Q U A R K S O F T W A R E W O R K F L O W S O L U T I O N S A N D I M P L E M E N T A T I O N

Volume 4 • Number 5

X-RAY MAGAZINE • XRAYM

AG.COM

JOB JACKETS PART 2 • PARDON THE IMPO

SITION

VOLUME 4 NUM

BER 5

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Let’s face it — sometimes the foreground of the photo

is the only part that belongs on the page, but what’s the

best way to mask out the background, and how does

each method affect the finished edge?

In the old days (QuarkXPress 3.X), users either faked it

with page-colored paint in Photoshop, or, if they wanted

a smooth vector edge, they used Photoshop’s pen tool

and saved the image as a raster EPS with an embedded

clipping path.

Things got a little easier when QuarkXPress 4.0

introduced the ability to control clipping-path outsets

directly within the layout, along with many other path-

related niceties.

QuarkXPress version 7 takes things further by offering true

alpha-channel support whether you’re using a clipping

path or not. The masking toolbox is now complete.

What are Clipping Paths and Alpha Channels?Clipping paths and alpha channels are both transparency

masks. That is, they both allow you to render the

background of a photo invisible. A clipping path does

so using vector curves, and an alpha channel does so

using grayscale raster data that has been saved as an

additional channel in your image-editing application. An

RGB image that includes an alpha channel contains four

8-bit channels (R, G, B, and alpha). If you’ve ever used the

save selection feature in Photoshop, you’ve created an

alpha channel.

Vector Versus Raster EdgesIn figure 1, you can see the difference between a vector

and a raster edge (where edge refers to the transition

between the visible and the invisible parts of a photo).

The vector edge was created with a clipping path, and

the raster edge with an alpha channel. Each has its

merits. The vector edge is pixel free. You could enlarge

it to the size of a barn, and the edge would still look

smooth, but the raster edge has something to offer as

well — softness. Softness may not be all that important

to the example I’ve chosen here, but most subjects (such

as hair) prefer a soft edge. Yes, pixels are the ingredient

used to achieve this effect, but hey, the foreground of

your photo is made of pixels too, isn’t it?

Figure 1. These two figures compare the differences between a clippingpath and a rasterized alpha channel.

You’ll see more complex examples in the figures that

follow. You’ll also notice that each sample page in this

article has a background that wavers from 100% white.

Hopefully this will reinforce the fact that we’re dealing

with truly transparent backgrounds that are more flexible

than mere white ones.

Getting Edgy withQuarkXPress 7.0BY STEVEN GRAY

Aided by true alpha-channel support, clipping paths are nolonger the only choice for masking out image backgrounds.

8 X-RAY MAGAZINE | VOLUME 4 NUMBER 5

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Example 1: A Vector Edge for The SpigotBefore we touch on the new alpha channel features of

QuarkXPress 7, it may help to start with the older and

more familiar example of a clipping path. Figure 2 shows

a photo of a spigot imported into a QuarkXPress layout.

In this example, I sought a very sharp — yet very smooth

— edge for the spigot. A clipping path is still the way to

go for that kind of edge.

QuarkXPress lets you create simple clipping paths directly

within the layout, but they must be based on the white

pixels of an image or on an existing alpha channel.

Nothing like that existed for this photo. What’s more, I

needed precision. So, I left the confines of my layout and

used Photoshop’s pen tool to painstakingly draw a Béziér

path around the spigot by hand. After saving this path

with the Photoshop file, I imported the photo into

QuarkXPress. To do this, follow these steps:

1Select Item q Preview Resolution q Full

Resolution and make sure you can see the

image in all its glory.

2Select Item q Clipping and make sure

the embedded path is selected in the type

drop-down list.

3While still in the clipping tab, specify an outset

of -1 to choke the clipping path inward.

This is a necessary step for most homemade

clipping paths. That’s because, no matter how

careful you are when creating your path,

background pixels seem to find their way into

the visible area and make your edge look

amateurish. Choking the clipping path inward

shrinks the visible area, forcing these

background pixels into the invisible zone.

4Select Item q Runaround and make

sure the embedded path is selected in the type

drop-down list. In my example, this allowed me

to place a text box behind the image, with text

flowing around the edge of the spigot.

5While still in the runaround tab, specify an

outset equal to about 150% of the point size

of the text. This will prevent the text from

crowding the spigot.

IN THE TRENCHES • GETTING EDGY 9

1 Figure 2.The clipping path is a good solutionfor a sharp, defined edge such as theone found on this spigot.

QuarkXPress lets youcreate simple clippingpaths directly withinthe layout.

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10 X-RAY MAGAZINE | VOLUME 4 NUMBER 5

Example 2: A Blurred Edge for the FaceIt’s true that QuarkXPress has been able to make use of

alpha channels since version 4, but make use of and fully

support are two different things. Prior to version 7, your

alpha-channel options in QuarkXPress consisted of (a)

basing a clipping path on one, or (b) basing a runaround

path on one.

