[StamperCat]

Simple question that I know has been answered before:
How do I remove the white background in a simple black and white jpeg file so it can be saved as a png file with the transparent background?
I have looked through the forums and can't seem to find the answer. Sorry.

[Garden_Girl]

Here is what I do using PSE9. When I first pull up the image it will show up in my layers pallet as "Background" and it is locked. I double click on that layer to unlock it first and rename it Layer 0. Then I just select the white area I need to delete. After I delete what I need to it shows the checkered looking background of a png. After that I just "save as" a .png file.

Hope that helps.

[StamperCat]

Thanks Garden Girl~~ That is working. The alphabet I am working on is very old-fashioned and elaborately intricate. I used the background eraser and clicked around, which does OK, but with so many tiny spaces I was wondering if there is an easier way to eliminate it all in one fell swoop; like erasing all white/background at one time? BTW, I'm using Photoshop CS 5. I should have stated that before, on a Mac. Thanks for the help.

[SandiC.]

Using the eraser on tiny spaces can get interesting. Have you tried the magic wane tool to select the white background and the delete? Make a copy of your photo first and work on the copy. You can do this with the remaining part from what you've erased already though with the magic wand, it will sometimes work better with a bit more to work with. You need to go up to the top and uncheck contiguous. Then the really tedious work begins. Enlarge and work on the detail. Maybe erasing a pixel or two here and there of maybe bruising in just a teeny bit on the edge that took too big a bite out of the part you're trying to keep. The magic wand tool works pretty darn good when you are trying to get rid of an area that is in high contrast with the area you want to keep, but there are almost always "stray pixels" that need to be cleaned up by hand. I've seen Jim Zuckerman, a pro photographer spend hours on getting rid of a background around a flowing horse's mane. But oh, the results are so worth it!

Another method that is good for extractions, but usually with larger items, is to use the quick select tool. Its pretty good about finding the edges, but you'd have to be zoomed up really high to get fine detail. Then you could use a mask and the edge refine to clean it up. Again, for something intricate like handwriting, I don't think it would be easy.

[Brandy M]

Everyone has given you great advice, but here's an extra tip for you when you are using Black and White (only can be used with Black and whites images) If the image you want to extract is black and the background is white, the fasted way to pull it out is by creating a brush. (Image must be smaller than 8.25 inches since that is the limit in Photoshop for brushes.

Use your marquee tool or magic lasso to circle the part you want to extract (so you get the marching ants) then goto the menu at the top of the screen and select Edit>Define Brush Preset.

Now, not only do you have a brush of just the black part of the image, you can create a new transparent layer, stamp it and now you can save it as a PNG file.

I hope that makes sense! There are so many ways to do things in Photoshop.

[ladyanne101]

Wow Thanks Brandy for that tip..yes I am learning and a newbie..lol