Clipping Out the Unwanted in Photoshop

A clipping path hides areas that fall outside your path and displays the area inside your path. For example, without a clipping path, if you were to import a silhouetted image into Microsoft Word or an older page layout program or illustration program that doesn’t support transparency and place it against a colored background, it would appear against a rectangular white background. This occurs whether or not the background was transparent in Photoshop. This is because the image must be flattened before it can be imported and therefore loses any transparency.

With the advent of more sophisticated page layout and illustration programs, such as the latest versions of InDesign, PageMaker, QuarkXPress, and Illustrator, the need for clipping paths has pretty much lost its urgency. That’s because these programs all support TIFFs with transparency. But just in case you’re using older or less sophisticated software and you need to use a clipping path, here’s what you need to do:

Because an overabundance of complex clipping paths can cause printing problems, I recommend using clipping paths as a last resort. Even if your illustration or page layout program doesn’t support transparency, you can always composite your elements in Photoshop.

1. Create your path by using the Pen tool.
A work path appears in the Paths palette.

2. Save the path by choosing Save Path from the Paths palette pop-up menu.
Enter a name and click OK.

3. Immediately return to the pop-up menu on the Paths palette and choose Clipping Path.
In the dialog box, choose the path name from the Path drop-down list.

4. Leave the flatness value blank. If it is blank, the default value of the output device (printer, image setter and so on) will be used. And usually the default value is a good number for the particular printer used.
Briefly, flatness represents how closely your curves approximate a true mathematical curve. A higher value causes more of a polygon shape (albeit often not noticeable by the eye), but results in easier printing.

5. Choose File➪Save and choose a file format from the Format drop-down list.
I like the Photoshop EPS format, personally.
Some programs, such as the latest versions of InDesign, PageMaker, and QuarkXPress, will also accept TIFFs with clipping paths. In addition, you can save the file as a JPEG, PDF, DCS, and in the native Photoshop format from Windows. And the Mac will let you save the file in any available format.
Because most of my page layout files are ultimately offset printed, I stick with EPS. EPS is the preferred file format for color separations.

6. Set the Preview at TIFF (8 bits/pixel) and encoding as ASCII (Macintosh [8 bits/pixel] and encoding as Binary on the Mac) and click OK.
Your clipping path is now in place, and you can import the silhouetted image into the desired program.
Occasionally, when you import an image with a clipping path into certain page layout programs on the PC, the screen preview may not display the image correctly. The clipped, or hidden portion, of the image may appear opaque (solid white or black) onscreen. But it should print okay on a PostScript printer. You may not be so lucky if you use a non-PostScript printer.