Transparent background question

D
Posted By
Dave
Feb 18, 2005
Views
332
Replies
9
Status
Closed
I scanned my signature on white paper and want to be able to place the scanned image on top of a background.
How do I make the background of the scanned image of my signature transparent (eliminate the white of the paper) so the background becomes the color of the underlying layer.

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N
NIK
Feb 18, 2005
Dave if you cant do this simple thing then maybe you should give up Photoshop and go back to something more simple like paper and crayon

(1) Float the layer
(2) Magic wand = select white layer
(3) Erase the selection

NIK

"Dave" wrote in message
I scanned my signature on white paper and want to be able to place the scanned image on top of a background.
How do I make the background of the scanned image of my signature transparent (eliminate the white of the paper) so the background becomes the color of the underlying layer.
N
NIK
Feb 18, 2005
Dave if you cant do this simple thing then maybe you should give up Photoshop and go back to something more simple like paper and crayon

(1) Float the layer
(2) Magic wand = select white layer
(3) Erase the selection

NIK

"Dave" wrote in message
I scanned my signature on white paper and want to be able to place the scanned image on top of a background.
How do I make the background of the scanned image of my signature transparent (eliminate the white of the paper) so the background becomes the color of the underlying layer.
TC
tony cooper
Feb 18, 2005
On Fri, 18 Feb 2005 22:08:51 +0000 (UTC), "NIK" wrote:

Dave if you cant do this simple thing then maybe you should give up Photoshop and go back to something more simple like paper and crayon
(1) Float the layer
(2) Magic wand = select white layer
(3) Erase the selection

NIK
If you can’t write a message and post it just once, maybe you should go back to something simpler than newsgroups.
C
Charley
Feb 18, 2005
Make a duplicate layer and hide your original layer. Now use the magic wand to select the white background. Delete the selection and then crop it close to your remaining image. Now save it, preferably as a gif and not a jpeg. Jpeg will give you back the white background that you just got rid of.

Now that I’ve told you how to do this, I STRONGLY RECOMMEND that you DON’T DO IT THIS WAY. Just think about how easy it will be for someone to use this file to forge your signiture after you send it to them in "electronic form". I made a file of my signiture, but it’s only my nickname and not my full legal signiture. This a much smarter and safer way to do this.


Charley

"Dave" wrote in message
I scanned my signature on white paper and want to be able to place the scanned image on top of a background.
How do I make the background of the scanned image of my signature transparent (eliminate the white of the paper) so the background becomes
the
color of the underlying layer.

N
NIK
Feb 19, 2005
Problems my side.

I reposted due to the face that it did not seem to show up.

Still smiling

NIK

"Tony Cooper" wrote in message
On Fri, 18 Feb 2005 22:08:51 +0000 (UTC), "NIK" wrote:

Dave if you cant do this simple thing then maybe you should give up Photoshop and go back to something more simple like paper and crayon
(1) Float the layer
(2) Magic wand = select white layer
(3) Erase the selection

NIK
If you can’t write a message and post it just once, maybe you should go back to something simpler than newsgroups.
B
Brian
Feb 19, 2005
Charley wrote:

Make a duplicate layer and hide your original layer. Now use the magic wand to select the white background. Delete the selection and then crop it close to your remaining image. Now save it, preferably as a gif and not a jpeg. Jpeg will give you back the white background that you just got rid of.
Now that I’ve told you how to do this, I STRONGLY RECOMMEND that you DON’T DO IT THIS WAY. Just think about how easy it will be for someone to use this file to forge your signiture after you send it to them in "electronic form". I made a file of my signiture, but it’s only my nickname and not my full legal signiture. This a much smarter and safer way to do this.
Hey now Charley, come on. That is no different to saying, if someone has a piece of paper with your signature on it, they can scan it and follow the above procedure to make a copy of it. How easy is that? There is no difference. If someone wants your signature that bad, they will get it anyway.

Brian.
T
Tom
Feb 20, 2005
I believe all you need to do is change the layer blending mode of the signature layer to "Multiply" – it should make the white transparent, leaving the signature.

On 2005-02-18 22:43:57 -0600, Brian said:

Charley wrote:

Make a duplicate layer and hide your original layer. Now use the magic wand to select the white background. Delete the selection and then crop it close to your remaining image. Now save it, preferably as a gif and not a jpeg. Jpeg will give you back the white background that you just got rid of.
Now that I’ve told you how to do this, I STRONGLY RECOMMEND that you DON’T DO IT THIS WAY. Just think about how easy it will be for someone to use this file to forge your signiture after you send it to them in "electronic form". I made a file of my signiture, but it’s only my nickname and not my full legal signiture. This a much smarter and safer way to do this.
Hey now Charley, come on. That is no different to saying, if someone has a piece of paper with your signature on it, they can scan it and follow the above procedure to make a copy of it. How easy is that? There is no difference. If someone wants your signature that bad, they will get it anyway.

Brian.
T
Tom
Feb 20, 2005
You should be able to change the blending mode of the signature layer to "Multiply" and the white will become transparent – leaving the signature intact. This is assuming you are using Photoshop newer than version 5.0.

On 2005-02-18 15:53:52 -0600, "Dave" said:

I scanned my signature on white paper and want to be able to place the scanned image on top of a background.
How do I make the background of the scanned image of my signature transparent (eliminate the white of the paper) so the background becomes the color of the underlying layer.
B
Brian
Feb 20, 2005
Tom wrote:
You should be able to change the blending mode of the signature layer to "Multiply" and the white will become transparent – leaving the signature intact. This is assuming you are using Photoshop newer than version 5.0.

On 2005-02-18 15:53:52 -0600, "Dave" said:

I scanned my signature on white paper and want to be able to place the scanned image on top of a background.
How do I make the background of the scanned image of my signature transparent (eliminate the white of the paper) so the background becomes the color of the underlying layer.
Tom,

I just tried using "multiply" in PSCS and it does not seem to work? I tried in Corel Photopaint and using "difference" worked fine, so I went back and tried "difference" in PS and it did not work. Can you do a test and let me know how it is done please? I am really curious now how one would remove that background in PS, other than using the magic wand and deleting which is a less tidy way of doing it.

Thanks, Brian.

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