Resize without stretching the subject
Compare a proportional resize with a stretched square using the same source and actual downloaded outputs.
Try the workflow
Download the 640 × 400 source ↓
Examples describe a practice workflow. Your file size, recognition accuracy and processing time depend on the source and your device.
Separate size from shape
The supplied product illustration is 640 pixels wide and 400 pixels high: a width-to-height ratio of 1.6. Halving both dimensions gives 320 × 200 and preserves that ratio. Setting both dimensions to 320 changes the ratio to 1, stretching the subject vertically relative to its width.
Pixel dimensions are separate from file bytes. Our proportional PNG is 2,845 bytes; the stretched version is 3,956 bytes. These measurements apply to this simple illustration and these exports, not to a photograph of the same dimensions.
Repeat the two exports
Open Resize Image and choose the practice PNG. Set Scale to 0.5, confirm Width 320 and Height 200, apply and download the result. Next set Width 320 and Height 320 explicitly, apply and download a separate copy. Keep the names distinct so the correct version is easy to identify.
Open both downloaded images independently. Compare the product's proportions, not only the outer rectangle. The square fills a square frame, but it does so by distorting the content. A successful download does not mean that the geometry is appropriate.
When the destination requires a square
In Image Studio, use Keep whole image to place the entire source on a square canvas with margins. Use Fill and center crop only when trimming edges is acceptable. Stretch is appropriate only when the changed proportions are intentional. Check any transparent margins against the destination's background.
A larger export does not recover detail missing from the original. Keep the source, inspect labels and edges at the intended viewing size, and test one product before repeating the settings across a catalog.
An export you can reproduce
Both results below were downloaded from Resize Image using the same 640 × 400 source. Compare the proportions of the bottle and label. Neither file adds detail absent from the source.
Measured files, dimensions, page text and SHA-256 checksums are available in the experiment record. Results can vary with the source and browser. Download experiment record