This tutorial demonstrates the five best image processing libraries in Java.
5 Best Image Processing Libraries in JavaThere are quite a lot of image processing libraries provided that can be used in Java for Image Processing. Some of the libraries are paid, and some are open source; we have selected the 5 best open source libraries that can be used for Image Processing in Java.
1. OpenCVThe OpenCV is one of the most used libraries for Image Processing or Computer Vision across several programming languages. The OpenCV is under the BSD license and free for commercial and academic use.
Besides Java, OpenCV also supports C++, C, and Python languages and can be implemented on Operating Systems like Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, and iOS.
The OpenCV can also take advantage of multiprocessing because it is written in optimized C/C++. The table below describes some of the main features of this library.
FeatureDescriptionEroding and DilatingThe OpenCV can apply the two most widely used morphology operations Eroding and Dilating.Morphology TransformationsThe OpenCV has a method morphology which applies morphological transformation like opening, closing, BlackHat, Tophat, etc.Smoothing ImagesThe OpenCV can apply image smoothing operations like Blur, medianBlur, GaussianBlur, and bilateral filter.Image PyramidsThe OpenCV has methods like pyrUp and pyrDown to upsample and downsample an image.RemappingThe OpenCV has the method remap(), which performs the simple remapping operation.Histogram CalculationThe OpenCV have the method calcHist to generate dynamic histograms.Add borders to your imagesThe OpenCV method copyMakeBorder can be used to add a border to the images.For more info and to download the library, visit this link.
2. ImageJImageJ is another famous library for Image Processing using Java. This library can edit, analyze, display, process, print, and save 8, 16, and 32-bit images.
Here are the main features of this library.
FeatureDescriptionAll OS CompatibleThe ImageJ is built on Java, which can run on every operating system.ToolkitThe ImageJ provides a toolkit that can be used to develop image processing applets, servlets, or applications.Data TypesThe ImageJ provides RGB color, 8-bit grayscale and color, 16-bit unsigned integer, and 32-bit floating point data types.SelectionsThe ImageJ can create line and point selections and rectangular, elliptical, or irregular area selections.File FormatsThe ImageJ can open and save JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, PGM, FITS, and ASCII formats and open GIFs, TIFFs, JPEGs, DICOMs, and raw data using a URL.Color ProcessingThe ImageJ can split an image into RGB or HSV components for a 32-bit image and merge 8-bit components into a color image.Image EnhancementImageJ provides operations like smoothing, sharpening, median filtering, edge detection, and thresholding for grayscale and RGB images.For more info and to download the library, visit this link.
3. FijiThe Fiji is a package of Image Processing based on ImageJ, ImageJ2, Java, Java 3D, and many other plugins. Fiji can be considered as the interface for the ImageJ library; let’s see some main features of this Package.
FeatureDescriptionRegistering 3D imagesFiji provides operations like Elastic Alignment, Feature Extraction, Montage, Image Stabilizer, etc., to register 3D images.Segmenting imagesFiji offers 35 types of image segmentations.ScriptingFiji provides functionalities to allow scripting with Macros, in JRuby, Jython, JavaScript, Clojure, and Beanshell.Keyboard ShortcutsFiji provides many useful keyboard shortcuts.ImageJ TricksFiji provides more functionalities for the ImageJ library.Developing Plug-insFiji provides a script editor to develop plugins.For more info and to download the library, visit this link.
4. Apache Commons ImagingApache Commons provides a lot of functionalities, and Image Processing is one of them. It can be used to read, write, and parse images.
Here are the main features of Apache Commons Image processing.
FeatureDescriptionBuilt in JavaThe Apache Commons is purely built in Java language.Metadata supportThe Apache Commons provides reading and writing the metadata in a structured way.Image FormatsApache Commons supports a wide variety of image formats, even those other libraries do not support.Network FriendlyThe Apache Commons is very network friendly because it only reads the data it needs, so it is light on the network.TransparentThe Apache Commons is very transparent; it doesn’t have hidden buffers to dispose of background threads like other libraries.Color ConversionsThe Apache Commons provides a color conversion class that can convert the color spaces between CIE-L*ab, CIE-L*CH, CIE-L*uv, Hunter-Lab, CMYK, CMY, HSV, HSL, RGB, XYZ, and YXY.For more info and to download the library, visit this link.
5. LEADTOOLSLEADTOOLS is an image processing library for Java that provides a lot of functionalities like document cleanup, medical image enhancement, edge detection, color conversion and correction, noise reduction, etc. Let’s see the main features of this library.
FeatureDescriptionMedical Image ProcessingThe LEADTOOLS is one of Java’s best libraries for medical image processing.Scanned Document Image ProcessingThe LEADTOOLS provides some powerful functions to read scanned documents; it can detect imperfections and artifacts like punched holes, dust speckles, skewed angles, etc.Brightness and ContrastThe LEADTOOLS provides functions to enhance images, aid in diagnostic evaluation for medical images, or apply artistic effects.Geometric TransformationThe LEADTOOLS provides functions to correct images, apply artistic 3D effects clean, or align.Color CorrectionThe LEADTOOLS provides functions to correct images with color correction, balance color intensities, or perform other image analysis tasks.Color Space ConversionThe LEADTOOLS provides functionalities to add image color space to single-threaded and multi-threaded applications.Image EnhancementThe LEADTOOLS provides functions to correct common errors of photography, such as imbalanced colors or red-eye. It also provides a diagnostic evaluation of medical image processing.For more info and to download the library, visit this link.