Top 3 ways to resize images (for free)

These are my top three ways to resize images. I often have clients who need a simple, free solution to make camera images more web-friendly and these are my top three choices.

1. Image Resizer from Microsoft PowerToys (WinXP)
This is probably the easiest and best solution for most since it adds a right-click menu item to resize images. You can select one or many images, choose to create a resized copy or over-write the image(s) selected, and choose levels of resizing (simple menu). This is the first one I would try if you're running WinXP

Link:
http://www.microsoft.com/.../powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx


2. Quick Thumbnail - An online image resizer
This one is as simple as Item#1 and gives a few more resizing options. If you more confortable not installing anything on your system then this is the choice. Simply upload the image, choose a few options, hit resize and the resized image is pushed to your browser. Its a bit more work since you have to browse to the image, resize, and then save it back but there's nothing to install and online solutions seem the way to go.

Link:
http://www.quickthumbnail.com/


3. Irfanview
This is by far the most powerful of all solutions. This is not just an image resizer but a powerful image viewer that goes so far beyond just a viewer. If you want power and you want free, then this is the one. It supports batch processing, plugins, most image formats you will ever come across, and so much more. It may be a little overwhelming for the novice user but is also the most powerful - which is usally the case.

Link:
http://www.irfanview.com/


Honorable Mention:

Paint.Net:
Paint.NET is image and photo manipulation software designed to be used on computers that run Windows 2000, XP, Vista, or Server 2003. It supports layers, unlimited undo, special effects, and a wide variety of useful and powerful tools.

Link:
http://www.getpaint.net/