As of version 7, you can now use alpha channels as they

were intended — to control the opacity of pixels. This is

particularly useful when you want a soft edge around the

clipped area of your image.

Take a look at figure 3. If I had used a clipping path

on this face (even a clipping path based on an alpha

channel), the edge would have been much too stark. The

woman’s hair and personality demanded a soft edge.

There are a number of ways soft-mask edges can be

created in Photoshop, but none of them are quite as

elegant as the newest method — using QuarkXPress 7

to non-destructively soften a mask that was originally

created without softness. Follow these steps to achieve

results as shown in figure 3.

1Open the image in Photoshop and select the

lasso tool. Before using this tool, make sure

its feather parameter is set to 0 px (pixels).

(In my example, I wanted a sharp channel

edge in Photoshop so that the softness could

be controlled by QuarkXPress rather than

by the image file.)

2Make a rough selection of the woman’s face

using the lasso tool.

3Select Select q Save Selection and type

Alpha Channel into the name field.

4Go to Photoshop’s channels palette and

activate the new alpha channel’s eyeball icon

so that both the image and the alpha channel

are visible together.

5Double click the alpha channel and specify your

preference for how masked areas should appear.

I chose 100% bright yellow to make the mask

extremely obvious.

6Set Photoshop’s foreground color to 100% black

and its background color to 100% white. For my

particular project, I prepared Photoshop’s pencil

and eraser tools by making sure the brush size

for each was useful and that no softness was

present in the brushes. I then used these tools

to clean up the mask I had created with the

lasso tool. I made sure to over-mask into the

foreground slightly so that no hint of old

background pixels would appear in my finished

work. As I did so, the pencil tool applied 100%

masking to any area I painted with it, and the

eraser tool did just the opposite. That’s exactly

the behavior step 5 above helped to ensure.

The areas I painted with the black pencil didn’t

appear black on screen. They appeared bright

yellow — the masking color I specified in step 5.

1 Figure 3.Using an alpha-channel maskproduces a softer edge.

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7Save the image as a TIFF. It is true that

QuarkXPress 7 also allows you to work with

PSD files, but such files don’t allow the use of

QuarkVista effects such as gaussian blur.

8Import the file into a QuarkXPress picture

box and choose Item q Preview Resolution

q Full Resolution to see all the image

detail possible.

9Double click the picture box with the item

tool to open the modify dialog box. In the

picture tab, there is a new drop-down list called

channel. From this list, select the alpha channel.

The background of the photo is now transparent, but

the edge was still hard. To soften it, follow these steps:

1Open the picture effects palette (Window q

Picture Effects), and choose gaussian blur

from the palette’s filter menu. Gaussian blur is

one of two filters in QuarkXPress 7 that allow

you to affect the alpha channel without

affecting the base image. (Diffuse is the other

such filter.) This is accomplished using filter

check boxes. For this example, I made sure that

blur picture was unchecked and that blur mask

was checked in the gaussian blur dialog box.

I then previewed different radius values until

I decided that 7 achieved the level of edge

softness I wanted.

2Select Item q Runaround and make sure

the alpha channel is selected in the type drop-

down list. This step allowed me to place a text

box behind the image, with text flowing

around the edge of the face.

3While still in the runaround tab, specify an

outset equal to about 150% of the point size

of the text. This prevents the text from

crowding the face.

Example 3: A Diffused Edge for The DesertFor example 3 (see figure 4), I wanted something

more artistic. Like gaussian blur, the diffuse filter in

QuarkXPress 7 provides a check box that allows me

to affect only the alpha channel in an image, but rather

than blur the edge, diffuse speckles the edge. This breaks

up continuous lines without detracting from the overall

sense of sharpness.

To accomplish this, I performed all the same steps listed

in example 2, but at the end of the process, I used

QuarkXPress 7’s diffuse command instead of gaussian

blur. Once again, I made sure that diffuse picture was

unchecked and that diffuse mask was checked, so that

only my edge would be affected.

You can also combine diffuse with gaussian blur for

a soft, speckled edge, but as shown in figure 4, diffuse

stood on its own.

No More Getting Edgy About PermanencePhotoshop effects sometimes make me edgy because

of the permanent nature of whatever I save. The more

you can accomplish using QuarkXPress 7, the more un-

doable your mask effects will be. All of the QuarkVista

filters and effects included with QuarkXPress 7 are

non-destructive, so you can go back and un-blur or

un-speckle that edge any time you like, or, just change

the amount. You’ll be sure to gain an edge over

your competition!

IN THE TRENCHES • GETTING EDGY 11

Figure 4.This example shows a more artistic edge.

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