How To Choose the Best Clipping Path Service

What is a clipping path? In Photoshop, a clipping path is a vector graphic that outlines an object, like a trace around its edges. Clipping paths are usually used for one of two purposes: cutting an object out or wrapping text around it. How are clipping paths used for e-commerce? In product photography, the most common use of a clipping path is to remove the background from a product image. The clipping path goes around the product, which can then be placed on another background or saved as a transparent image. Clipping product images is also known as “etching,” “cut-outs,” or creating a “silo” (short for “silhouette”). After a product is cut out from its background by a clipping path service, it can be placed on a new background or saved as a transparent product image with no background. Why outsource to a clipping path service? Creating clipping paths or layer masks (there are strong opinions about the superiority of layer masks vs clipping paths) in order to perform image cut outs is a time-consuming job that involves a lot of zooming and clicking in Photoshop or Illustrator. It’s repetitive, boring work that can turn e-commerce retouching into a bottleneck—but it’s necessary. Fortunately, because product images are digital, clipping is ripe for outsourcing. The best clipping path services will save you time and money by allowing you to focus on more creative, revenue generating work. The worst photo clipping services are going to cost you more than just money; they’ll blow deadlines and cause endless headaches, too. Pixelz’ Clipping Path Service for Product Images 3 Hour delivery Hand-drawn clipping paths Multiple clipping paths Include natural shadow Intuitive online interface Used by leading brands, retailers, and photo studios Scales with volume and retouching needs How much does a product photo clipping path service cost? Don’t just look at per image pricing when choosing a Photoshop clipping path service provider. Look at the TCO, the Total Cost of Operation. A race to the bottom in terms of per image pricing will usually end up costing you more in the long run. If your purpose is to save time and get your product listings up faster in order to sell more, you need to think about onboarding, management, turnaround time, scale, and quality. There’s a lot of empty promises out there when it comes to clipping path outsourcing. If a no-name company with a homemade WordPress site is promising you 1¢ per image, they’re not going to deliver. It will be a spectacular failure that will eat working hours and cause you to chuckle darkly the next time someone pushes cut-rate outsourcing. Before trusting your clipping to an outsourcer, you need answers to the following questions. What you should ask an outsourced clipping path service How am I giving instructions? How are the clipping paths drawn? When and how will I get my images back? Is there quality assurance? What methods of communication are available? Who are you already working with? Can the service scale with my needs? If the clipping path service can’t provide you satisfactory answers to the above questions, you shouldn’t outsource to them.