Start with a small collection
Open the studio, add photos and choose your finishing settings. Press Process collection. Compare Original and Result before downloading. Export as PNG for transparency, or as JPEG for a smaller opaque photo. JPEG uses white when the chosen background is transparent.
Self-hosted desktop trial
The separate Windows desktop launcher can process through a pinned full BiRefNet model on the local GPU. This is distinct from the compact browser model and the optional Lite Detailed preview. The launcher runs only on the same computer; the hosted website does not yet offer this full-model service. No photos are sent to a third-party image API.
Projects containing self-hosted cutouts use version 4. They can reopen in this version of the browser studio using their saved masks without the local backend or another model download. Older studio versions may reject these projects. The full model can still choose the wrong subject in a lifestyle scene or miss thin supports; review the result and use the product-area selector, Restore or Keep original.
Compare the same framing
After processing, choose Compare to slide between the original and result. The original is reframed to match the output canvas, placement and crop, so this comparison is not the untouched source framing. Original still shows the source photo. The slider works with touch or keyboard. On narrow screens, the bottom action bar keeps Preview, Edit, Process and the selected-photo Download within reach.
Reduce a plain-backdrop fringe
After background removal, choose Reduce edge fringe for a selected cutout. Pick the backdrop color from its original photo and a correction strength, then preview. This reverses some color contamination in partially transparent edges; it leaves alpha and fully opaque pixels unchanged in the correction step. It does not restore missing areas, relight the product or generate detail. Glass, hair, busy scenes and incorrect backdrop colors may look worse. Compare the dark-background previews and choose Keep current if unsure. Changing a setting requires another preview before applying. Kept corrections are saved as photo edits in a project; Reset photo edits in Refine returns to the stored cutout.
Enabling background removal
Choose Enable background removal to load the model and runtime on this device. The first download is about 19 MB. Later visits may reuse a cached model. The compact model trades some detail for practical browser operation; refine mistakes with the erase and restore brushes. Restore shows a faint original-photo guide to locate missing details. The guide and brush outline are preview aids, never exported. Switch the guide off to check edges; restoring also brings back any original background beneath the brush. Fine brushes go down to 0.2% of the shorter image side.
Detailed cutouts for a selected product
Enable Remove background, then select Try Detailed cutout. Choose or change the product area inside its preview dialog without resetting your current photo. This optional BiRefNet Lite 512 model is about 192 MB, plus the shared runtime if it is not already available. It needs more memory and is recommended for desktop; physical phone performance is unverified. A device reporting less than 4 GB of memory is asked to use compact removal instead.
Nothing downloads until you press Try Detailed in its dialog. Compare the current photo and the proposed result. Keep current, Cancel or Escape discards the preview; only Use Detailed result replaces that photo’s cutout and brush edits. The chosen area is kept only when you keep the result; crop and finishing settings stay. Failed or timed-out previews leave the current photo intact. There is no automatic model switch. If a PNG or WebP source already has transparency, the preview keeps that existing cutout without downloading the Detailed model; use Refine to edit it. Reuse the kept cutout in export packs, or Save project to keep it across visits without downloading the model again.
If processing stops responding
The browser worker has a three-minute setup deadline and a two-minute photo deadline. A timeout or worker failure releases that worker and stops the batch. Completed photos remain downloadable; later photos are left unprocessed. Enable background removal again, then Process to retry. Cached cutouts from completed photos are reused.
Try a smaller photo or Keep original background if the same photo repeatedly fails. Browser or operating-system suspension can delay timeout callbacks; these are recovery deadlines, not promised processing speeds. The separate native editor uses its own local engine.
Devices and limits
Use a recent Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari with WebAssembly, Web Workers, Canvas and OffscreenCanvas. Actual compatibility and memory vary; physical mobile background-removal testing has not been completed. If it fails, turn Remove background off to use resizing and conversion. Try one smaller image before a full collection.
Saved styles store only finishing settings in this browser’s localStorage; no photo pixels are saved there. Up to 10 named styles can be loaded or deleted from the settings panel.
The collection limit is 12 still PNG, JPEG or WebP images, up to 12 MB and 25 megapixels each. Animated PNGs and animated WebPs are rejected; export one frame as a still image first. The studio checks file contents and can recognize a supported image despite an incorrect filename extension. Project imports apply the same still-image checks. Large batches can still exceed a device’s memory. Browser security and storage settings may prevent model caching.
Choose the intended product first
In a busy scene, choose Choose product area before processing and draw a rectangle around the item. The model sees that region; the cutout is mapped back to the original photo coordinates. Original dimensions at 0% padding preserves its position, while shared canvases still center and fit the subject. Include all important details in the rectangle. This control can reduce competing-object mistakes, but it cannot guarantee thin edges or separate overlapping objects. Changing the area resets that photo’s cutout, crop and brush edits. The choice is saved in project files.
