Using Clipping Paths

In the past, the only way to silhouette an image and place it in a page layout application (such as QuarkXPress or Adobe PageMaker) was to outline the image with the Pen tool and save the work path as a clipping path. The image would then need to be saved  as either a TIFF or an EPS file in order for the page layout application to recognize the path. When the TIFF or EPS was placed in a layout over a colored box (or another placed photo), the image would appear extracted from its original background. There were two problems with this method:
- Drawing clipping paths can be a painstakingly slow process.
- Clipping paths are vector based and contain harsh, overly crisp edges that look terrible when the layout is printed. To get around this, some designers would create composite backgrounds entirely in Photoshop rather than have to deal with harsh-edged clipping paths in QuarkXPress or PageMaker.

Nowadays, layout applications such as InDesign and QuarkXPress allow you to place transparent images into your layouts, making the need for clipping paths obsolete. QuarkXPress 7 now allows you to place transparent TIFFs, and all versions of InDesign  accept transparent TIFFs, PSDs, and PDFs.

In a modern day print/production workflow using Photoshop CS3 along with QuarkXPress 7 (or later), or any version of InDesign, it makes more sense to remove an object from its background in Photoshop and place the transparent image in your layout. By doing so, you can maintain soft edges and avoid the painstakingly slow process of having to draw clipping paths. However, if you’re unfortunate enough to still be using older versions of QuarkXPress or any version of PageMaker, you’ll have to rely on clipping paths, or else design your entire background composite in Photoshop. To save a work path as a clipping path, double-click it from the Paths palette and give it a name. If you’re going to save the image as an EPS (rather than a TIFF), choose Clipping Path from the Paths palette menu in order to display the Clipping Path dialog box. If there’s more than one path saved in the document, choose the one you’d like to convert from the Path menu. To speed up your printing time on a PostScript printer, choose a Flatness setting between 3 and 5. Higher flatness values decrease printing time, but also add choppier curves to the placed image. Asetting between 3 and 5 is usually not noticeable and is therefore safe to use. If you choose to save the image as a TIFF, both QuarkXPress and InDesign can recognize the path in the placed image without having to save it as a clipping path in Photoshop. If the image contains multiple paths, you can choose which path you’d like to apply from within QuarkXPress or InDesign.