Graphic Design Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for Graphic Design professionals, students, and enthusiasts. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this community
We suppose that I put my signature on a piece of white paper with my first and last name on it. After I execute a scan of this signature in .pdf, or .png or .tiff, etc. (as file image).
What are the steps of a specific software to select only the signature, make the background transparent so that I can move it in a word document using only free tools on line without sign in or registration?
Use GIMP. Open your file. If it's not RGB, change the mode to RGB (=Image > Mode > RGB).
Insert alpha channel, if it does not already exist. Goto Layer > Transparency. Option "Add alpha channel" is grayed, if there's already one.
Increase the contrast with Color > Curves so that paper is full white. Adjust the hue and saturation of the writing good after the paper is white. Do it with Colors > Hue-Saturation. Be sure you do not make the background grey.
You should have a single layer image:
(the text here is random jumble scratched with the mouse, it's not readable writing in any language)
Then set the current foreground drawing color to white and apply Color > Color to alpha. White changes to transparency:
Then export your image as PNG. It may be a good idea at first check it has the right print size and resolution (300dpi). For it goto Image > Print Size.