When removal loses part of the product
A completed export means processing finished, not that the cutout is correct. Printed packaging can lose large areas; glass and fine supports can retain white or become faint. Compare the entire product in Original and Result, including its top, handles and separate pieces. If neither compact nor Detailed preserves the whole product, select Keep original background for that photo. Its original pixels are used with your current crop and finishing settings; the original background remains. Other photos stay unchanged. Switch back to cutout restores its saved mask and brush edits. Crop original photo adjusts framing without changing those brush edits. Shadow is off for an original-background photo.
The choice also applies to export packs and saved projects. Projects using it require version 0.8 or newer of this studio; older project files still open. This fallback preserves the photo, but does not turn a failed cutout into a successful transparent image.
Restore a larger missing area
In the detail desk, choose Restore area. Tap or click at least three points around the missing part using the original guide, then choose Restore this area. Undo removes the last point while drawing, or the whole area after restoring. Apply photo edits keeps it; Cancel discards the dialog edits. An unfinished outline must be restored or removed before applying.
This fills your outline with original pixels, including any background or holes inside it. Follow the product edge and erase unwanted openings afterward. It is a manual correction, not automatic recognition. The guide and outline are never exported. You can restore several areas, then crop and finish as usual. Projects keep the resulting edited mask.
Studio Finish: color and backdrop styling
Use Exposure, Contrast, Warmth and Saturation to adjust existing photo pixels. These are non-generative adjustments, not AI relighting or recovered detail. With a cutout, the product is adjusted separately from the chosen backdrop. Without a cutout, the original photo and its background are adjusted together. Neutral settings preserve the previous rendering path. Strong settings can clip highlights or change product colors; inspect labels and color before publishing.
Clean listing, Warm studio and Spotlight set a starting look. Soft studio sweep and Spotlight halo are geometric gradient backdrops. Ground contact adds an approximate oval shadow; it does not infer light direction or object pose. Add shadow must be enabled. Transparent exports ignore backdrop lighting. Preview selected reuses the current cutout; Process collection applies the settings to the remaining photos. Reset finish resets color, backdrop lighting and shadow style; it keeps your chosen background color and Add shadow setting.
Saved styles retain Studio Finish controls. Projects using these new settings require version 0.11 or newer; earlier projects remain readable. Size packs keep color adjustments and shadow style but use flat white backgrounds.
Flat-backdrop recovery
For an opaque product against a plain backdrop, Try flat-backdrop recovery offers another way to preserve the whole product when AI removal loses printed packaging. It removes similar-color pixels connected to the image border. Lower tolerance preserves more; higher tolerance removes more. Preview again after changing tolerance, compare the result, then keep or discard it. No model download is required.
This method can retain enclosed background holes, include reflections or lose edges close to the backdrop color. It is unsuitable for many busy scenes or transparent products. Use Refine for cleanup. Keeping the preview replaces only this photo’s cutout and brush edits; its original file is unchanged. Recovery projects require version 0.11 or newer.
Refining one photo
Process a photo, then open Refine / crop selected photo. Erase removes pixels; Restore brings back original pixels and may bring back background. Keep area excludes everything outside a drawn rectangle. Use Zoom in and Fit photo to inspect details; scroll the canvas when zoomed. Undo reverses the last stroke. Cancel discards the current dialog edits; Reset returns to the model’s unedited cutout.
Multi-size export packs
Process your photos first, then choose Multi-size export pack. Select square 1200 × 1200 JPG, portrait 1200 × 1500 JPG and/or web 800 × 800 WebP. Each ready photo is exported into size folders using white canvases and current padding, crop and shadow. Existing photo backgrounds remain when background removal is off. Refined cutouts are reused; no new model inference is needed. Canvas size does not guarantee a marketplace will accept the image.
Save and reopen a project
Give your collection a name, then choose Save project. The downloaded ZIP includes original photos, cutouts, cleanup edits, crop, settings and your optional Checked by you markers. Open project restores these in a fresh browser; completed previews are rebuilt without another model inference. Keep the ZIP if you want to resume later. It contains your photos, so share it only when you intend to share those photos.
Project files must be created by this studio, under 160 MB and contain 1–12 photos. Generic or compressed ZIPs are not supported. We check file integrity, manifest fields, image dimensions and crop bounds before replacing the current collection. With an existing collection, you can cancel before replacement. A damaged project leaves current work intact.
Saving and support
The working collection is held in this tab, not autosaved. Save project downloads originals, edits and settings so you can resume. A photo or export-pack download contains finished images, not the editable project. Keep the project ZIP and check that the download completed.
Clear asks before removing the collection. Browsers may warn before leaving a tab that contains photos after you have interacted with it. The warning can be skipped when a mobile browser or app is terminated, so it is not a backup. Opening a saved project still asks before replacing an existing collection.
Download individual photos or the ZIP before closing or reloading the page. Completed photos remain available after Stop finishes the current photo. Changing settings requires processing again; cutouts are cached in the current collection.
Contact support@catalogpolish.com. Do not email private product photos unless you choose to share them.