What is a clipping path?
In Photoshop, a clipping path is a vector graphic that describes an object, such as a trace around its edges. Clipping paths are generally used for one of two purposes: to trim an object, or to wrap text around it.
How are clipping paths used for eCommerce?
In product photography, the most common use of a clipping path is to remove the background from a product image. The clipping path rotates around the product, which can then be placed on another background or saved as a transparent image. Trimming product images is also known as "engraving," "clipping," or creating a "silo" (short for "silhouette").
After an image is trimmed from its background by a clipping path service, it can be placed on a new background, or saved as a transparent image of the product (no background).
Why Outsource to a Clipping Path Service?
Creating clipping paths or layer masks (there are strong opinions on the superiority of layer masks versus clipping paths, to make image cuts, it is a time consuming job: infinite zoom and clicks in Photoshop Illustrator is boring and repetitive work, which can turn e-commerce retouching into a bottleneck, albeit a much-needed activity. Fortunately, because product images are digital, cropping can be outsourced.
The best clipping path services will save you time and money by allowing you to focus on more creative and income-generating work. The worst photo cropping services will cost you more than money; They will also miss deadlines and cause endless headaches.
Pixelz clipping path service for product images
- Delivery in 3 hours.
- Hand drawn clipping paths.
- Multiple clipping paths.
- Includes natural shade.
- Intuitive online interface.
- Used by leading brands, retailers, and photo studios.
- Scales with volume and touch-up needs.
Clipping paths are drawn around the outer edges of a product in Photoshop.
How much does a product photo clipping path service cost?
Don't just look at the price per image, when choosing a Photoshop clipping path service provider. Look at the total cost of operation (TCO). A race down in terms of price per image will generally end up costing you more in the long run.
If your purpose is to save time and make your product lists grow faster to sell more, you should think about onboarding, management, lead time, scale, and quality.
There are many empty promises when it comes to outsourcing the clipping path. If a nameless company with a homemade WordPress site promises you 1 ¢ per image, they won't deliver it to you. It will be a spectacular failure that will consume hours of work and cause you to laugh grimly the next time someone encourages outsourcing at a reduced rate.
Before entrusting your clipping to a subcontractor, he needs answers to the following questions.
What to ask an outsourced clipping path service
- How am I giving instructions?
- How are clipping paths drawn?
- When and how will I get my images back?
- Is there a quality guarantee?
- What communication methods are available?
- Who are you working with already?
- Can the service scale with my needs?
If the clipping path service cannot provide you with satisfactory answers to the above questions, you should not subcontract them.
Clipping path services for footwear must offer hand drawn clipping paths.
What do the best image clipping path services do?
Let's take our Photoshop Clipping Path Service Provider Checklist one by one.
1. How am I giving instructions?
Actually, this question can be rephrased as "is there an online system for communication?" If you're relying on emails, PDFs, or even version control cloud services like Google Docs, you're in trouble. While it may seem obvious to you what to do, if you leave room for the error, you will get the error.
For example, if an image contains a product, a model, and its combined shadow, you must define which (or all) of the three should be outlined by the clipping path. And you need the flexibility to change that on demand and per image, without requiring an extensive round-trip tour with an account representative with time shifts.
Plus, you probably want more than just the background removed from your product image. Even if you're not looking to outsource retouching, it's worth getting another basic image edit while your product is cut. An online system that allows you to create specifications that define whether a clipping path is generated automatically or manually, set image size and aspect ratio, margins, clipping, file format, shadows, etc., will prevent your orders from becoming a chaotic sink of time.
The best clipping path services will have their own interface that allows specific and detailed instructions at the order and image level.
Provide instructions for editing the product image, image level, or order with Pixelz's clipping path service.
2. How are the clipping paths drawn? (automatic clipping path vs. hand drawn clipping path)
This may be a "what's right for you" situation. There is quite a bit of software available and in use, by cutting off route services to automate the process. An automatic clipping path will save a lot of time, which in turn lowers the price, but comes at a cost. Many solutions are very similar to the magic wand tool in Photoshop: it is fast, but it works best with high contrast images and can be imprecise near the edges. And when it gets bad, it can be really bad .
A hand-drawn clipping path will take longer, but will be much more accurate. The best clipping paths are still created by humans, who use the zoom and Photoshop Pen tool to draw lines around your product.
You know your product and the configuration of your product photography. If you're photographing a black product against an unshaded white background, perhaps the savings from an automated clipping path are worth it. The best clipping path services will give you a choice between automatic routes and hand-drawn routes on one level per image, so you can manage cost and quality.
