What are the optimal file output settings for AI e-commerce images?
2 min read
Quick Answer
For the final upload to your store, use WebP or JPEG at 80-90% quality to balance file size and visual fidelity. Use PNG only when you need a lossless working file or transparency. Nightjar exposes output format (JPEG, PNG, WebP), aspect ratio, and resolution as explicit settings on every Generation, so you can pick the right combination per destination without re-saving in another tool.
Input vs. Output Settings
There are two stages to consider: the file you feed the AI, and the file you put on your website.
1. The Working File (Input/Editing)
When uploading source product Assets to Nightjar:
- Format: PNG when you have it, otherwise high-quality JPEG.
- Why: re-saving JPEGs over and over compresses the data each time, which adds up to visible "generation loss" across iterations. PNG is lossless and avoids that.
- Transparency: useful when a source Asset needs to be composited cleanly onto a different scene.
2. The Delivery File (Your Website)
Once the Generation is done, pick the format and aspect ratio for the destination:
| Platform | Recommended Format | Common Aspect Ratio |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify / Web Store | WebP (or JPEG) | 1:1 (square) |
| Instagram / TikTok feed | JPEG | 4:5 (portrait) |
| Stories, Reels, vertical ads | JPEG | 9:16 |
| Amazon listing | JPEG (clean white background) | 1:1 |
Nightjar supports JPEG, PNG, and WebP output, generation at 1K, 2K, and 4K, and aspect ratios including 1:1, 4:5, 3:4, 2:3, 5:4, 4:3, 3:2, 16:9, 9:16, and 21:9.
A Note on Aspect Ratios
A common mistake is squashing a high-resolution image into the wrong shape. Cropping loses part of the frame and stretching warps the product. The cleaner approach is to set the aspect ratio at generation time, or use the Reframe Edit Shortcut to extend the canvas after the fact. In the Edit tab you can also drop a /ratio command inline to switch a finished image to a different shape, and /format to change the output format, without re-running the full Generation.
Marketplace Specifics
Marketplaces have their own image rules that change. For Amazon's main image requirements, check the current Amazon product image standards before publishing a listing. For Shopify, refer to the live Shopify image specs for size and format limits.
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