Remove Background cuts the background away from an uploaded design so only the subject prints. It matters most for photographs and for logos saved on a white square, where the background would otherwise print as a solid block of ink.
Turn It On
- Upload your design into the Upload by Size window.
- Switch on Remove Background at the top of the panel on the right.
- Wait for the preview to reload. What you see is what prints.
- Check the result against the checkerboard pattern behind the preview, which marks the transparent areas. Use the Visual BG swatches to preview the design over white, gray, black, or a colour you pick.
Removing the background also crops the design to its visible edges. Set this toggle before you set the Width and Height, because the crop changes the proportions and therefore the numbers in those fields.
When the Toggle Is Missing
Remove Background does not appear at all in these cases.
- The design is a vector file. SVG uploads, and the PDF, AI, and EPS files that are converted to vector on upload, have no pixel background to remove.
- The design is larger than 8192 pixels on either side.
- The design came from the Gallery tab.
- Your printer has switched the tool off for their store.
If You See a Background Warning
An orange Background Warning banner appears when you switch the toggle on for a design that already has a transparent background. There is nothing to remove, so turning it on only crops the design.
When your upload already has a transparent background, the toggle starts off for that reason rather than by accident.
Removal works best on high-contrast artwork where the subject stands clearly apart from what is behind it. Soft edges, shadows, and a subject close in colour to its background are where it struggles most.