Pipelines

Reposition: put your image on a custom-sized canvas

Puts your image on a new canvas at the exact size you want — perfect for hitting exact size requirements anywhere you upload.

The Reposition tool takes whatever the previous step gave it and puts it on a fresh, custom-sized canvas. It lets you set the exact width, height, and print quality you want. This is the step that makes your output ready to upload.

Why this step matters

Different websites want different image sizes.

  • Social media posts often want a square like 1080 by 1080
  • Etsy and Shopify product images look best at about 2000 by 2000
  • Print files need a big canvas, like 4500 by 5400 for a shirt print
  • Upload the wrong size and the site will either reject the image or squish it

Reposition makes sure every image in your batch comes out at the exact size you want, no matter what the original looked like.

The settings

Reposition has two boxes to understand: the canvas (the final file size) and the container (the area inside the canvas where your image is placed). By default the container fills the whole canvas.

SettingWhat it does
DPI (default 300)A number the printer uses to tell how finely to print. 72 for web / social. 300 for anything printed.
Unit (px / in / cm)Whether sizes are in pixels, inches, or centimeters. With inches or cm, DPI turns them into pixels (10 × 10 in at 300 DPI = 3000 × 3000 px).
Canvas width / heightThe size of the final image.
Pasting ModeHow your image fits its container. Fit (default) scales it to fit while keeping its shape. Stretch fills the container exactly (can distort). W Lock / H Lock match the container's width or height.
AlignmentWhere the image sits inside its container: Center, Top, Bottom, Left, Right. You'll only see a difference when the container is bigger than the image in that direction.
X / YThe container's exact position on the canvas. You can also drag the image on the canvas.
Container width / heightThe size of the area your image is placed in. Make it smaller than the canvas for things like pocket prints.
Inside PaddingShrinks the image inside its container, leaving a transparent border on all 4 sides.
GuidesAdd horizontal / vertical guides (or click the ruler at the top/left). Drag them; hold Shift to snap to steps; arrows nudge; Del or double-click removes one; Alt disables snapping. The image snaps to guides, so every image lands in exactly the same spot.

Double-click the image to make it fill the whole canvas again.

The new canvas is transparent (see-through). If you want a solid color behind your image, add Canvas Fill.

DPI in plain English

DPI is a number that tells a printer how sharp to make the final print. It does not change the size of your image.

  • 72 DPI is fine for anything going on the web or social media
  • 300 DPI is the usual choice for anything printed, because it prints sharper
  • A 3000 by 3000 image at 72 DPI has the exact same pixels as a 3000 by 3000 image at 300 DPI — the printer just treats them differently

Use 300 for anything that will be printed on something physical. Use 72 for anything going online.

Common sizes people use

Type these into Canvas Width and Canvas Height. Make sure Unit is set to px (pixels).

Example useWidth × HeightDPI
Instagram / social square post1080 × 108072
Website hero image2400 × 120072
Etsy or Shopify product image2000 × 200072
Catalog grid thumbnail1200 × 120072
YouTube thumbnail1280 × 72072
8 × 10 in photo print2400 × 3000300
Print-on-demand shirt print (e.g. Amazon Merch)4500 × 5400300

These are examples. Wherever you're uploading, check that site's own size guide and copy its numbers into Canvas Width and Canvas Height.

Tips

  • Put Reposition near the end of your pipeline. Remove the background first (with Color Removal V2). Cut off the empty edges (with Trim). Then put the clean result on your target canvas with Reposition. Doing this in a different order leaves your image small and off-center on a big empty canvas.
  • Save the whole pipeline as a preset. Once you've set up "Social 1080 square" or "Etsy 2000 square," click Save Current Preset. Next time, one click loads the whole pipeline — no retyping dimensions.
  • Use Inside Padding if the site crops your image. Some sites cut a few pixels off each edge during upload. A small inside padding keeps your design safely inside.
  • Center is almost always right. Alignment: Center works for most product images and designs.
  • Place an image in one area of a bigger canvas (for example a small logo in a corner, or a pocket print on a shirt file): set the container to that area and place it with guides. Save it as its own preset.
  • Trim first. If an image won't align where you expect, there are probably stray see-through pixels around it — add Trim (or Transparency Cleaner) before Reposition.

Things Reposition doesn't do

  • It doesn't make your image sharper. In Fit mode it scales your image to fill the container, but scaling up just stretches the pixels. For a real quality jump, upscale first (the free Upscaler or AI Upscale).
  • It doesn't give you a colored background. The canvas is transparent. If you need a color behind your image, use Canvas Fill.
  • It has no built-in platform presets. You have to type the numbers in yourself. But you can save your own pipeline as a preset so you never have to type them twice.
  • [Color Removal V2](color-removal) — typically the first step before Reposition
  • [Trim](trim) — typically run between Color Removal V2 and Reposition to remove empty edges
  • [Etsy design prep](../workflows/etsy-design-prep) — Etsy listings workflow
  • [Presets](../getting-started/presets) — save your Reposition settings so you don't retype dimensions every time

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