When it comes to dealing with bulk images on Mac, things can be quite tedious. There are various aspects that need to be considered. In order to deal with different scenarios and adding features to images, it requires a good image editor. I have been looking for such an image editor for quite some time but havent been able to find the right one until now. I stumbled upon one of the offerings of Eltima Software, the PhotoBulk which is among one of the specialized apps which concentrate on performing only a few things with effectiveness.
In the case of PhotoBulk, it is actually a batch image processor which allows the user to add watermarks, optimize as well as resize photos along with converting them to various file types and also rename images. All this can be done with its simple and easy to use drag-and-drop interface. I was really looking for such an image editor which is easy to use and doesnt have a steep learning curve.
Introduction
PhotoBulk is essentially an easy-to-use batch processor which enables you to perform various changes and optimize your images. It is quite an ease of use and very quick. It provides you with the ability to create presets for all those image related manipulations that you often use in your editing. It also provides you preview in order to make sure that you get to know about the changes that you are making and you get the view of what you really want. This editor doesnt make any changes to the original file. It actually saves the different changes that you have made in a folder which you select that allows you to keep all the original files as well as edits, separately.
When it comes to installing PhotoBulk, it is quite a surprise. It doesnt require an installer. All you have to do is simply and easily drag the application to the applications folder of yours, and you are all set to go. In case you are not satisfied with this image editor, then just drag the app to the trash and simply empty the trash. By this simple process, you can remove it easily.
Lets talk about using PhotoBulk. It is quite a compact app which comes with a single window that actually resizes to fit the particular imaging tools that you have selected to utilize on your images. PhotoBuulk comes with a large drop zone where you just need to drag all of your images to which you wat to perform bulk changes. When I used this, I never noticed any way to delete an image which is added accidentally, but it isnt a big issue since the original images remain untouched. The only consequence is that it provides an unwanted process image when it comes to output. However, it is quite simple to delete.
A toolbar which contains text buttons for every effect that you can easily add to an image is placed below the drop zone. The various effects include Resize, Watermark, Rename, and Optimize. There is an icon of seeing eye that provides you with the ability to preview all the changes that will occur. Once you have selected an effect, the window will simply expand to reveal all the tools for making the chosen changes.
Features
Lets talk about the key effects of this editor. The first one is Watermark. This particular feature allows you to add any image, date, text and even timestamp or script. Any particular script adds any given text that you repeatedly enter all across the image. It is a great way to add text to your image, for instance, Sample, which allows anyone to see the your images quality but makes it simply useless if they want to abscond with the work you have done. Whenever you select an image for putting a watermark, you can simply select the image to add, along with the size to use as well as location for the image and the rotation of the watermark as well its opacity. In case of text, which also includes date stamp, you can simply select the font, style as well as size for the text and for date stamp case, along with rotation, location as well as opacity.
The next feature is Resize. This editor allows you to resize your image by width, height, free size, percentage and max size. You are given with the choice not to apply resize effects to any smaller image which would require enlarging to meet the specification of resizing. The Resize feature of this editor can be quite useful in case you are facing an image size requirement. For example, you want to make all images less than 800 pixels tall by 1000 pixel wide. You can use this Resize feature to make sure that any image which is bigger than these dimensions is resized proportionately in order to fit within them, by means of simply selecting the Dont Enlarge option, you can make sure that images which are already smaller arent actually made to fit.
Another key feature of this image editor is Optimize options. It is restricted to images that you have to save as PNGs or JPEFGs. You can easily set the compression rate for all of the saved images, from the minimum to maximum and also anywhere in between, by means of using the compression slider. But you just have to keep one particular thing in mind that while in case of many, using compressions can actually speed up how fast any particular image loads which can lead to the loss in image quality.
Rename feature is another great one which allows you to select any base name that you want and then add any sequential digits, either as suffix or prefix. For example, if you set the base name to Colorado, the batch-processed imaged can be named as Colorado-1, Colorado-2 and so on and so forth.
Another additional feature that I would I like to mention is the Convert feature. You may have now noticed that this editor can convert between different graphics formats, however, there is no particular option present within the app in order to perform the task. Instead, the process of conversion occurs when you are saving the batch processors output. You can easily select, PNG, JPEG, GIF, TIFF or BMP as the format for all the saved images.
Now, lets move on to Pros and Cons of PhotoBulk.
Pros
- It supports almost all popular graphics formats which include, GIF, PNG, JPEG, BMP and TIFF.
- You can easily add watermarks based on text or image.
- You can simply size images based on height, width, percentage or max size.
- You can also optimize PNG and JPEG images.
- It allows you to rename the images using sequential suffix or prefix.
- It supports presets to apply the commonly used edits.
Cons
- It isnt laced with the feature of chain effects.
Price
Well, when I used this software, I was pretty impressed by its overall performance. It is priced at $9.99 which is great. It also comes with a demo that is available.
Conclusion
Finding a good image batch processor isnt an easy task, and if you are not looking for large and complex one, then PhotoBulk is a great choice. It maintains its focus on few image manipulation process which most of us want to perform. It has a great range of features which include a watermark, resize, rename, optimize. All these features are quite easy to use and deliver great output. Considering the price of this image editor, it is definitely worth it as you get all the vital and basic image processing tools at a great price. I recommend this image editor to anyone who wishes to resize his photos, add watermarks, convert between famous image formats or simply trim down a photo with the image compressor.