If you have ever tried to generate a poster, a product label, or a banner with an AI image tool, you already know the problem: the text comes out garbled, misspelled, or completely made up.
This is the single biggest practical limitation of AI image generators for commercial work.
The Text Rendering Problem
Most AI image generators treat text as a visual texture rather than semantic content. They learn to approximate the look of text rather than generate specific, accurate characters.
The result: ask for a poster that says "Summer Sale 50% Off" and you get something that looks like text at a glance but falls apart under inspection.
How Each Model Performs
DALL-E 3
Text accuracy: ~70-80% for short phrases. Breaks down on longer sentences, numbers, and non-Latin scripts.
Midjourney v6
Text accuracy: ~40-50%. Still unreliable for anything you would put in front of a client.
FLUX.1 Pro
Reaches ~85% accuracy for Latin scripts. Non-Latin scripts remain weak.
GPT Image 2
Text accuracy: 99%+ for Latin scripts, strong multilingual support including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic. This comes from training the model to understand text as semantic content, not just pixels.
Real-World Test
I ran the same prompt through all four models:
A Mexican restaurant menu with the heading Tacos al Pastor $8.50 and a short description below
- DALL-E 3: Heading mostly correct, price rendered incorrectly
- Midjourney: Decorative-looking text, not actually readable
- FLUX: Best open-source option, but still mangled the price
- GPT Image 2: Exact text, correct price, readable at all sizes
When to Use GPT Image 2
GPT Image 2 is the right choice when:
- Your output needs readable, accurate text (menus, posters, banners, product labels)
- You need consistent colors for brand assets
- You are working with Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Arabic text
- The image needs to be commercially usable without manual touch-up
For pure creative work with no text requirements, Midjourney is still competitive.
Try It
You can test GPT Image 2 at gptimager.com. New accounts get free credits, no credit card required.
Have you run your own text-rendering tests across models? What results did you get?
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