Expert: LizaL - 10/4/2004

Question
I have a graphic – of a logo which consists of text. The logo was supplied to me as a jpeg; the background is not transparent. I need to have the logo print as clear as possible and print with a transparent background. Current when the graphic is selected the background in white.

Please advise how I can make the background print transparent and print clear in general.

Thanks for your assistance!


Answer
Hi!

Well, first of all, if someone sent you a JPEG text logo, they sent it in the wrong format. A GIF file is the preferred format for text; due to the different forms of compression used in saving the files, JPEG is generally reserved for bitmap images (like photos), and GIFs are best when it comes to text and flat areas of color (like vector drawings).

You could do a couple of things:

1. Open the JPEG in Photoshop and use the Save for Web command (under the File menu) to turn it into a GIF. Make sure the palette on the right side of the screen is set for GIF, not JPEG.

However, this is going to further compress your image, which  was already compressed when it was made into a JPEG! But try this -- sometimes, depending on the image, this isn't a problem.

Or, you could use the plain old Save As command, also found under the File menu, and save it as GIF from there.


2. Get the person to send you the original PSD file -- the original Photoshop file -- if they have it. Then you can save it as a GIF yourself, without having to add more compression than necessary.


3. If all else fails, you can delete the background with the magic wand tool, but unless you have the tool's tolerance set just right (and this varies from image to image), you can wind up cutting into the image itself and making it look jaggy.


So with that in mind, I'd try options 1 and 2 first!

Good luck and hope this helps! Please post back if you have problems.

Lisa