A Graphic Design Blog

Here’s a common problem recently faced by one of my friends while using PowerPoint. In the image below, there are two pictures on one slide. The one of the left has a white boarder around it, while the other is transparent. How do you get the transparency?



It turns out that not all images are made the same. The image on the left is a common “.Jpeg” file. Though it’s a complex process, a Jpeg file manages to save almost all colors visible to the human eye (which are in the millions). The image on the right is a “.Gif” file. Gif images were designed especially for internet use and can have up to 256 colors. As a result, this file format is usually smaller and of lower quality.

The important difference is that Gif files support a “transparent” color. That is why the image on the right has no white background. It’s background “color” is null. Other file formats that support transparency are “.EPS” and “.PNG” I must emphasize that you can not simply "get rid of the white" - it must be converted to "transparent.

Making these in Photoshop is actually quite simple. Simply remove your background layer from the Layers palette. Or, if your image is on the background layer, copy your image to a Transparent layer, then remove the background. Just be sure that you can see the gray checkered background design before saving the image.



I prefer to use the “Save for Web” feature in Photoshop, because it gives me an idea of the quality my saved image will have. You may also use the “Save As” option and select any format you wish. Just be sure the “Save Transparency” box is selected.



Fun fact for today – JPEG stands for “Joint Photographic Experts Group” which is the name of the committee that created the standard file format type.

Y'all stay cool this summer!
--Ben