Can't keep up with the bubbles - or stray pixels as we call them? No matter what you do your Stickers are not kiss-cut perfectly? Read ahead to learn how to fix it!
- Step 1. Identify evident stray pixels.
- Step 2. Upload your design and check how it looks on all products.
- Step 3. Identify hidden stray pixels.
- Step 4. Select and erase stray pixels.
- Step 5. Make sure that your design is as crisp as it gets.
Step 1. Identify evident stray pixels.
Extract your design from the background layer so it’s on its own layer. Due to the checkered pattern Photoshop uses to show transparency, you want to make sure to check for stray pixels before exporting as a transparent PNG.
Create a new layer underneath your extracted design and fill that layer with bright neon color, ideally one that is not in the actual design. In the example below, we’re using #33ff00.
Identify those stray pixels and erase them.
Delete the neon layer and export as PNG.
Step 2. Upload your design and check how it looks on all products.
Upload your design to your Artist Shop. If you got rid of the most obvious stray pixels, it’s possible that it looks good on most products. However, Stickers can show that there are stray pixels that cause the sticker to add kiss-cut areas that shouldn't be there.
If that’s the case, let’s move on to Step 3.
Step 3. Identify hidden stray pixels.
If the stray pixels are too light to see over the neon, bright background, we have another method for you.
Open your file and go to the menu SELECT > COLOR RANGE. In the popup for “Select”, use Highlights, Midtones, and Shadows to identify the stray pixels.
It is possible that not all of the color range selections will show you the stray pixels, so make sure you check all of them to be able to see the pixels more clearly.
Step 4. Select and erase stray pixels.
Now that you have identified the pixels, cancel out the COLOR RANGE popup so you can make an easier selection.
What you want to do is select the pixels you want to keep and erase the stray pixels. To do so, hold Command on Mac or Control on Windows and then click the thumbnail of the design layer.
Make sure the selection appears around the good pixels and no stray pixels are included. Zoom in to double-check.
If you're happy with the selection, go to the SELECT menu and choose INVERSE (or cmd/ctrl + shift + I). This will change the selection to grab everything but your main design.
Now you can either use the eraser tool to delete the pixels or simply press your computer’s delete button a few times.
Step 5. Make sure that your design is as crisp as it gets.
The final step is to make sure you deleted all of the stray pixels.
Once again, use the COLOR RANGE tool found under the SELECTION menu, and toggle between Midtones and Shadows.
As you can see in the image below, no stray pixels can be found, so the design is ready to be added to all products, including Stickers.