My sister sent me a bunch of photos to print but they’re all in “PNG” format. I need them in JPEG or JPG format. How can I convert them with software on a Win10 system?
I’m surprised that the printing service you’re using can’t handle PNG (pronounce it “ping”) format photo files, actually. Seems odd since it’s a superior format compared to JPEG (“jay-peg”). The good news: You can convert each of the photo files you’ve been sent from PNG to JPG, though that seems like you’re traveling in the wrong direction in terms of file format sophistication.
If you’re curious, PNG stands for “Progressive Network Graphic” and it’s the technological successor to GIF and JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) (don’t worry, there’s not a quiz!) that offers the best of both formats. JPEG is commonly abbreviated JPG, btw, so they’re really the same format when it comes to image files.
I’ve written about going in the opposite direction, from GIF to PNG, but let’s add to the discussion by looking at what you seek; converting from PNG to JPEG.
Here’s our test image on a Windows 10.1 system:
Double click on it and you’ll be able to view the image in the Windows Photos app. Which looks really cool:
Gorgeous picture, isn’t it? I can’t clam credit; it’s from a Microsoft Windows 10 “cityscape” theme.
Photos seems like it should be able to support saving as JPG, but it won’t convert image formats. Instead, quit out of Photos entirely and right-click on the image file instead. A pop-up offers a second option for opening the PNG file…
Don’t get too concerned about the “3D” part of “Paint 3D”. That’s the program you want to choose, so select “Edit with Paint 3D” to proceed. Now the same image opens up, but in Paint 3D:
Still a pretty two dimensional program, but that’s okay. With all its power and capabilities, we’re going to ignore everything and just choose the folder icon on the top left of the (dark grey) navigational bar. A click and:
You can see how to proceed from here. Simply click on the “2D – JPEG” option along the bottom and the program will faithfully convert the PNG source image to a JPEG output image, ready for your printing service to turn into a printed photograph as desire.
I just hope you have a few, not a few hundred to convert!
Pro Tip: While you’re here, do check out all our Windows 10 tutorials and how-to content. We’ve got lots!
I don’t have Windows 10 yet, so please correct me if I’m wrong. I have always converted simply by opening the PNG file with Paint, then saving it as JPEG. Doesn’t that work in 10? It’s easy and takes about 5 seconds. You seem to have used a page to say something that I have said in a couple of lines.
You can indeed do this in Paint 3D, but as I show, there are a number of obstacles in the way of most users, not the least of which is that the default program for photos is not Paint 3D.
If you do have a lot of files to convert, checkout Fastone Photo Resizer – a freeware program.
It lets you designate what files to process (called resizeing) and what type of file to use for output. You do not have to do any actual resizing. The interface is a bit old school, but well worth the learning effort if you have dozens or hundreds of files to convert.
Thank you Dave for all your helpful advice. I’m using Win10 desk top
My question is two fold.
1. How can I convert multiple png images to jpeg at the one time? Currently when working with 1 or 2 images, I just open in photo gallery, choose ‘copy’ then save as jpg
2. Can I nominate jpeg in my default settings?
Unrelated to photos, I do hope this is okay.
How can I nominate for pdf files to open in Foxit Phantom, instead of always opening in Windows? At the moment I’m right clicking on the document then selecting from the drop down box.
Thanks so much!
cheryl