PHP Imagick resize with black background - php

Question

I am writing a PHP script using the imagick extension. What I want the script to do is take an image a user uploads, and create a 200x128 thumbnail out of it.
That's not the only thing. Obviously, not all images will fit the aspect ratio of 200x128. So what I want the script to do is fill in gaps with a black background.
Right now, the image resizes, but there is no black background and the size isn't correct. Basically, the image should ALWAYS be 200x128. The resized image will go in the center, and the rest of the contents will be filled with black.
Any ideas?
Here's my code:
function portfolio_image_search_resize($image) {
// Check if imagick is loaded. If not, return false.
if(!extension_loaded('imagick')) { return false; }
// Set the dimensions of the search result thumbnail
$search_thumb_width = 200;
$search_thumb_height = 128;
// Instantiate class. Then, read the image.
$IM = new Imagick();
$IM->readImage($image);
// Obtain image height and width
$image_height = $IM->getImageHeight();
$image_width = $IM->getImageWidth();
// Determine if the picture is portrait or landscape
$orientation = ($image_height > $image_width) ? 'portrait' : 'landscape';
// Set compression and file type
$IM->setImageCompression(Imagick::COMPRESSION_JPEG);
$IM->setImageCompressionQuality(100);
$IM->setResolution(72,72);
$IM->setImageFormat('jpg');
switch($orientation) {
case 'portrait':
// Since the image must maintain its aspect ratio, the rest of the image must appear as black
$IM->setImageBackgroundColor("black");
$IM->scaleImage(0, $search_thumb_height);
$filename = 'user_search_thumbnail.jpg';
// Write the image
if($IM->writeImage($filename) == true) {
return true;
}
else {
return false;
}
break;
case 'landscape':
// The aspect ratio of the image might not match the search result thumbnail (1.5625)
$IM->setImageBackgroundColor("black");
$calc_image_rsz_height = ($image_height / $image_width) * $search_thumb_width;
if($calc_image_rsz_height > $search_thumb_height) {
$IM->scaleImage(0, $search_thumb_height);
}
else {
$IM->scaleImage($search_thumb_width, 0);
}
$filename = 'user_search_thumbnail.jpg';
if($IM->writeImage($filename) == true) {
return true;
}
else {
return false;
}
break;
}
}

Answer 1

I know its old but I found the answer after long trying:
you need to use thumbnailimage
(http://php.net/manual/en/imagick.thumbnailimage.php)
with both $bestfit and $fill as true like so:
$image->thumbnailImage(200, 128,true,true);

Answer 2

exec('convert -define jpeg:size=400x436 big_image.jpg -auto-orient -thumbnail 200x218 -unsharp 0x.5 thumbnail.gif');
You'll need to install imagemagick.
sudo apt-get install imagemagick
Take a look at:
http://www.imagemagick.org/Usage/thumbnails/#creation
It shows further examples and how to pad out the thumbnail with a background color of your choice.