Image Utility Tools
Edit metadata, extract palettes, run OCR, organize PDFs, and generate QR codes in your browser
About Utilities Tools
This category covers the tools that do not fit neatly into editing, conversion, or compression but are essential parts of an image workflow. Edit EXIF metadata with piexifjs. Extract dominant color palettes using median-cut quantization. Run OCR text extraction with Tesseract.js (13 languages). Split and slice images into grid sections. Organize PDF pages (reorder, rotate, delete). Watermark PDFs with custom text and positioning. Generate QR codes and barcodes. Make image backgrounds transparent. Apply perspective correction. Dehaze foggy images. Every tool runs in your browser using JavaScript libraries like exifr, piexifjs, Tesseract.js, pdf-lib, and jsbarcode.
When to Use These Tools
- •Editing EXIF copyright fields on a batch of photos before delivering to a client
- •Extracting a 6-color palette from a brand photo for a design system
- •Running OCR on a scanned receipt to extract the total amount as text
- •Splitting a 24x36 inch poster design into 12 letter-size tiles for home printing
- •Reorganizing PDF pages: moving page 7 to page 2, deleting blank pages, rotating sideways scans
- •Generating a QR code linking to a restaurant menu for table display
Benefits
- •EXIF editor reads and writes JPEG EXIF via piexifjs with tabbed UI for Basic, Camera, Copyright, and All fields
- •Color palette extractor uses median-cut algorithm to identify dominant colors with hex codes
- •OCR supports 13 languages including English, Spanish, French, German, Chinese, Japanese, and Arabic
- •PDF page organizer handles reorder, rotate (90-degree increments), delete, and restore via pdf-lib
- •PDF watermark tool supports 6 positions, custom text, color, opacity, and font size via pdf-lib StandardFonts
- •QR code generator creates codes with customizable size, error correction level, and color
Tips for Best Results
- •For OCR, use the highest resolution source available: 300 DPI scans produce significantly better text recognition than 72 DPI screenshots
- •When extracting color palettes, use 5 to 8 colors for design systems: fewer misses important accents, more becomes unwieldy
- •Before editing EXIF on PNG or WebP files, note that piexifjs only writes to JPEG: other formats are read-only
- •When splitting images for printing, add a small overlap (5 to 10%) between tiles so you can trim and align them precisely
- •For QR codes, use error correction level M (15%) for general use, or H (30%) for codes that may be partially obscured
- •When making backgrounds transparent, use images with clear subject separation for best results
Practical Examples
Adding copyright metadata to a photo delivery
A wedding photographer delivered 400 JPEG photos to a client. Before delivery, they used the EXIF editor to add copyright fields (photographer name, 2025, all rights reserved) to all 400 files. The batch operation took about 3 minutes. The copyright info is now embedded in the files and visible in any EXIF viewer.
Design system palette from a brand photo
A UX designer extracted a 6-color palette from the company's brand hero photo. The median-cut algorithm returned #1B3668 (deep navy), #4A90D9 (mid blue), #F5F5F5 (off-white), #E89B3D (warm amber), #2D2D2D (charcoal), and #8FB8E8 (light blue). These became the primary, secondary, accent, neutral, text, and muted colors in the design system.
OCR on a stack of expense receipts
An accountant photographed 30 expense receipts with their phone. Running OCR on each image extracted the vendor name, date, and total amount as editable text. The extracted text was pasted into a spreadsheet for expense reporting, saving about 45 minutes of manual data entry.
Restaurant QR code for digital menu
A restaurant needed table QR codes linking to their digital menu. The QR generator created codes at 512x512 pixels with error correction level M, black foreground on white background. The codes were printed at 2x2 inches on table cards. Scanning with a phone camera opens the menu page instantly.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- •Running OCR on low-contrast or skewed images: Tesseract.js works best on straight, high-contrast text. Rotate sideways text and increase contrast before OCR
- •Extracting too many palette colors: 15+ colors from a palette extractor creates a muddy set that is hard to use in design. Stick to 5 to 8
- •Forgetting that EXIF editing only works on JPEG: PNG and WebP EXIF is read-only in our tools due to format constraints
- •Generating QR codes with too much data: QR codes have capacity limits (about 2,953 characters for alphanumeric). URLs should be shortened if possible
- •Applying perspective correction with extreme angles: results can look stretched. For architectural photography, keep corrections under 15 degrees when possible
References and Further Reading
Frequently Asked Questions
Conclusion
Utility tools handle the specific tasks that support your broader image workflow: editing metadata, extracting palettes, running OCR, organizing PDFs, and generating QR codes. The tools above cover all of these in your browser. Pick the utility you need and drag in your file.