Translating Your Listing Isn't Enough: How to Translate Product Images for Amazon, Shopify and Etsy
Translating a marketplace listing does not translate its images: the words printed inside your infographics, badges and packaging shots stay in the original language until you translate the image files themselves. That is why many international listings read half-localized, with a German title above an English size chart.
Disclosure: we build EditTextImage, whose product image translator does the image step described below. The checklist works with any tool or a designer.
What marketplaces translate, and what they don't
Amazon's Build International Listings translates your title, bullets and description. Shopify's translation tools localize the listing text and show per-locale storefronts. None of them reach inside an image file. A comparison chart, a “Best Seller” badge or a tagline on a lifestyle shot is pixels, and it stays in its original language however well the text around it was translated.
Which images to translate first
Prioritize the images a shopper reads rather than glances at, in this order: infographics and feature callouts, size and spec charts, the main image if it carries text, then lifestyle shots with taglines. Packaging photos come next, and they matter most where the label is the selling point.
The workflow, step by step
- Collect the highest-resolution version of each gallery image. Small print only survives from a large source.
- Upload one image, pick the target language, and generate. The AI reads the text, translates it, redraws it in the original font style and colour, and rebuilds the background behind it.
- Check the result against the original at full size: product, background and lighting should be unchanged.
- Have a native speaker read every translated image for claims, units and tone.
- Repeat for each gallery image and each target marketplace, then upload to the matching listing language.
Cost is one credit per image per language, so one infographic into German and French is two credits. New accounts get one free credit.
Sourcing from China: translating supplier images
Dropshippers and importers often start from supplier images with Chinese specs and callouts. The same workflow turns those into English: upload the image from the supplier or catalogue, choose English, and the product photo stays as it is while the text reads in English. This is only appropriate for images you have the right to use in your listing, such as images your supplier has licensed to you. Translating text is not a licence, and we do not support removing watermarks or supplier branding.
Where to be careful
- Regulated label content: ingredients, safety warnings and certifications are your legal responsibility. Have them translated and checked by someone qualified, not just machine-translated.
- Curved packaging and busy photos: harder than flat panels. Retry once with the text region described more precisely before editing by hand.
- Text expansion: German runs about 35 percent longer than English, so tight callouts may need a shorter variant.
Who should not use this
If you have the layered design files and a designer, rebuilding from the source gives you full control over layout per language. If a product image is mostly regulated text, such as a nutrition panel, have it made by someone accountable for the content rather than translated from pixels.
Frequently asked questions
Does Amazon translate the text inside my product images?
No. Build International Listings translates your title, bullets and description, but not text that is part of an image file. An infographic or lifestyle shot with English copy stays English on amazon.de or amazon.co.jp, so the images have to be translated separately.
How do I translate Chinese supplier images to English?
Upload the image, choose English as the target language and generate. The tool reads the Chinese text in the image, translates it, redraws the English in the same style and rebuilds the background behind it, so specs, callouts and size charts read in English while the product photo is untouched. Only edit and resell images you have the right to use.
Will the product photo itself change?
No. Only the pixels where text sits are edited. The product, the background, the lighting and the composition stay as they were. On packaging, the translated text follows the label's curvature and print style where it can.
What is hardest to translate in a product image?
Curved surfaces such as bottles, tubes and pouches, text over busy photography, and very small print such as ingredient lists. They usually work in one pass but may need a retry, and small print may need a higher-resolution source.
Do I still need a human to review translated images?
Yes. Claims, units, sizing and tone need human judgment, and a mistranslated spec on a listing image can mean returns or a compliance problem. Regulated label content such as ingredients, safety warnings and certifications is the seller's responsibility.
Only translate images you own or are licensed to use. See our acceptable use policy. For app screenshots rather than product photos, see localizing App Store screenshots.
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