Make the white parts of an image transparent in Illustrator?

[I4k_Marketing]

I have an image (a logo) that I have saved as a .eps. The file was given to me, and it is the only file I have access to. The logo is very, very simple, mostly text with just two horizontal stripes, so all the colors/shapes are solid and clearly defined. There's also just two colors in the logo (three if you count the white space). I would like to somehow save a version of the image where the white portion of the image becomes transparent so that I can place on different colored backgrounds in different publications without having a big white box, but no matter what I try I cannot get the white part of the logo to be transparent. Is there ANY way to do this? I have access to Illustrator, Indesign, and if you have some crazy solution, MS Office and MS Paint.

[Silkrooster]

Are you sure it is white? By default the background has the checkerboard turned off. In the view menu, turn on the transparent background and see if the white is there.

Or you can create another object give it a fill and move it behind the object. If there is white, it will cover up the new object.

If there is a white object, then it is selectable and deleteable. You may need to drill down in the layers panel, but its there if the above proves it.

[I4k_Marketing]

I double checked using the eyedropper and its HTML code is indeed FFFFFF. I've confirmed it's white by trying to put things under it and the whole image eclipses it. I also can't select any objects within the image; the entire image is selectable but not any component of it. It's behaving as if it was an image taken from a camera, but it is definitely not. I figured that since the image is only 3 colors, one of them being the white background, if there was some easy way to manipulate, but perhaps there is not just as there might not be for an image with hundreds of colors involved. I have also tried exporting is a TIFF, a PNG with transparent selecting, importing it into Indesign with transparency option checked, none of that worked. Like I said, it's behaving as if it's an image taken by a camera, so the white part is being read as part of the image and not as like negative space if that makes sense. Is there any way I can address this?

[Steve Fairbairn]

Is the .eps a pixel image? .eps pixel format does not support transparency.

If this is the case, you should open the .eps in a Photoshop layer, delete the white and re-save as .psd. Then place that.

Or just re-create the logo in Illie.

[Danny Whitehead.]

If the 'different publications' are to be produced in InDesign, your logo is indeed vector and doesn't have a white box in the artwork, save the logo as an AI file (generally better for an Adobe workflow than EPS), and when you place it into ID, check 'Show Import Options' and check 'Transparent Background'.

[Seneca77]

Have you tried exporting as a PNG? PNG's support transparencies. I haven't tried it from an EPS file, but I've done it many times from an AI file.

Good luck!

- Bob

[Monika Gause]

Is there ANY way to do this? I have access to Illustrator, Indesign, and if you have some crazy solution, MS Office and MS Paint.

In Illustrator you can only edit vector shapes. So you need to check that first. Are there any paths?

[I4k_Marketing]

No, I can't select any paths. You can see in my most recent reply that it is acting like I am working with an image from a camera. It is the entire image or nothing. When I place the EPS into illustrator and hover the mouse over it, it shows not only the thin blue line representing the bounding box, but also thin blue diagonals across the bounding box, if that means something.

[mec_os]

can you share this logo for inspection?

[I4k_Marketing]

Hehe, somehow I did not think of sharing the image! I am new to these forums; how do I post an EPS image?

[mec_os]

upload to any file sharing site. hightail, mediafire, googledocs and provide us a link

[I4k_Marketing]

Here is the link to the file on Google Drive: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B3TXKyGbsjH4OE1OMU1GMUtveGM

[Monika Gause]

There are paths in that EPS.

But the trouble is, the EPS contains another EPS that is placed inside. So actually in order to edit that you need the other file as well.

[mec_os · Accepted solution]

you don't need the linked file. when you open in illustrator it will say it is missing. select Extract from the options. when the file is open, select the linked file and embed it. that will give you the art to work with.

the font is GrotesqueMT Condensed.

edit: sorry it isn't condensed. but it is some form of grotesque

[Larry G. Schneider]

Your description leads me to believe that the logo is an image and will need to be reworked. The Photoshop route would probably be the easiest.

[Jacob Bugge]

14k,

The logo is very, very simple, mostly text with just two horizontal stripes,

The obvious, non ugly, way would be to recreate the logo using the same font(s) and creating the stripes with the Line Segment Tool or the Pen Tool.

You can File>Place the logo raster image and lock it, then work on top of it.

[I4k_Marketing]

I had thought of that, but I am afraid I cannot identify the fonts in the logo. I am several people and years removed from this logo's creation. Is there some kind of tool I could use to identify the fonts?

[Seneca77]

They don't always return the most accurate results, but there are two websites out there that might help identify the fonts used:

http://www.whatfontis.com/

http://www.myfonts.com/WhatTheFont/

Hope that helps!

- Bob