Hey everyone,
I’ve been testing a few AI image upscalers on some old photos and digital artwork, trying to see which ones give the best results. Here’s what I found after running 50–60 images through each tool:
Aiarty Image Enhancer – Really impressed me. Upscaled 1080p images to 4K in about 1–2 minutes per image. Denoising and deblurring are consistent, and details like hair, eyes, and textures come out very natural. Faces especially look much cleaner than other tools I tried.
Topaz Gigapixel AI – Quick and reliable. Processing the same 1080p images took roughly 3 minutes each. Preserves overall textures well, though I noticed some slight smoothing on very fine details.
Real-ESRGAN – Free and open-source. Took longer to set up and process (~4–5 minutes per image), but for simpler images it performed surprisingly well. Complex textures sometimes got a bit smudged.
I’ve been comparing results side by side, and it’s interesting how each tool has its strengths.
Has anyone else tried other AI upscalers that deliver comparable results? Would love to hear your recommendations!
My picks for the best AI upscalers to get print-ready image quality
What's the best free AI image upscaler? : ArtificialInteligence
Best AI image upscaler (Pixelcut or others maybe?)
What is the best ai Image upscaler
Can I use the AI upscaler on mobile?
How does AI-powered image upscaling work?
Who benefits from AI photo upscaling?
Videos
I’ve been doing a lot of printing work lately and realized how much difference image enhancement makes, especially when dealing with older or low-resolution files. So I tested a few AI upscalers/enhancers to see which ones actually deliver print-ready results. Here’s what I found:
Aiarty Image Enhancer – My current favorite. It keeps textures clean and natural, especially on portraits and illustrations. I like that it doesn’t over-sharpen or add weird artifacts, which makes it great for print use. Also supports batch processing, which saves me tons of time.
Topaz Gigapixel AI – Still one of the most powerful for extreme upscaling, though a bit heavy on system resources. Works great when you need 4× or 6× enlargement.
Nero AI Image Upscaler – Simple and quick to use. It does a decent job for casual image improvement or small prints. Not as strong on fine details, but it’s accessible and lightweight.
Real-ESRGAN – Open-source option that performs surprisingly well if you don’t mind a bit of setup.
If you’re prepping images for printing - posters, art prints, or photo books - these tools can really help bring back detail and clarity. Curious what others here use for upscaling or enhancement before printing? Always open to trying new options.