Use a clipping path to create transparency

How To Tip:

Use a clipping path to create transparency that layout programs can recognize.

Some page layout programs display and print the transparent portions of an image as white unless you define those areas using a clipping path. A clipping path lets you isolate the nontransparent portion of your image so that layout programs print the image as expected. A clipping path masks anything outside its boundary, through all layers of the image, making those areas transparent.

1. In the Layers palette, select the layer containing the area you want to be transparent.
2. Using a selection tool, select the nontransparent portion of the image. If it is easier, you can select the transparent area (or the area you want to be transparent) and choose Select > Inverse to reverse the selection.
3. Click the Paths tab to bring the Paths palette to the front or, if the palette isn't open, choose Window > Paths.
4. Click the Make Work Path button at the bottom of the Paths palette. Photoshop converts your selection to a path and displays it in the palette.
5. Double-click the Work Path name. In the Save Path dialog box, type a name for the path, and click OK.
6. Click the menu arrow on the top-right corner of the Paths palette and choose Clipping Path from the menu. In the Clipping Path dialog box, make sure the path you just created is listed for Path, leave Flatness blank, and click OK. The path name in the palette changes to bold type (Windows) or outline type (Mac OS) to indicate that the path is a clipping path. You see no other indication that the area will be clipped.
7. Save the file.
8. If the page layout program cannot place PSD files, choose File > Save As.
9. In the Save As dialog box, choose the appropriate format from the Format menu. For printing to non-PostScript printers, choose TIFF. For printing to PostScript printers, choose Photoshop EPS. Then click Save.
10. In the TIFF Options or EPS Options dialog box, set the options as noted below. Leave any remaining options at their default setting, and click OK.
• TIFF Options dialog box: set Image Compression to None.
• EPS Options dialog box (Windows): set Preview to TIFF (8 bits/pixel) and Encoding to ASCII85.
• EPS Options dialog box (Mac OS): set Preview to Mac (8 bits/pixel) and Encoding to ASCII85.

Note: If the layout program displays transparent areas as white, try printing the document. Some layout programs do not display clipping paths properly, but print them as expected.

If you experience printing errors, choose Clipping Path again, choose the same path, and set a Flatness value between 8 and 10 for high-resolution printers (over 600 dpi), and between 1 and 3 for low-resolution printers (600 dpi and lower).

Related topics in Photoshop Help:

• Using image clipping paths to create transparency
• Printing image clipping paths
• Prepare images to place in page layout programs

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