Background Removal for Print Stores: Why and How to Add It

What does a background remover do in an online design tool?

A background remover lets customers remove the background from an image they upload, inside the online design tool, before they place it on a product. The subject is isolated from its background, so it can be placed on a different background or combined with other images into a composite design.

Without this feature, customers have to remove backgrounds in separate editing software or pay a designer before they can order. With it, they can prepare product photos, personalized gifts, social media images and marketing materials in the same tool where they design the product.

Why do print stores add background removal?

The original article gives these reasons for adding the feature to a print store:

• Convenience for customers: they no longer spend time removing backgrounds manually, and they do not need to buy editing software or hire a designer for it.
• Professional-looking results: images without a distracting background look cleaner on t-shirts, cards, stickers, labels and banners.
• A reason to choose your store: a store that offers the feature gives customers something stores without it do not.
• More advanced users: professional designers and advanced users look for design tools that go beyond basic editing.

How did Printmaker add background removal?

This article was first published as a client profile of Printmaker, an online printing company whose products include cards, invitations, banners, t-shirts, stickers and labels. As the original profile describes it:

1. Printmaker wanted its online design tool to serve professional designers and advanced users who need more than basic editing.
2. Printcart added a background remover to Printmaker's online design tool, so users could isolate subjects from their images and place them on other backgrounds or in composite images.
3. The Printmaker and Printcart teams developed the feature together, with regular meetings and iterations based on user feedback.
4. Before launch, the feature went through user testing with beta testers, whose feedback was used to adjust the interface and the workflow.
5. The background remover was then made available inside the existing design workflow.

What should you check before adding background removal to your store?

• Usability: the tool should be intuitive and sit inside the design workflow customers already use.
• Feedback: collect customer feedback after launch and keep improving the feature.
• Fit with your products: decide which products benefit most, for example photo gifts, apparel and stickers, where uploaded photos are common.

Where can you use background removal with Printcart today?

Background removal is now one of the AI tools around Printcart. For how it compares with a standalone tool, see Printcart background removal vs remove.bg on printcart.com. To build it into a print-on-demand catalog workflow, see the AI background removal workflow service.