Specifies the hand-drawn clipping path versus the automatic clipping path within a Pixelz account.
3. When and how will I get my images back?
"Time is money" is as true in e-commerce and clipping path services as it is anywhere else. The best clipping path services will deliver silhouettes in 24 hours or less. Our own Pixelz Professional guarantees Next Morning delivery and orders can be accelerated in 3 hours or less at the click of a button.
Recorded images must be available to you in various ways, so that you are not bound by any method: for example, via web, FTP and API. In all cases, the organization must be clear, simple, and built to scale.
If a clipping path company says they are going to put all the images in a single FTP folder, with no subfolders or order separation ... run away! Don't walk, run!
One click returns images with clipping path in 3 hours or less.
4. Is there a quality guarantee?
This is a three part question.
- Is there a quality guarantee?
If the clipping paths are not drawn satisfactorily, the service provider should not charge you for the corrections. - Can you review and reject images before downloading them?
Ideally, there is an online interface that allows you to review images before and after, and provide feedback on the reasons for rejection. Proofreading can be tricky for clipping paths outside of Photoshop, but at least there should be a method of providing notes like "lost fringe at the bottom of the bag" in a quick way that associates the comment with your image. - Is there a simple tracking system for rejected images?
Organization saves you time. You don't want to repeatedly search for file names and emails to make sure an order is complete.
Close zoom is essential when drawing clipping paths by hand.
5. What communication methods are available?
Communication is a huge headache when it comes to outsourcing, and clipping path services are not immune. Of course, reputable services should offer email, chat, and phone support, but there's more to it than that.
When comparing services, you are not only looking for the promised availability, but also the methods that exist and that will reduce the need to communicate. For example, how intuitive and powerful is the online interface? You won't need to send an email if there is already a system in place to handle your needs.
6. Who are they working with and what is their reputation?
Photography is a large and varied business, and some clipping path services try to cater to all of its segments. But the needs of an e-commerce photo studio are very different from those of a wedding, lifestyle or portrait photographer. Find an e-commerce specialist.
Check their customer list ( Pixelz customers ). Are you working with brands you know and respect? Do you have clients happy enough to give testimonials or participate in case studies case studies ?
Find independent rating services, like TrustPilot . Even if the internet tends to angry rants, it should at least give you an idea if Photoshop's clipping path service has been around for a while and is responsive.
7. Can the service scale with my needs?
Product and retouch photography has seasonal peaks and valleys. When selecting a Photoshop clipping path service provider, you need to make sure you don't outsource your bottlenecks along with your background removal.
The best clipping path services should have the same workflow and response time for you, whether you're uploading 100, 1000, or 10,000 images a day. To make sure this is true, look at the systems in place: is post-production efficient and scalable? (At Pixelz, we built a Photoshop assembly line.) See how well the interface you will use works, how simple it is to use, how well organized your orders are and how much information it gives you about the process as a whole. Find out how image editors are assigned to create your clipping path, how training works, and how secure their images are.
Does the clipping path service currently handle a large volume of images? The best indicator for the future is the past. If a company is already cutting your volume a hundredfold, then they won't have to struggle to handle large batches.
Is the system flexible enough to fit your workflow? The best clipping path services will deliver images where you need them, with folders, file names, and metadata as you like. You should not do any manual labor after delivery.
You may also want to think about additional tinkering. Even if you're only considering photo cropping services right now, think long-term when you're outsourcing. Engraving, trimming, trimming, whatever you call it, is a relatively simple task: retouching the skin, reducing creases in the garment, and recreating areas hidden by accessories are not. If you're already adapting your workflow to use an outsourced clipping path service, pick one that it can grow with.
Choose a clipping path service that offers more sophisticated touch-up so they can grow together.
Pixelz clipping path service
Pixelz has edited over 15 million images for leading brands, retailers, and photo studios around the world. We had our start as "remove the background" many years ago, which means our heritage is that of a Photoshop clipping path services company.
We provide all levels of touch-up for e-commerce, from DIY entrepreneurs to Fortune 500 brands and retailers . Our digital assembly line is taking the touch-up of e-commerce to a level of speed, consistency and value never seen before.
A few clicks let you choose multiple clipping paths, automatic or hand-drawn, with or without natural shadow. We handle millions of images, which means it is highly unlikely that we will be stressed with the volume of images, no matter how crazy your photo shoot may seem. And when you're ready to scale your product's image retouching operations, we have the most advanced retouching options.
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