# How do I change an image background?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-change-an-image-background/761319
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [July 30, 2016, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-change-an-image-background/761319 "2016-07-30T19:39:59Z")
**Posts on this page:** 8
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2016, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-change-an-image-background/761319/1 "2016-07-30T19:39:59Z")
I have logo which I got from Clipart and modified that has a white background. It looks fine when I place it against a white background in PowerPoint or Word, but I can’t put it against a colored background. [Here it is](http://s1162.photobucket.com/user/sshapero/media/BFF%20Logo.jpg.html) if you want to see it . I’m on Windows 7, with the standard tools and Office 2013. Is there an easy way, hopefully free, to remove the white background completely, or make it transparent for this image?
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### Author:  [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2016, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-change-an-image-background/761319/2 "2016-07-30T19:57:52Z")
It needs to be recreated as a .gif or .png image with a transparent background.
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2016, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-change-an-image-background/761319/3 "2016-07-30T20:11:55Z")
As always, there are easy solutions and good solutions.
The best solution is to go to the original source of the image and try to get a vector-art version of it, such as an SVG. Vector graphics are usually superior to pixel graphics for logos and the like, since they’re infinitely resizable, and they’re usually created as vector to begin with.
The next-best solution is to go to the original source and try to find a GIF or PNG version. Both of those, while usually inferior to SVG for this purpose, are still superior to JPEG, and would probably already have transparent backgrounds.
Next after that would be to convert it to a PNG, open it up in Photoshop or the like, turn most of the background completely transparent, and make the aliased pixels around the edge partially transparent according to how white they are. I don’t know exactly how to do this, but I’m sure others can explain.
Next after that, and nearly the easiest, is to convert it to either a PNG or a GIF, open it up in nearly any image editing program including MS Paint, and just floodfilling the outer white area with a transparent color. This’ll do the job, but is likely to leave a hazy white outline around it from those aliased pixels that you’re ignoring.
Quickest, easiest, and dirtiest is to just open it as-is and floodfill the outer area with whatever other color you want as the background. This will have the same aliasing issues as the previous method, and will also need to be re-done any time you change the background of the document it’s in.
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### Author:  [@albino\_manatee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/albino_manatee)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2016, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-change-an-image-background/761319/4 "2016-07-30T21:36:17Z")
it is not hi-res image, dolphinboy\*\*.\*\*
as chronos suggested, would be nice to find original image\*\*.\*\* however … that is rarely possible\*\*.\*\* besides, you never stated what software you have available for editing the image with\*\*.\*\* most imaging software out there allows a rasterized image to be bit-mapped after being rendered as gray-scale … which might allow you to enforce transparent _"whites"_ **.** keep in mind those tiny squares of the tape-reel are not white but _"off-white"_ **.** either way … it will produce horrible results\*\*.\*\*
if it was up to me, dolphinboy … i’d recreate it from scratch _(using illustrator (vectors))_ **.** aside from that … look for different image _(hi-res or vector)_.
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### Author:  [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2016, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-change-an-image-background/761319/5 "2016-07-30T22:51:14Z")
It was faster for me to just do it than explain it, so I sent you a png of the image with a transparent background to the e-mail address on your profile.
It’s an easy thing to do with [Paint.Net](http://Paint.Net), which is not the same as the Paint program that comes with Windows, but it’s free.
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### Author:  [@Simmerdown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simmerdown)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2016, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-change-an-image-background/761319/6 "2016-07-30T23:48:39Z")
I did a little googling and found what appears to be your exact filmstrip art (without the logotype) saved as .png with background already transparent, and higher resolution to boot. See [here](http://www.clipartlord.com/category/miscellaneous-clip-art/movie-clip-art/film-strip-clip-art/), third image down.
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### Author:  [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2016, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-change-an-image-background/761319/7 "2016-07-31T01:45:14Z")
> [@Simmerdown](#):
>
> I did a little googling and found what appears to be your exact filmstrip art (without the logotype) saved as .png with background already transparent, and higher resolution to boot. See [here](http://www.clipartlord.com/category/miscellaneous-clip-art/movie-clip-art/film-strip-clip-art/), third image down.
Thanks Simmerdown. Awesome!
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### Author:  [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2016, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-change-an-image-background/761319/8 "2016-08-01T03:37:10Z")
For future reference, Word 2010+ has this functionality built-in:
> **[Remove the background of a picture in Office - Microsoft Support](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/remove-the-background-of-a-picture-in-office-c0819a62-6844-4190-8d67-6fb1713a12bf?ui=en-us&rs=en-us&ad=us)**
>
> Learn how to remove the background from a picture in a Microsoft Office file. Use the automatic background removal or draw lines to indicate the areas to keep and remove.
For a better job than Word can do (when you can’t find a better source picture), ClippingMagic does a better job in half a second than most humans can do in half an hour:
> **[Clipping Magic: Remove Background From Image](https://clippingmagic.com/)**
>
> Remove background from image 100% automatically — Smart Clip Editor — Crop, rotate, fix colors, add shadows & reflections — for Free