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Image Conversion

Convert CBZ to PSD — Free Online Converter

Convert Comic Book ZIP (.cbz) to Photoshop Document (.psd) online for free. Fast, secure image conversion with no watermarks or registration....

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How to Convert

1

Upload your .cbz file by dragging it into the upload area or clicking to browse.

2

Choose your output settings. The default settings work great for most files.

3

Click Convert and download your .psd file when it's ready.

About CBZ to PSD Conversion

CBZ (Comic Book ZIP) is the open-standard comic archive format used by Calibre, web-based comic servers, and cross-platform readers. PSD (Photoshop Document) is Adobe's native format for layered image editing, the industry standard for professional comic production. Converting CBZ to PSD extracts each page from the open ZIP archive and creates Photoshop-native files ready for coloring, restoration, lettering, and production work.

The open-source ecosystem around CBZ (Calibre, Komga, Kavita) often serves as the pipeline entry point for comic production studios. Fan translation teams, independent colorists, and restoration groups download or organize comics in CBZ format, then convert individual pages to PSD for editing. The conversion creates a single-layer PSD from each page, providing the starting point for layered production workflows.

Why Convert CBZ to PSD?

Professional comic production workflows center on Adobe Photoshop and its PSD format. Colorists working on licensed properties, fan translation groups typesetting manga, and restoration studios repairing aged comic scans all work in PSD. Converting CBZ pages to PSD eliminates the import step — files open directly in Photoshop at full resolution with the correct color mode, ready for layers to be added.

Fan translation and scanlation teams specifically use the CBZ-to-PSD workflow. Raw manga chapters arrive as CBZ archives. Each page is converted to PSD, and the translator adds layers for cleaned text, translated dialogue, typeset speech bubbles, and sound effects. The layered PSD becomes the working document, while the final output is flattened and re-archived as CBZ for distribution.

Common Use Cases

  • Prepare manga pages from CBZ archives for fan translation and typesetting in Photoshop
  • Extract comic pages as PSD for professional coloring with layered non-destructive workflows
  • Create Photoshop-ready files from CBZ for comic page restoration and cleanup
  • Convert CBZ webcomic pages to PSD for adding lettering, sound effects, and speech bubbles
  • Produce PSD files from Calibre-managed CBZ libraries for external production teams

How It Works

ZIP decompression extracts all page images from the CBZ container. Each image is converted to PSD format using ImageMagick, creating a flattened single-layer document in RGB color mode. The PSD conforms to Adobe Photoshop 3.0 file specification for compatibility across Photoshop versions and alternative editors (Affinity Photo, Clip Studio Paint, GIMP). The output preserves full color depth (8-bit standard, 16-bit where the source supports it). Canvas dimensions match the source page pixels exactly.

Quality & Performance

The PSD output contains the exact pixel data from the source page without any modification. No resampling, sharpening, or color adjustment is applied. The PSD serves as a perfect starting point for editing — what you see is exactly what was in the CBZ archive. PSD's lossless internal storage ensures that subsequent saves during editing do not degrade the image. Layer data added during editing is also stored losslessly.

SHARP EngineFastMinimal Quality Loss

Device Compatibility

DeviceCBZPSD
Windows PCPartialPartial
macOSPartialPartial
iPhone/iPadPartialPartial
AndroidPartialPartial
LinuxPartialPartial
Web BrowserNoNo

Tips for Best Results

  • 1Name PSD files with series-chapter-page format for organized production tracking
  • 2Set up a Photoshop Action to automatically create standard layer structure (cleanup, flats, renders, text) on each opened PSD
  • 3For scanlation work, convert pages to PSD in batches matching chapter boundaries
  • 4CBZ's open format guarantees reliable extraction — unlike CBR, there is no risk of RAR decompression failures
  • 5Use Clip Studio Paint's batch processing features for efficient PSD editing across multiple pages

CBZ to PSD conversion creates professional Photoshop files from open-standard comic archives, enabling layered production workflows for coloring, translation, restoration, and lettering. The open ZIP format ensures reliable extraction for production pipelines.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. Clip Studio Paint has excellent PSD compatibility and is widely used for manga and comic production. The PSD files open with full fidelity, and additional layers created in Clip Studio can be saved back to PSD format.
Each PSD starts with a single background layer containing the page image. Your editing workflow adds layers — a typical setup is: background (original art), cleanup, flats (colors), renders, effects, text/lettering.
Raw manga CBZ is extracted to PSD. Translators add layers: cleaned text (white-out original), translated text, typeset dialogue, redrawn areas, and sound effects. The final pages are flattened and re-archived as CBZ.
Calibre often manages the CBZ library — organizing series, tagging metadata, and maintaining the collection. Pages are extracted from Calibre-managed CBZ files and converted to PSD for editing outside Calibre.
RGB 8-bit per channel is the default, producing standard 24-bit color. This is sufficient for all comic art. 16-bit mode is used only when the source pages contain 16-bit color data.

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