Images — Uploads, Filters & Background Removal
How image handling works in Canvas Design Studio — upload formats, automatic print optimisation, crop, filters, engraving effects, and AI background removal.
Customer photos and logos are where personalised products get personal — and where print problems usually start. Here's how the editor keeps image handling painless.
Uploads#
The Uploads tab accepts PNG, JPG, WebP, and SVG files. On save, images are automatically optimised for print: resized to an adaptive cap (up to 6,000 px on the long edge, scaled to your template's real print size) and re-encoded efficiently. Customers upload phone photos; your storage doesn't balloon; print quality is preserved.
Uploads work in every mode — in Form and Inline modes, image placeholders become simple file-upload fields.
Image placeholders (template authoring)#
When building a template, add an image placeholder — a dashed slot labelled "Logo", "Photo", or any label you choose. Customers see exactly where their image belongs; on upload it drops into the slot, cropped to fit. Mark the placeholder required and the design can't be submitted without it.
Editing tools#
Select any image for:
- Crop — freehand or constrained
- Brightness / contrast sliders
- Filters — three production-oriented effects that can also be auto-applied per template:
| Filter | Effect | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Grayscale | Desaturates to luminosity | Single-colour printing |
| Invert | Reverses all colours | Negative engraving |
| Threshold | Converts to pure 1-bit black & white with an adjustable cutoff | Laser engraving, stamps, vinyl |
For engraving and stamp products, set auto image filters on the template (e.g. threshold) — every customer upload is converted the moment it lands, so nobody ever submits a full-colour photo for a laser-engraved coaster.
AI background removal#
One click on Remove background cuts the subject out of a photo — no green screen, no Photoshop. It runs an ML model entirely in the customer's browser:
- The first use downloads the model (a progress bar shows "Downloading model", then "Processing image"); after that it's cached and takes a few seconds per image
- Nothing is uploaded to a third party — the photo never leaves the browser during processing
- Restore original undoes it instantly
Monthly allowance by plan: Starter 50 · Growth 500 · Scale unlimited (not available on Free). See Plans & Billing.
Stock photos (Unsplash)#
The Photos tab searches Unsplash's library directly inside the editor (Starter plan and above). Photos render instantly from the CDN while designing and are only stored when a design is actually submitted — with de-duplication, so the same photo used by fifty customers is stored once.
Related guides#
- Inside the Editor — the full toolbar
- Production Files & Preflight — how images end up in print output
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