Remove dark background (make transparent) from white/or color lettering

[JASN]

I've tried to search this on the forums with limited response. I want to know how to remove a black or dark background from white or colored lettering to reveal transparency.

 

Generally this is for text logos etc. I'm some cases the text has graphics inside it that the selection tool struggles with.

 

Would like this to be one click!

 

Thanks!

[Lee D]

Hi JASN,

Welcome to the forums.

 

If the text is on a dark background, you can use the selection tools to select the area and then delete. The Erase Brush could also be used but I don't think it would provide a nice finish. The best option would be to start a new document with a transparent background and then use the Text Tool to create your text.

 

If you can supply a sample to view, perhaps other tools can be used to remove the backgrounds.

[Alfred]

Go to the Layers panel, select the image layer and click on the 'Blend Ranges' gearwheel at the top of the panel. In the Blend Options dialog that pops up, drag the left-hand end of the Source Layer Ranges graph all the way down to leave white text on a transparent background.

[misc33]

Alfred, thank you! This is fantastic. I now know how to put my black and white line drawings onto a transparent background in both AP and AD - just what I needed.

[Alfred]

You're welcome, @misc33. Please note that the procedure I described (making the dark background transparent and leaving white text) is the reverse of the trick that I learned from @MEB on these forums, making white transparent and leaving dark lines, which is probably what you want for your B&W line drawings. To achieve the latter, you need to drag the right-hand end of the graph down (instead of the left-hand end); if you have other colours or greyscale values in the drawing, you may need to drag the remaining end of the graph horizontally towards the opposite side to remove any unwanted transparency introduced by moving the first end down.

[Mithferion]

Thanks for that trick, MEB and Alfred. That's the closest we are to a "Color to Alpha" feature, I suppose.

 

Best regards!

[misc33]

You're welcome, @misc33. Please note that the procedure I described (making the dark background transparent and leaving white text) is the reverse of the trick that I learned from @MEB on these forums, making white transparent and leaving dark lines, which is probably what you want for your B&W line drawings. To achieve the latter, you need to drag the right-hand end of the graph down (instead of the left-hand end); if you have other colours or greyscale values in the drawing, you may need to drag the remaining end of the graph horizontally towards the opposite side to remove any unwanted transparency introduced by moving the first end down.

Yes - I figured that out after about 30 seconds of confusion! Good to know there's a way to do both, and thanks for the extra tips.