Merging Images with PHP: A Detailed Guide

Question

How can we seamlessly merge two images using basic PHP commands? Consider the following example:

Image One:
[Image One URL]

Image Two:
[Image Two URL]

Desired Result:
[Merged Image URL]

Solution

To merge two images in PHP, we can leverage the following approach:

1. Create Image Resources:

   Use functions like imagecreatefrompng() and imagecreatefromjpeg() to load the images into separate resources:

   $dest = imagecreatefrompng('vinyl.png');
   $src = imagecreatefromjpeg('cover2.jpg');

2. Configure Alpha Blending:

   Disable alpha blending and enable alpha saving for the destination image:

   imagealphablending($dest, false);
   imagesavealpha($dest, true);

3. Merge the Images:

   Use imagecopymerge() to merge $src onto $dest at the specified coordinates and with the specified opacity:

   imagecopymerge($dest, $src, 10, 9, 0, 0, 181, 180, 100);

4. Output the Merged Image:

   Set the correct content type and output the merged image using imagepng():

   header('Content-Type: image/png');
   imagepng($dest);

5. Cleanup:

   Free the image resources for memory management:

   imagedestroy($dest);
   imagedestroy($src);

Code Example

Here's an example code snippet that demonstrates the merging of two images: