Expert: Scott Valentine - 2/16/2009

Question
QUESTION: Hi Scott,

Actually, I suppose it is appropriate to choose you as an expert given the day it will be tomorrow. Thanks in advance.

I tried to make a transparent signature using the steps below. To give credit, I found these steps on here on an earlier question. I was successful, but the signature was not dark enough and it seemed to be behind the other text. Maybe it was because it was too light. I was hoping you could tell me how to fix these two problems.

I skipped steps 10 through 12, and it worked that way, but I was confused as to why they were there in the first place.

To get my signature started, I scanned it to a .pdf, then made a BMP. I chose open in Photshop CS4 and chose the .bmp file. I then did the steps as outlined and ended up with a transparent signature. Should I just make my signature darker on the page I scan into my computer? Am I using the wrong type of pen?

1. Scan and import the signature
2. Right-click on “Background” in Layers panel
3. Select “Duplicate Layer”
4. Select “OK”
5. Delete the original background (the one with the little padlock)
6. Select “Magic Wand” at about 32 Tolerance and uncheck Contiguous in order to capture all the white background.  7. Left-click on white background (ants start marching)  
8. Hit “Delete” on the keyboard
9. White background disappears and a checked background appears.
10. Right-click on “Background copy” in Layers panel
11. Select “Flatten Image”
12. Checked background disappears and white background reappears.  
13. Left-click with the “Magic Wand” anywhere on the background to stop the ants marching
14. Select File -> Save as -> PNG -> PNG Options -> Interlace -> None -> OK.

Thanks.

Bert


ANSWER: Well, Bert, it's tough to say what exactly is going on, so I'll give you some alternative steps that should give you lots of control over how the signature looks.

First, I'd start with something like a 0.7mm solid black ink pen that flows nicely. The idea is to produce an even stroke with the same ink 'density' throughout. Sign on a piece of bright white copy paper and use that as your source.

If you can scan into a different format, you'll probably have better fidelity in the image. Try TIFF, PNG and JPG in that order. Use full color and resolution settings unless you have tried other settings and like the results. You want the paper to be as close to white as you can get it.

Once you have your image in Photoshop, check under Image > Mode and see that you are using RGB Color, 8 bits per channel. If not, select those.

If the image is your background layer, simply double-click it to enable it - that will unlock the 'Background' status and make it a regular layer.

Now, we get tricky!

Double-click the layer thumbnail to open up the layer properties dialog box. Down at the bottom you will see some sliders labeled 'Blend If'. The top one is 'This Layer', and has black and white triangles. Drag the white one to the left until the background starts to disappear. If there is too much 'noise, or the color isn't quite right, we'll deal with that below. For now, if the paper is plain white, this should work.

Notice that the edges of your signature are probably not very clean. Hold down Alt for a PC or Opt for a Mac, and click the right side white triangle you just moved, dragging it a little to the right. This splits the slider and gives you some distance between pixels that are opaque and transparent, making the edges much smoother.

You may need to put a black or dark gray layer behind the signature so you can see the edges more clearly. Simply turn it off when you are happy with the results.

Now, you should have a clean edge to your signature, so it's time to add an adjustment layer. In CS4, the adjustments are now handled with an adjustment 'panel' (check the help files if you are not sure where to find this). Choose the Levels adjustment, and drag the left slider (the shadows) to the right a little to make your signature darker. Feel free to play with the sliders as this is nondestructive - you can always go back to where you started.

If the paper you used didn't quite disappear, you can also use levels to make the white 'whiter'. Just drag the right slider to the left to brighten everything.

So, your signature should look pretty good. Now, we export it!

I recommend using Save For Web, and then choosing PNG-24 or PNG-32 if you need transparency. This gives you more flexibility than 'Save As...' and lets you see the results before you save it. If you just need a signature on a web page, you might consider trying the GIF option and see if it also meets your needs - the file will be much smaller.

Save your PSD file somewhere so you can go back to it later.

Using this method, you have not had to create and destroy layers, and have not lost any pixels at all. So, if you want to go back and change the color, or adjust the blending on the edges, you can.

I hope this helps! If you have further questions, please don't hesitate to ask =)

-Scott

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Scott,

Thanks very much for the help. I want to try to do this as well as possible, so I have a few questions based on my options. I have a rather expensive Xerox MFP, so I can change quite a few settings. First, I changed to TIFF as you suggested. I kept Black and White. There is an option to lighten or darken the image. Should I keep it at default? There is also an Optimum vs File Size button, but it is greyed out. Finally, I have always read 300x300 dpi, but it does give the option of 600x600 dpi.

Thanks.

ANSWER: Keep the light/dark at default since that will give you the most latitude when you go to Photoshop. Also, scan in at the highest resolution you can, since you are going to reproduce the image as a signature and you want it as clean as possible. I have no idea what the Optimum vs File Size button really does, but I suspect it's there when you haven't set other options - you should be fine with what you have described.

If you find you need higher resolution, many copy shops will be able to scan an image at even higher resolution and give you a copy on CD. Check Kinko's or similar for this capability, and tell them you need the file format in uncompressed TIFF so Photoshop can read it properly.

-Scott

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: >>if you can scan into a different format, ... ry TIFF, PNG and JPG in that order...<<

My scanner has a .tiff option, but for reasons I don't understand, it won't scan that way. So, I had to scan to a .pdf. The signature looked pretty good.

>>Once you have your image in Photoshop..<<

All my settings were correct. I was able to get the image into Photoshop, but I am not sure I am doing that the correct way. Since, I am in PDF, I selected the signature by drawing a box around it and saving it as a .bmp file. I then chose open in Photoshop and selected it as a bitmap.

>>...The top one is 'This Layer', and has black and white triangles. Drag the white one to the left until the background starts to disappear...<<

When I drag the white triangle on the right to the left, it immediately makes the background checkered. It does not make it disappear. When I drag it to the right afterward, it does split the triangle.

I don't know how to put a black or dark grey layer behind the signature.

I found the adjustments and the level adjustment (Wow! I did something right). I tried to make the signature lighter as it turned out too dark.

I was able to save as web as a png 24 (there was no 32 option when I did this). After sizing it correctly, I saved it as a .png file. It actually came out rather well considering I don't think I did it correctly. Much better than the first one using the other directions.

I think I will be OK, if I am able to lighten the signature a bit.

As an aside, a user told me they use Paperport for their PDF files and it doesn't support files which are transparent such as .png. Do you know if that is true?  

Answer
The checkered background means that area is transparent, so you are doing it 100% right. To add a background layer, click the little square at the bottom of the layers panel. If you hover your mouse over the icons at the bottom of the panel, you'll find the one that says 'New Layer'. Click that and you'll get a new, blank layer above the one that is currently selected. You can then drag that layer below 'Layer 0' or 'Background', and then fill it with gray or black using Edit > Fill and then choosing the appropriate settings from the dialog.

PNG 24 will do for your needs - as long as it looks good to you, you'll be fine. Be sure to test the signature in a variety of documents before you are crunched for time, as some may need to be updated or modified to accept a PNG. When I did this with Microsoft Word a few years ago, Word didn't recognize 24-bit PNG files and would butcher the graphic. I had to make it a JPG and couldn't use transparency unless I made it a GIF, which had ragged edges.

I have no idea about Paperport, but if it doesn't work with PNG, try GIF, but be aware of the difficulty I mentioned - ragged edges.


-Scott