Faint scans
Separate light print from paper
Try a modest contrast increase while watching the thinnest strokes.
Clearer separation, careful control
Adjust Image Contrast.
Separate faint text from its background with careful brightness and contrast adjustments.
Advertisements
Review the preview before processing. Your original image stays unchanged.
100%
Your image is ready.
Download the processed image, return to adjust it, or continue to Image OCR.
Advertisements
Images are uploaded to prepare the preview and process your selected frame.
IMAGE
Advertisements
How to adjust image contrast
- 01
Open the image
Upload one supported image up to 50 MB and choose the frame to adjust.
- 02
Balance the tones
Change Brightness and Contrast gradually. Compare the preview with Show original.
- 03
Apply and download
Choose an output format, click Apply Contrast and download the adjusted image.
Make text stand out without losing fine detail
Adjust Image Contrast changes the tonal separation in a photo, screenshot or scan. Brightness moves the overall lightness, while contrast changes the separation between lighter and darker areas. Compare both with the source before saving.
QUICK VIDEO TUTORIAL
How to adjust image contrast for faint document text
Aim for readable detail, not the darkest possible text.
English narration
Watch the video
Practical contrast adjustments
Dark photographs
Balance the overall lightness
Use brightness carefully when the whole image is too dark or too light.
OCR preparation
Review a clearer source
Save an adjusted copy and compare recognition with the original when needed.
Features and controls
Adjust brightness and contrast separately
Both sliders run from -50 to +50, starting at zero. Use small changes to understand which control helps.
Choosing a useful tonal balance
Brightness affects the overall lightness; contrast changes the difference between light and dark values. A brighter image is not necessarily a more readable one.
Start with the weakest important text, not the bold heading. Check punctuation, pencil marks and small numbers while changing a setting. Returning a slider to zero removes that adjustment.
Compare the preview with the original
Show original lets you inspect the source without discarding your current adjustments.
What to look for before export
Look for lost highlights, filled letter openings and new background noise. If the heading looks stronger but small characters disappear, reduce the adjustment.
The preview is a display-size view of the image. Review the downloaded file as well, particularly when small print or subtle marks are important.
Open the shared cleanup editor when needed
Use Open cleanup editor for additional color, background, sharpness and cleanup controls.
Keep cleanup separate from contrast decisions
The cleanup editor includes color, grayscale and black-and-white modes, presets, background cleanup and sharpness. Apply its changes to return to the main preview.
Use erasing or rectangle clearing only on unwanted image marks. These tools change pixels; they do not understand which marks are meaningful. Leave uncertain handwriting or annotations intact.
Choose one frame or page
Open a still image or choose a frame from a supported animated or multipage source. Only that selected frame is exported.
Supported files and frame scope
PNG, JPG, JPEG, TIF, TIFF, BMP, GIF, WebP and HEIC are supported inputs. Open one file up to 50 MB. Files may contain up to 100 frames or pages; image dimensions and decoding limits also apply.
Frame navigation changes the image being edited. Saving a result does not preserve a whole animation, its timing or all pages of a multipage file. Choose each required frame separately.
Choose PNG, JPEG or lossless WebP
PNG is the default. PNG and WebP can keep transparency; JPEG uses a white background for transparent pixels.
Output quality and source preservation
PNG and lossless WebP avoid lossy encoding. JPEG is saved at its highest quality setting, but it is still a lossy format; it is not a lossless copy of the source.
The output is a new image. The original file stays unchanged, but the export does not preserve all original metadata or every source-format feature. Use a separate source copy when those details matter.
Supported files & processing
- Input
- PNG, JPG, JPEG, TIF, TIFF, BMP, GIF, WEBP, HEIC
- Output
- PNG, JPEG, WebP
Open one supported image up to 50 MB, with no more than 100 frames or pages. Pixel dimensions and decoding limits also apply. Each run exports only the selected frame as a still image.
Your image uploads to our servers to prepare its preview and process the selected frame. These tools do not run OCR. Download the result you need and keep the original separately; see the Privacy Policy for file handling details.
Advertisements
FAQ
Before you start
Formats, selected frames and output quality explained.
Server processingWhat is the difference between brightness and contrast?
Brightness changes overall lightness. Contrast changes the separation between lighter and darker tones. Adjust them separately and check the weakest important details rather than judging only a bold heading.
Can higher contrast restore blurry text?
No. It can make existing tonal differences easier to see, but it cannot recover detail that the original capture lost. Try a sharper scan or photograph when letters are blurred.
Will my image automatically become black and white?
No. The basic brightness and contrast controls keep the current color mode. Open cleanup editor if you want to choose grayscale or black and white deliberately.
Which files and sizes can I use?
Open one PNG, JPG, JPEG, TIF, TIFF, BMP, GIF, WebP or HEIC image up to 50 MB. Files may contain up to 100 frames or pages, with additional pixel and decoding limits. Only the selected frame is saved as a still image.
Which download format should I choose?
PNG is the default and uses lossless encoding. Lossless WebP also preserves image detail and transparency. JPEG is saved at its highest quality setting but remains lossy, with white replacing transparent areas. The export is a new image, not an unchanged copy of the original file and its metadata.
Does this run OCR or change my original?
No OCR runs in this image tool. The file uploads for preview preparation and image processing, and the result is a separate image. You can continue to Image OCR when you need text; that tool has its own limits and verification.
