Converting TIFF file to transparency

[wjgrayson]

I'm currently using Photoshop 7.0 Mac.

How do I take a TIFF logo in photoshop and remove the white matte background. I'd basically like it to be transparent, but retain high enough resolution to output negatives through an old imagesetter my company won't upgrade.

 

[signal49]

If it's high res, you can create a clipping path around the logo. You'll need to save it as a Photoshop EPS if you're placing it into Quark to keep the path. The problem I've seen with this method is that if it's a complex shape, you'll sometimes get a "halo" around the edges when you convert the selection to a path. Play around with the settings (I usually leave it blank) when you assign it to a clipping path.

I'm also curious about what other people do. I wonder if there's a better way to do it.

 

[emkemner]

If the background is the onyl thing that is white you just select color range and select the white background. then select inverse and copy the selection. Choose file new and set background to transparent and paste the logo into the new file.

 

[signal49]

If you're just working within other Adobe apps, saving as a .psd with layers will work. But other page layout apps won't recognize that file type. So it depends on what you're doing with the image after you've gotten rid of the background...

 

[blueark]

If you're using old equipment, presumably with an old RIP, many of the newer transparency features may cause problems. The two safest techniques would be, as Signal49 mentioned, clipping paths, and converting to bitmap mode.

If it's a very simple, single color logo, consider converting to bitmap mode with a high enough resolution to match your imagesetter. You'll need to clean it up a little, and it will look bad on screen, but it will give you a much sharper output than any other raster color mode without using vector elements. The simplicity of this mode also means it can be colored in most page layout packages, even with a transparent background.

If it's not such a simple logo, then clipping paths are the best option. Often it is easier to draw your own path rather than converting a selection, but it depends on the artwork. With old equipment, save the file as an EPS rather than a TIFF as it's more reliable.

 

[wjgrayson]

Thanks Bluearc & others for the posts:

You hit the nail on the head when you mentioned that older RIPs won't recognize newer transparency features. If I understand the lingo correctly, the RIP we are using only understands "PS Language Level 1". All contemporary graphic design programs work in PS Language Level 2" and above. Converting to a bitmap seems tedious, but it seems the best workaround.