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skybluboy7
Inspiring
April 21, 2018
Answered

Why is there a background in the image I place in inDesign?

  • April 21, 2018
  • 4 replies
  • 3853 views

I'm using CS4. I have an image I'm placing in inDesign from Photoshop. The original image has no background, as I deleted it. When I place it into inDesign, it has a white background.

I'm trying to place it over another image. The photoshop image is a tiff. Does the image type matter? Is there a step I need to do to make sure there is no background?

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer Barb Binder

    The background can come from two places—the container frame as per Rob's answer or from the file itself.

    When you open the file in Photoshop do you see a checkerboard background? Have you tried saving the file as a .psd (Photoshop document) and then placing the .psd in InDesign. You do not need to save the .psd as a .tiff.

    ~Barb

    4 replies

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    skybluboy7Author
    Inspiring
    April 23, 2018

    Thanks, everyone! I found that changing it to a PSD file took care of the problem.

      Barb Binder
      Community Expert
      Barb BinderCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      April 23, 2018

      Great! Glad to hear that that worked for you.

      I think it is much simpler just to place native .psd (and Illustrator's .ai) files in InDesign. InDesign allows to to control Photoshop and Illustrator layer visibility from within InDesign and you can hyperlink right to the source application when you see a problem in the image to fix it. When you save and close the file, InDesign will update the linked image automatically.

      ~Barb

      ~Barb at Rocky Mountain Training
      Bill Silbert
      Community Expert
      Bill SilbertCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      April 21, 2018

      If you're seeing a transparent background in the Photoshop file but saving it as a tiff then the problem is that InDesign does not recognize the transparency of a layered tiff only that of a PSD. Do as Barb says and save it as a PSD.

      rob day
      Community Expert
      rob dayCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      April 21, 2018

      is that InDesign does not recognize the transparency of a layered tiff only that of a PSD

      I'm not having a problem with tiff transparency, but you do have to make sure the Save Transparency box is checked in the TIFF save dialog:

        Barb Binder
        Community Expert
        Barb BinderCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
        Community Expert
        April 21, 2018

        The background can come from two places—the container frame as per Rob's answer or from the file itself.

        When you open the file in Photoshop do you see a checkerboard background? Have you tried saving the file as a .psd (Photoshop document) and then placing the .psd in InDesign. You do not need to save the .psd as a .tiff.

        ~Barb

        ~Barb at Rocky Mountain Training
          rob day
          Community Expert
          rob dayCommunity Expert
          Community Expert
          April 21, 2018

          Every placed image has a container frame, which can have a white or color fill. Select the frame with the (black) Selection tool and make sure the fill color is set to [None].

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