I crop screenshots of customer reviews to post. Should I save them as PNG or JPEG so the text stays sharp?
Save them as PNG. Screenshots are flat colors and letters with hard edges, and lossy formats such as JPEG and WebP handle that less cleanly than photographs. PNG in the cropper keeps the pixels exactly as they are, so letters stay crisp. If the PNG turns out too heavy for where you post it, compress a copy afterwards and compare the text zoomed in.
Why text behaves differently from a photo
JPEG was designed for photographs, where colors shift gradually and the eye hides small losses. A screenshot is black text on a white background, with the change happening within a single pixel. Compressing that edge with loss can leave faint smudges or a slight halo around letters, and it shows most on small Arabic text with its dots and marks.
The Image cropper saves JPEG and WebP at quality 92, which is high, so most people may never notice. But if the whole point is a post where the customer reads every word, there is no reason to risk it: PNG loses nothing.
Steps
- Open the screenshot in the cropper.
- Pick the ratio you will post at, for example 4:5 for a portrait post, or leave it on 'Free' to cut out just the review card.
- Drag the box around the review and its stars, leaving a little margin so the letters do not touch the edge.
- Under 'Save as' choose PNG. If the screenshot is already a PNG, 'Original format' gives the same result.
- Download and open the file zoomed in to check the letters.
A 1170 × 2532 phone screenshot at 4:5: the box starts as 1170 × 1463 from Y = 535.
With 'Free', cutting out a single review card: X = 0, Y = 600, width 1170, height 900, so the file is 1170 × 900.
When JPEG or WebP is fine
- When the screenshot is mostly a large product photo with little text, the photographic part benefits from JPEG or WebP at a smaller size.
- When the place you post has a maximum file size and the PNG goes over it.
- When the screenshot itself already reached you compressed: saving it as PNG does not restore lost sharpness, it only makes the file bigger.
If the PNG comes out heavy
Do not go back to the cropper to start over in another format. Keep the PNG as your clean copy, open it in the Image compressor, choose JPEG or WebP at a suitable quality and compare the size before and after. Look at the result zoomed in, paying attention to small letters and dots: if they stay clean, use it; if a halo appears, raise the quality or stay with PNG.
Keep in mind that many apps may compress an image again when you upload it, so starting from a clean file gives you the best starting point.
Common questions
Does PNG change the screenshot's colors?
No. PNG keeps the cropped pixels exactly as they are, with no loss.
Do I need the customer's permission to post the review?
That is your call and your store's policy. In practice you can crop out their name or photo before posting.
Why is there no quality setting in the cropper?
Quality is fixed at 92 for JPEG and WebP. To control quality and size, use the compressor after cropping.