PNG is a lossless image format designed for the web. Created in 1996 as a patent-free alternative to GIF, PNG preserves every pixel exactly as captured with zero quality loss on save. The format supports transparency through an alpha channel, making it the standard for screenshots, UI mockups, and graphics with text overlays. PNG files use either 8-bit indexed color or full 24/32-bit color depth. Because screenshots on macOS, Windows, and Linux default to PNG, it is the format most likely to contain sharp, well-defined text. Browser screenshots, application captures, and snipping tool outputs are almost always PNG files. The lossless nature means text edges remain crisp regardless of how many times the file is copied or transferred.

PNG to text conversion is most valuable for screenshots. When you capture a browser window, chat conversation, error message, or application screen, the result is typically a PNG with perfectly rendered text. Extracting that text saves manual retyping. Our screenshot to text extractor is tuned specifically for this workflow. Developers convert screenshots of error messages, stack traces, and terminal output to searchable text for bug reports. Designers extract copy from UI mockups and wireframes. Anyone who receives information as a screenshot — Slack messages, email captures, social media posts — can convert the PNG to editable text in seconds. PNG files from design tools like Figma or Canva often contain layered text that needs extraction.

ImagText extracts text from PNG images using an AI vision model that excels at screenshot content. Because PNG is lossless, text in these images has pixel-perfect edges — no compression artifacts to read through. The AI takes advantage of this clarity to deliver near-perfect accuracy on printed text. It correctly handles mixed content: UI labels next to body text, code blocks next to prose, timestamps next to usernames. Screenshot-specific challenges like overlapping windows, tooltip popups, and partially visible text are handled gracefully. The model distinguishes between actual text and decorative elements like icons or button styling. Even dark-mode screenshots with light text on dark backgrounds extract cleanly without inversion.

PNG screenshots at native resolution produce the best text extraction results. Retina and HiDPI displays create PNG files at 2x or 3x resolution, which gives the AI even more detail to work with. Avoid downscaling PNG screenshots before extraction — reducing resolution makes small text harder to read. Screenshots of very large pages may exceed the 10 MB limit at full resolution; in that case, crop to the relevant section rather than compressing. Transparency in PNG files does not affect text extraction — the AI reads text regardless of background. If your images are saved as WebP from Chrome, the same lossless quality applies. For screenshots with very small text (below 10px rendering), results improve when the image is captured at a higher zoom level.