How to Adjust Image Saturation in PHP with Imagick – Step-by-Step Guide

Install Imagick

Verify that the Imagick extension is loaded in PHP: php -m | grep imagick If the command returns imagick, the extension is available. Otherwise install it using the appropriate method for your environment (e.g., apt-get install php-imagick, yum install php-pecl-imagick, or pecl install imagick).

Adjust Image Saturation

Imagick provides two methods to modify an image's saturation: setImageAttribute() and setImageProperty(). Both accept a numeric value in the range -100 (completely desaturated) to +100 (maximum saturation).

Using setImageAttribute()

$imagick = new Imagick('input.png');
$imagick->setImageAttribute('saturation', 50); // value between -100 and 100
$imagick->writeImage('output.png');
$imagick->destroy();

Using setImageProperty()

$imagick = new Imagick('input.png');
$imagick->setImageProperty('Saturation', 50); // property name is case‑sensitive
$imagick->writeImage('output.png');
$imagick->destroy();

Both examples create an Imagick object, load the source image, set the saturation, write the modified image to a new file, and release the object.

Additional Notes

The attribute name for setImageAttribute() is case‑insensitive; use 'saturation'.

For setImageProperty() the property name must be capitalized as 'Saturation'.

Values outside the -100 to +100 range are clamped by ImageMagick.

After adjusting saturation, the same Imagick instance can perform other operations such as cropping or resizing.