Remove the background from a logo or drawing

When you need to remove the background

When a design is printed, the white background around it gets printed too. On a white t-shirt you won’t see it, but on a black, blue or red one a white rectangle shows around the logo. That’s why a PNG with a transparent background is best for printing.

The most common cases are a logo sent as a JPG, a drawing photographed or scanned on white paper, or lettering exported from software with a white background.

How to use the tool

• Pick a file. The tool detects the background color from the edges of the image.
• “Only the background around the design” mode removes the background connected to the edges and keeps white details inside the design: eyes, letters, white parts of the logo.
• “This color everywhere” mode removes the color everywhere, including inside the design. It’s useful when the background also shows between letters.
• Tolerance sets how many similar shades are removed. Raise it if traces of the background remain, lower it if parts of the design disappear.
• Edge softening smooths the edge and removes the light halo that otherwise shows on a dark garment. Check with the “dark background” box.
• If the background isn’t detected correctly, click on it in the picture.

What it can’t do

The tool is for a white or single-color background. It isn’t meant for photos with a busy background, like a person in a park or a product on a table. There the background has no single color, and separating it automatically needs a different kind of processing. If you have a file like that, write to us. We help prepare files for printing.

After you remove the background

Download the PNG and upload it straight to the online designer to see how it looks on a t-shirt, hoodie or mug, or to the DTF builder if you’re ordering just the transfers. Both builders have a “Remove background” button with the same tool, so you can do it there too.

Before printing, also check the resolution with the DPI check.