenient way they use an override of the image controller. There can only be one or a merge of several once if a programmer merges the code.

Therefore I suggest without taking in the argument of blowing up code or mem consumption that it could be very convenient if ThirtyBees's backoffice/images controller could add aform where to enter an API code for different image compression services (very improable to happen) and at least the ImageMagick functions that are realley beneficial integrated. I think this should have been implemented into the image controller 8 years ago already :)

[30knees]

@the-rampage-rado So the default minimization that tb uses is good enough?

[the.rampage.rado]

@30knees - if you upload the img folder @ kraken.io it will compress it even further but I would not hassle to do so for 4-5% saved size, especially with the free plan where you can't upload folders.

Try resmush.it if you are into this type of stuff. I don't belive that 10kb less data on the product page will rank you first in your niche, many more factors are more important both on desktop and mobile than this.

Of course it's nice to see those numbers go higher/lower but most of the time they don't mean anything...

[Pedalman]

If you are opting for uploading files or folders manually to a service I strongly recommend to have a look at the superb (Windows) software "FileOptimizer" hosted at sourceforge.com and if you use it regularly to suport the programmer via... :)

FileOptimizer makes use of all known and free accessable image compression algorhytms known. Furthermore it works on several file types. Best is you can make use of batch / mass optimisation and use backups of originals.

I use it to mass shrink my /img folder I downloaded... and to reupload this via FTP.

I am in this for at least ten years and still do not know the best workflow to manage this but this is the way I try to maintain. I can then also use all functions that 'my' image controller in ThirtyBees (let's assume the override image controller of ImageMagick is installed) by refreshing image sizes. At least this is what I assume. Moreover I have 'deactivated' Thirtybees image compression via setting it to best quality hence I did so already offline via FileOptimizer. If I got it right I can also skip the step to save images in any photo editor like Gimp/Photoshop/Xnview/Irfanview as web optimized since FileOptimizer is used anyway. If I do not follow this workflow I see the risk that e.g. Photoshop compresses your original image, then Thirtybees again by a 'standard algorhytm', sorry if I am wrong here and eventually any addon module that uploads these preprocessed images to an image compression service like Kraken.io etc. Propably ImageMagick kicks in too and smurs pixels again if blur is used for example. I would like to use it only for minimizing white background space (and if possible to 100% to echange white background to another consistent tone:)

[musicmaster]

@Pedalman: there is no project with the name FileOptimizer at SourceForge and your link leads only to its homepage. So it is not clear to me what you mean.

ImageMagic works only when you have the PHP module and the program installed. An alternative that works without those conditions would be welcome.

[Pedalman]

Thank you musismaker. I post the links directly.

Relating to the sources of FileOptimizer: https://nikkhokkho.sourceforge.io/static.php?page=FileOptimizer https://sourceforge.net/p/nikkhokkho/discussion/