What part of a superheterodyne receiver determines the image rejection ratio of the receiver?

In a superheterodyne receiver, an "image" is an unwanted external signal that mixes with the local oscillator to produce the exact same Intermediate Frequency (IF) as your desired signal. Because it creates the correct IF, it cannot be filtered out once it passes the mixer. To prevent this interference, the image frequency must be blocked before it ever reaches the mixer. The RF amplifier pre-selector is a tuned circuit at the very front end of the receiver that filters incoming signals directly from the antenna. By selectively passing only the desired frequency band and rejecting out-of-band signals, the pre-selector dictates the receiver's image rejection ratio. The IF filter operates after the mixer, which is too late to stop an image signal.