Image Processing Toolbox

In the modern digital age, images dominate our daily lives. From the photos we share on social media to medical scans, satellite imagery, surveillance systems, and even self-driving cars, images carry an enormous amount of information. However, raw images are rarely useful without some form of processing. This is where Image Processing Toolbox comes into play.

Image processing is the method of performing operations on an image to enhance it, extract useful information, or prepare it for further analysis. It combines computer science, mathematics, and engineering to manipulate visual content.

The tool can handle multiple image formats, including: bmp, cut, dcm, dds, emf, exr, fax, g3, gif, hdr, heic, heif, ico, iff, j2c, j2k, jfif, jng, jp2, jpe, jpeg, jpg, koa, mng, pbm, pcd, pcx, pfm, pgm, pict, png, ppm, psd, ras, raw, sgi, svg, tga, tiff, wbmp, webp, wmf, wsq, xbm, xpm

Image Processing Toolbox can handle a wide variety of image processing tasks:

1. Resize: 

Changing the dimensions (pixel/inch) of an image while attempting to preserve as much detail and quality as possible.

2. Rotation: 

The process of turning an image around a fixed point (its center), by a specified angle.

3. Image Adjustments:

Image adjustments refer to the modifications applied to improve or alter an image’s appearance without necessarily changing its fundamental structure.

Types of adjustments in image processing:

1. Brightness: changes the overall lightness or darkness.
2. Contrast: adjusts the difference between light and dark areas.
3. Saturation: increases or decreases the intensity of all colors.
4. Gamma: adjusts midtones without heavily affecting shadows and highlights.
5. Color Balance: allows you to adjust the amount of red, green, and blue (RGB) in highlights, midtones, or shadows.

4. Color Operations: 

Including pixel format conversion and color channels modification.

1. Pixel format conversion: pixel formats define the arrangement, bit-depth, and organization of color and transparency information for each pixel. Different software libraries, image codecs, and hardware systems may use different pixel formats, which makes conversion between them an essential task in any image processing workflow.
2. Color swapping (or color replacement): the process of identifying a specific color (or range of colors) in an image and replacing it with a new one. 
3. Scale component: modify the color values of each pixel for the specified channel across the entire image.
4. Keep component: isolating one channel, e.g., keeping the Red channel while discarding Green and Blue. The image will appear reddish and reveal how much red intensity each pixel carries.
5. Remove component: zeroing out a channel, e.g., removing the Blue channel. The resulting image keeps only Red and Green, which combine to form various shades of yellow.

5. Filters and Effects: 

Transform images creatively or functionally. For examples:

• Gaussian Blur: smooths images using a weighted average. Popular for softening skin in portraits. 
• Sharpen: enhance edges and fine details.
• Edge Detection: identify boundaries in images.
• Median: reduces noise while preserving edges.
• Emboss / Engrave / Relief: highlights edges and creates a 3D relief effect. 
• Add Noise:  introduces random noise for film-like texture.
• Negative: flips colors to their complementary values.
• Erode / Dilate: shrinks or expands bright areas.
• Halo: excessive edge enhancement can produce unnatural outlines.
• Sepia: adds a warm brownish tone for a vintage look.

And more …

Image processing tasks often involve complex operations. Many of these transformations are non-linear and irreversible, meaning that once applied, recovering the original state becomes difficult or impossible without reloading the image. The “Preview Before Applying” feature empowers users by introducing non-destructive editing. Instead of immediately applying transformations to the original pixel data, the tool generates a temporary preview buffer, showing the expected result while preserving the source. This approach builds user confidence, reduces mistakes, and enables iterative experimentation.

Processed images can be saved in different image file formats: bmp, emf, exr, gif, ico, j2k, jp2, jpeg, pdf, png, svg, tga, tiff, webp.

Each output format comes with unique custom settings that can drastically affect the quality, compression, compatibility, and usability of images.

Features:

• Drag-and-drop interface for easy file selection.
• Support for multiple image formats and color spaces
• Support copy, paste and print image.
• Interactive viewer with zoom and pan capability.
• Non-destructive editing: preserves originals, giving users freedom to experiment without risk.
• Display renderer: render the preview on screen.
• Support a wide range of of image processing tasks: resizing, rotating, adjustments, pixel format conversion, color channels modification, filters and effects.
• Exporting image in multiple formats.