Converting to PNG
| It's a fairly easy and straightforward process to remove the background from black and white images (simple black lined images) and convert them to PNGs with a transparent background. Below, I've provided my personal "down-and-dirty" technique for both PSE and Photoshop CS. I'm using PSE8 and Photoshop CS4 but you should be able to make these techniques work for slightly earlier versions. |
| For Photoshop CS
1. Open your image and double-click the background layer in the layers panel to unlock it and put it on a transparent background. 2. If the background of the image is not white you can create a black and white image by going to Image --> Adjustments --> Threshold. Use the Threshold slider to adjust the black lines to your liking. Click OK. 3. Go to Select --> Color Range and using the eyedropper select the black color. Drag the fuzziness slider all the way to 200. (Tip: make sure your image view is at actual pixels to make it easier to select the color). Click OK. 4. You'll see that the black color is now selected. Use the keystroke Cntrl + J to make a duplicate copy of the selected color (black, in this case). You can also use the keystrokes Cntrl + C to copy and Cntrl +V to paste, or go to Edit --> Copy, then Edit --> Paste. Whatever method you use to duplicate your color selection the duplicate will be on its own layer. 5. Delete the original background layer leaving just the black areas on a transparent background. You can delete the background layer by selecting it and clicking on the move tool then hitting the delete key, or by dragging the background layer to the little trashcan icon in the lower right of your workspace. 6. "Save as" PNG to retain the transparent background. Do not save as a JPG as this will flatten the layer. |
| For Photoshop
Elements
1. Open your image and double-click the background layer in the layers panel to unlock it and put it on a transparent background. 2. Click on the Hand tool and select Actual Pixels as we want to get good and close. You can enlarge your view further still by holding down the Control key (while you're still in the Hand tool) and clicking on the image. 3. Select the Magic Wand tool. Make sure that Anti-alias is ticked and Contiguous is not ticked. Click on the black area. 4. All the black pixels are now selected (you should see the dancing ants dancing around the black areas). Use the keystroke Cntrl + J to make a duplicate copy of the selected color (black, in this case). You can also use the keystrokes Cntrl + C to copy and Cntrl +V to paste, or go to Edit --> Copy, then Edit --> Paste. In all instances your duplicate will be on its own layer. 5. Delete the original background layer leaving the new layer of just the black areas set on a transparent background. You can delete the background layer by selecting it, clicking on your move tool and then hitting the delete key, or by dragging the background layer to the little trashcan icon in the lower right of your workspace. 6. "Save as" PNG to retain the transparent background. Do not save as a JPG as this will flatten the layer. |