Expert: Amy - 7/26/2006

Question
I am using version 11.o of Adobe Illustrator and I am on a PC.  When I bring art into illustrator let's say from photoshop, it comes in with a white background if i donot clip it in photoshop.  Is there any way i can get rid of this white background in illustrator if i don't want to clip it in photoshop?

thanks

karen


Answer
Hi Karen,

There are only a few ways to achieve "transparency" of placed color images in Illustrator.

1 - Clipping paths (painful but functional).
2 - GIF format with transparency of whites (not acceptable for print jobs).

Bitmap or EPS format can also have transparent whites but this only works with BW line art images.

BUT I should tell you that these days, you can also place PSD documents that have transparency (layers) right into Illustrator and flatten the document before it goes to print. But you really need to read up on how to achieve print-ready files when you place these images. Adobe distributes a guide for this that should be with your manuals. Here's a link to it, too. Please look it over, as there's more than I can explain!

http://partners.adobe.com/public/asn/en/print_resource_center/TXPGuide.pdf

If the link doesn't work, go to Adobe.com and search for 'achieving reliable print'

Good luck!
Amy Pace