TinyPNG is an online tool for compressing WebP, PNG, and JPEG images, with the goal of speeding up website access and saving bandwidth.
[Purpose] TinyPNG is used to compress image file size. According to the official description, it can compress WebP, PNG, and JPEG images by 50-80% while preserving PNG transparency. Compressed images can reduce bandwidth usage and make web pages load faster.
[Main capabilities]
- Supports compression of WebP, PNG, and JPEG formats.
- Supports optimization of animated PNG (APNG) images.
- Uses intelligent lossy compression technology to reduce file size by selectively reducing the colors in images; the official description says the visual impact is almost invisible.
- After uploading a PNG, similar colors are merged, a technique called "quantization"; by reducing the number of colors, 24-bit PNG files can be converted into smaller 8-bit indexed color images, while discarding unnecessary metadata, and the result supports 100% transparency.
- The API now supports smart resizing of images; if the aspect ratio of an image is modified, smart cropping removes unimportant parts; when it detects that an image has been cropped, the API will add more background if needed.
- An active community has developed a great many third-party components that can be used.
- Provides a TinyPNG Photoshop plugin that allows you to resize, preview, and save compressed PNG and JPEG images directly in Photoshop.
- The official description says over 1 billion WebP, PNG, and JPEG images have been optimized, and the number continues to grow.
[How to use] Images can be uploaded for compression through its website. You can also install the TinyPNG Photoshop plugin to resize, preview, and save compressed PNG and JPEG images directly in Photoshop. Developers can use the API for smart resizing, smart cropping, and background filling. In addition, third-party components developed by the community can be used. The official description also mentions an iMessage Panda sticker example (on Github), which can be used to create and compress stickers under 500 KB.
[Applicable scenarios]
- Compress images for apps and sites to reduce bandwidth usage and speed up loading.
- PNG image compression scenarios that require preserving transparency.
- Scenarios that require optimizing animated PNGs.
- Workflows that use Photoshop for image processing and want to compress and save directly.
- Development scenarios for batch processing images, performing smart scaling or cropping via API.
[Restrictions and Compatibility]
- The generated files display perfectly in all modern browsers, including mobile devices.
- For Internet Explorer 6, it usually ignores PNG transparency and displays a solid background; after using TinyPNG, the background will become transparent again.
- The APNG format is supported by Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Microsoft Edge; Internet Explorer does not support this format.
- Only Photoshop CC 2015, 2017, and 2018 can save images as indexed PNG files with Alpha transparency; other versions cannot do this, and Photoshop CS5 cannot even display these images correctly. You can use "Save for Web" to export images as 24-bit transparent PNG files, then upload them to TinyPNG to convert them into very small indexed PNG files.
- This website is built for modern browsers that support HTML5 and CSS3. It has not been officially tested in other browsers, and the site may or may not work.
[Fees and Pricing] No relevant information is currently provided.
[Platform Support] No further platform information is currently provided beyond the website, API, Photoshop plug-in, and third-party components.
[Usage Steps] The materials do not provide complete step-by-step usage instructions.
