Have you encountered the problem that you find your pictures being blurred but don’t know how to upscale an image? This was me a few years ago when I tried upgrading my blog photos through pixel stretching.
In this guide, I’ll share effective solutions to upscale images, whether you want to add them to your online content, print them, or use them for other personal purposes. Keep reading for detailed stepwise instructions, plus a few features I like about these four reliable image upscaling tools (online and offline).
How to Upscale an Image Online
I prefer to increase image quality online because many AI image enhancers are straightforward and versatile. What’s more, with no need to install any program, all I need is to upload the image and upscale it in just one click. Below are two tools that I found useful in image upscaling.
Upscale Images with Media.io AI Image Upscaler
Media.io AI Image Upscaler is the best tool to improve resolution and increase image size without losing quality. It offers ultra-high resolution outputs, with the option to choose between 2K and 4K. I also love its diverse image enlargement options, including 2X, 4X, and 8X.
Most importantly, this fast and beginner-friendly tool offers many features to customize your images for different uses, such as physical printing, digital painting, and product marketing.
Other key features of Media.io AI Image Upscaler include:
- AI-powered: Use state-of-the-art AI to enhance blurry images into sharp, high-quality photos in seconds.
- Support multi-format uploads: Upscale and enhance your JPG, PNG images in batch process. You can also upload JPEG and BMP, with a size of up to 10M.
- Watermark-free: All the processed images you export have no branding watermark.
- Extra editing tools: Change image background, reduce noise, sharpen images, increase brightness, and restore old photos.
That said, let’s see how to enhance the quality of images using this upscaling tool:
STEP 1. Launch Media.io 4k photo enhancer in your browser. Drag and drop the photos, or click “Upload images” and import them from your local storage.
STEP 2. Click “Upscaler” and pick a desired upscaling level (2X, 4X, or 8X). Tap “Process” and wait for the tool to upscale your image.
STEP 3. Click the “Download” button to save the upscaled image to your local folder.
Upscale Images with iLoveIMG
iLoveIMG is another excellent online solution to increase image quality. I love its numerous uploading options: You can drag and drop, access from Dropbox/Google Drive, or click “Select images” and get them from your local folders.
Additionally, upscaling multiple images at once isn’t an issue, as iLoveIMG allows up to three simultaneous processing tasks. While it lacks 8X enlargement, it processes images to 2X and 4X fast, and the interface is simplistic and easy to use.
Follow these steps to upscale image using iLoveIMG:
STEP 1. Search for the photo upscaling tool in your browser and upload images by dragging them or selecting from your cloud/local storage.
STEP 2. Click a multiplier option (2X or 4X) and preview the output. If satisfied, click “Upscale.”
STEP 3. Press “Download” and save the upscaled image in your desired location.
How to Upscale an Image on Desktop
Sometimes image upscaling apps on Windows and Mac computers work even better because they allow unlimited offline editing. Also, once an app launches, it typically processes requests faster than the web version.
Upscale Images on Windows with GIMP
GIMP is a free, open-source photo editing tool that supports many image types, such as PNG and JPG. It provides a wide range of image editing features, including upscaling photos to high quality. However, its user interface and operations are a bit complicated for beginners. So if you are looking for an easy but effective solution, Media.io would meet your needs.
But if you don’t mind its complexity, you can follow these steps to upscale images with GIMP:
STEP 1. Download the latest GIMP app to your Windows, launch it, and import the image you want to upscale.
STEP 2. Go to “Image” > “Scale image” from the menu. Fill in your desired “Width” and “Height” dimensions. Pick “Sinc” under “Interpolation” as it offers the best upscaling quality but processes slowly. Alternatively, select “Lanczos” for faster, moderate-quality upscaling.
STEP 3. After upscaling, you can boost the output quality using GIMP’s additional editing tools. For instance, click “Filters” > “Enhance” > “Sharpen (Unsharpen Mask)” to boost detail clarity. If you want to minimize grayness, click “Noise Reduction”.
Upscale Images on Mac with Pixelmator
Pixelmator is a powerful image editing tool for macOS and iOS users, providing a number of features for photo editing and digital painting. It offers the Super Resolution feature, which allows you to upscale photos 1.5X, 2X, or 3X. It also supports batch-processing capabilities, enabling faster editing.
Here’s how I upscale images with Pixelmator on Mac:
STEP 1. Download and launch Pixelmator. Open the image you want to upscale.
STEP 2. Select “Image” > “Super Resolution”. Click “Command + U” on your keyboard. Then Pixelmator automatically chooses a suitable image scaling option depending on your original image.
Tips for Improving Resolution Without Losing Image Quality
Many traditional methods relied on stretching pixels to upscale photos. Unfortunately, this technique resulted in blurrier images, which left people wondering how to increase image resolution without losing quality.
The advent of AI-based upscaling makes it possible to adjust image width and height dimensions without losing sharpness and clarity. Reliable tools like Media.io AI Image Upscaler are able to upscale images by adding pixels while adjusting parameters like color balance and brightness.
For the best results, choose a suitable resolution for your desired use. For example, while web photos are okay at 2K, consider 4K for prints. It would also help if the original images were of high quality.
FAQs About Upscaling Images
Q1 What Is the Best AI Tool to Enhance Image Quality?
Among all the tools, Media.io AI Image Upscaler would work as the best AI to enhance image quality. This image resolution enhancer allows you to improve images up to 4K and enlarge them up to 8X with no quality loss. It also offers simple operations and protects your data from third parties.
Q2 Will Upscaling an Image Affect Its File Size?
Yes. Upscaling an image often affects its file size. For instance, better resolution means more pixels, which explains why a 4K image is bigger than its HD counterpart. Likewise, increasing the size of an image also increases its file size.
Conclusion
In this blog, I have shared with you several tools to upscale images, including online and desktop programs. You can pick one that best satisfies your requirements. But if you want a fast, versatile, and reliable tool to upscale photos, try Media.io AI Image Upscaler. Not only does this upscaling tool allow you to improve resolution to 2K or 4K online, but it also features a Windows app. With its powerful upscaling feature, Media.io AI Image Upscaler can customize your images to suit most, if not all, your needs.
