How to Give Silhouette Studio Designs a Transparent Background

Did you ever want to create a design with a transparent background in Silhouette Studio? Maybe so you can use it as a watermark or in another program? It involves a bit of a work around, but if you're a fan of designing in Silhouette Studio, like I am, this three step process is definitely worth it!

Silhouette School weekly contributor, Becky Dykes from My Paper Craze, is here today to explain how you can give your Silhouette Studio designs a transparent background.
You all know that I'm a big fan of designing in Silhouette Studio, but the one thing that has bothered me from the beginning is the inability to save my images with a transparent background. So of course, there's a very easy workaround that I'm going to share with you today!

First and foremost, create your image or logo in Silhouette Studio. 

I set my page size to Letter because I'll be printing it with Bullzip and it's just easier. If you need a larger image, check out printing oversized images in Silhouette Studio.

The second step is to use Bullzip to "print" the image and convert it into a format that you can work with, in this case a PNG. Another option is to save as a PDF and then convert the PDF to a PNG using an online tool like Convert-Image.

Now here comes the third and final step which involves Lunapic, a free online photo editor.  It's web-based, so you don't have to download a program, which is a plus.

Use the Browse button to locate and upload the photo you created and saved from Silhouette Studio. This online editor will also work with images that you didn't create, so you can get creative if you want.

Once the photo is uploaded, go to the menu bar and click Edit, then scroll down to Transparent.

The instructions at the top break it down real simple: just click on the color that you want to turn transparent.

It worked really well for me, especially since my entire background was already white. If you are working with a more complex image, I imagine that this part would be more difficult.  When the gray checkered background appears, that's how you know the transparency worked.  You can even adjust the threshold, if necessary, although I found it worked just fine for my needs with the default.

Once you're satisfied with your image and background, scroll to the bottom and click save. I told you it was easy.

Now what would you need a transparent image for?  Layering image, of course.  Think about a watermark or a logo ...if you've designed it in Silhouette Studio and you may need it on a transparent background for your website or to use in other image editing software program.  Also, if you are designing logos or watermarks for someone else, they are going to need a transparent background.

Note: This post may contain affiliate links. By clicking on them and purchasing products through my links, I receive a small commission. That's what helps fund Silhouette School so I can keep buying new Silhouette-related products to show you how to get the most out of your machine!

Get Silhouette School lessons delivered to your email inbox! Select Once Daily or Weekly.

Subscribe Here!