How to Defringe in Photoshop

In Photoshop, the anti-aliasing tool-based option can be used to soften or feather a jagged edge of an image when it is placed against a contrasting background. But after you paste or move an anti-aliased image, unwanted fringes, halos or matting may be show around its edges. These extra pixels can make the outline of the image appear undefined, stand out too much from the background or otherwise look undesirable. Defringe and Matting editing techniques are two effective solutions to help you obtain cleaner visual imaging results.

Things You'll Need

• Adobe Photoshop CS5

Instructions

Definge With Replacement Pixels

1. Choose "Layer," choose "Matting," and then choose "Defringe."

2. Enter "1" as the pixel value width to define the replacement pixel search area.

3. Click "OK." If the halo or fringe is still too visible for your liking, repeat Step 1 and then in Step 2, enter "2" as the pixel value. If this method did not yield your desired results, proceed to the next section.

Remove Gray Pixel Fringe

1. Choose "Layer" and then choose "Matting."

2. Choose "Remove Black Matte or Layer."

3. Choose "Matting" and then choose "Remove White Matte.

Tips & Warnings

• In Step 2 of the first section, alternatively, you can opt to input a larger pixel area, such as "3" or more. However, it may be less time consuming if you start with small increments, view the results and then increase the pixel search area only if needed.

References

• Adobe Photoshop CS5: Remove Fringe Pixels From a Selection