png2ico exporting ICO in lower quality than the original PNGs

Question

I have 6 PNG files that I want to bundle into one ICO file. I'd like to use something like png2ico instead of a web app like ConvertICO.org's web app.

When the ICO is produced using png2ico, the quality of the ICO seems to have dropped. Below are 2 images (100% view and zoomed in) comparing the png2ico output (right) to the original PNG (left).

Comparison of original PNG & png2ico's output.

Comparison of original PNG & png2ico's output magnified.

Is this a limitation of png2ico? Can I stop png2ico from lowering the quality? Can you recommend another way of bundling 6 PNGs into 1 ICO using Terminal on OSX?

It appears that the alpha channel has been reduced to simple binary transparency, losing the antialiasing of the edges. — Glenn Randers-Pehrson, Dec 06 '14 at 21:07

score 0 · Accepted Answer · edited Mar 20 '17 at 10:18

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I emailed the developer of png2ico and it sounds like png2ico only supports 256 colors which isn't acceptable for what I needed. I have since discovered that ImageMagick can convert and bundle multiple PNGs into one ICO thanks to Rob W's post here.

edited Mar 20 '17 at 10:18

Community

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answered Dec 08 '14 at 16:04

Jonathan

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png2ico exporting ICO in lower quality than the original PNGs

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