Applying blending modes as permanent changes to a layer

roblehman

I have a layer I've used the Screen blending mode on. It's a white logo on a black background, but I want the black to appear transparent, allowing me to set the logo over a photo. Obviously there are various gray pixels in the layer, which with this blending mode applied are appearing in varying levels of transparency.

This works fine inside Photoshop, but I want to slice the logo out and export it as a PNG. The problem is those black pixels only go away with the blending mode, and obviously PNGs don't have blending modes.

So what I need is a way to basically make that blending mode permanent, so that I have a layer with transparent pixels instead of black, and semitransparent cells instead of gray, but still on a Normal blending mode.

I've tried the background eraser, magic wand, etc, but they don't produce results as well as the Screen mode. Is it possible to apply blending modes to a layer, in the same way that you can apply a layer mask?

Thanks in advance,
Rob

roblehman · Posted: Wed Sep 09, 2009 3:00 pm Post subject:

Well I found a solution to this particular problem - I just used the background eraser with the tolerance all the way up to 100% (cranked it to eleven, you might say) and that did what I wanted.

I still think it'd be good if there was a way to apply blending modes as permanent adjustments to a layer, in cases where the layer needs to appear a certain way regardless of what's underneath it. I guess it's just a matter of finding another tool to accomplish the same result, as I did here.

Not great, but it worked.

hawkeye · Posted: Wed Sep 09, 2009 3:20 pm Post subject:

Whatever you set the layer mode to, the properties will carry through when you flatten the layers.

If there is transparency to retain, make the background layer a regular layer first. Then merge visable (ctrl-shift-e).

roblehman · Posted: Wed Sep 09, 2009 3:28 pm Post subject:

The problem is, with the Screen mode, there's no way to get black pixels to flatten to transparent. Black pixels only appear transparent when there is a pixel behind it. If there's nothing behind it, it stays black.

So yes, you could apply the blending mode by flattening layers if you had something behind it to flatten onto. When you want to effectively delete black pixels in the same way as the Screen mode hides them, you have to use another tool.

Or at least that's what I've found (and I did try as you suggested, so I thank you for the idea). I'm still open to other suggestions though, as I know this will come up again. (I'm a web developer so I'm slicing transparent PNGs out of Photoshop mockups all the time, and this is definitely not the first time I've come up against this problem.)

Thanks.

hawkeye · Posted: Wed Sep 09, 2009 4:34 pm Post subject:

In your first post you said, "... allowing me to set the logo over a photo." So from that I assumed there was something behind it, in which case what I suggested should work.

If it's a layer all by itself then the blending mode doesn't matter, as there is nothing with which to blend. But you already know that.

optwhoo · Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2010 1:31 pm Post subject:

So one way is make adjustmen layer "black and white" cliped to the layer - and tune this layer that way, that it will look the same as in screen mode. Than merge this layers.

PKWorldwide · Posted: Tue Nov 15, 2011 7:13 pm Post subject:

Here's something that might help... http://dribbble.com/shots/42160-Fix-Blend-Modes-Transparent-PNG-Export-w-PS

Hope that helps! -PK

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