--- title: "Cut-out image (cutout): meaning and marketplace rules | Herofab" description: "A product image with the background removed, delivered on transparency or placed on a new plain background." url: https://herofab.app/glossary/cut-out language: en updated: 2026-11-12 --- # Cut-out image A product image with the background removed, delivered on transparency or placed on a new plain background. Also called **cutout** · **background-removed image** With Herofab [Remove background](https://herofab.app/tools/background-remover) ![The terracotta bomber jacket as a ghost mannequin, cut out on pure white](https://herofab.app/img/ex/ghost-white-1100.webp) Made with Herofab · Remove background Cutting out the product lets one photo serve several marketplaces: pure white for one, light grey for another, transparent for a third. Edges are where cut-outs fail: hair, fur, sheer fabric and soft shadows need careful masks, and a hard edge looks pasted on. ## What a cut-out is used for A cut-out is the raw material of a product catalogue. Once the product is separated from its background, the same picture can be placed on white for a marketplace, on a brand colour for a shop, on a photo for a banner, or on nothing at all for a designer to use. It also makes a mixed set of photos uniform. Products photographed on different days, tables and walls look like one series when they all stand on the same plain ground. ## How a product is cut out The older method is drawing: an editor traces the outline of the product by hand with a path, which gives a precise, hard edge and suits objects with clear contours. The newer method is automatic: software recognises the product and builds a mask, including soft transitions that a drawn path cannot follow. Both produce the same thing in the end, a mask that says for every pixel whether it belongs to the product, to the background or partly to both. The partly matters; it is what makes hair, fur and fine fabric look natural. ## Where cut-outs go wrong The hard cases are always the same: fine edges such as hair, fringe, fur and lace; transparent or reflective materials such as glass, mesh and polished metal; and products whose colour is close to the background, such as a white shirt on a white wall. Typical faults are a thin halo of the old background around the edge, missing parts where a strap or a handle was taken for background, and openings that were not cleared, such as the space inside a handle. Each of them is easy to miss on white and obvious on a dark colour. > **With Herofab** > > Transparent, white or grey — sized for your marketplace. > > [Remove background](https://herofab.app/tools/background-remover) ## Cut-out and related terms - **![The terracotta bomber jacket as a ghost mannequin, cut out on pure white](https://herofab.app/img/ex/ghost-white-1100.webp) [Transparent background](https://herofab.app/glossary/transparent-background):** A transparent background is what remains when the background is removed and nothing is put in its place. It is one way to deliver a cut-out, in a format that can store transparency. - **[Clipping path](https://herofab.app/glossary/clipping-path):** A clipping path is the drawn outline used to cut a product out by hand. The path is a method; the cut-out is the result. - **![The terracotta bomber jacket as a ghost mannequin, cut out on pure white](https://herofab.app/img/ex/ghost-white-1100.webp) Pure white background:** On a pure white background the cut-out sits on white of the highest value. It is the most common destination for a cut-out on marketplaces. - **![The terracotta bomber jacket as a ghost mannequin, cut out on pure white](https://herofab.app/img/ex/ghost-white-1100.webp) [Silhouette image](https://herofab.app/glossary/silhouette-image):** A silhouette image is a product alone against a plain ground, with its outline easy to read. Most silhouette images are made from cut-outs. - **Drop shadow:** A drop shadow is the soft shadow added under a cut-out so that the product seems to stand on a surface. Removing the background usually removes the real shadow with it. ## A checklist for a clean cut-out - The whole product is there: straps, handles, laces, cables and thin parts were not removed with the background. - The edge shows no halo of the old background colour, on a light ground and on a dark one. - Openings are open: the space inside a handle, between chain links or behind a pierced pattern shows the new background. - Soft edges stayed soft. Hair, fur and fringe do not end in a hard line. - The product still has contact with the ground, through a soft shadow where the sales channel allows one. - The file was saved in a format that keeps transparency, if a transparent background is what is needed. ## Cut-out image, answered. **Why does my cut-out product image look pasted on?** Usually because the edge is too hard or the product has lost its contact shadow. A real object has slightly soft edges and meets the ground with a shadow; a cut-out with a razor-sharp outline, a fringe of the old background colour or no shadow at all seems to float. View the cut-out on both a light and a dark background, and the fringe and any missing pieces show up. **How do I get a clean cut-out from a phone photo?** Photograph the product against a background that contrasts with it, in even light. Contrast gives the tool a clear edge to follow, whereas a white shirt on a white sheet or a dark shoe on a dark floor leaves it guessing; keep the whole product in the frame and in focus. Herofab's Remove background takes a product photo and returns it transparent, on white or on grey. **What file format should a cut-out image be saved in?** It depends on the background. A cut-out with a transparent background needs a format that stores transparency, usually PNG or WebP; a JPEG would fill the empty area with a solid colour. A cut-out placed on white or another plain colour can be saved as a JPEG, which gives a smaller file. Herofab's Remove background delivers a product photo transparent, on white or on grey. **Is a cut-out the same as a transparent PNG?** Not quite. The cut-out is the picture of the product without its background; the transparent PNG is one file in which it can be delivered. The same cut-out can also be placed on white, on grey or on a photo, and then the file is no longer transparent, although the product in it is still a cut-out. **Which products are hard to cut out?** Products with fine or see-through edges and products that resemble their background. Fur, hair, fringe, lace and mesh have no clear outline; glass and polished metal show the background through or on their surface; and a pale product on a pale wall gives the software little to separate. A contrasting, evenly lit background at the shoot makes all of them easier. ## What marketplaces say about it. Updated 25 September 2026 - **Galaxus:** The first image shows the product cut out; Galaxus gives every cut-out image the same background colour [Official page](https://www.galaxus.de/de/page/wer-bestimmt-eigentlich-die-bilder-bei-einem-produkt-35527) - **OTTO:** The main image is cut out, or on a light, neutral background [Official page](https://www.otto.market/_Resources/Persistent/4/0/f/9/40f93e8e8315a91f7c8dab0e2bf4cf14057d1279/18012024_Onboarding-Guide.pdf) - **Google Shopping:** Solid white or transparent backgrounds; light-coloured products should not use transparency, as they may show on black [Official page](https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/6324350?hl=en) - **ABOUT YOU:** PNG up to 4 MB for transparent backgrounds [Official page](https://docs.partner.aboutyou.com/user-guide/product-image-requirements) Related [Remove background](https://herofab.app/tools/background-remover) · [Remove background](https://herofab.app/tools/background-remover) · [Main image](https://herofab.app/glossary/main-image) · [Clipping path](https://herofab.app/glossary/clipping-path) · [Transparent background](https://herofab.app/glossary/transparent-background) · [Silhouette image](https://herofab.app/glossary/silhouette-image) · [All terms](https://herofab.app/glossary/) Free tools [Product photo checker](https://herofab.app/tools/product-photo-checker) [Marketplace image resizer](https://herofab.app/tools/marketplace-image-resizer) [Image compressor](https://herofab.app/tools/image-compressor) [AI image label checker](https://herofab.app/tools/ai-image-checker)