Glossary · Amazon
Pure white background (RGB 255, 255, 255)
A pure white background is one where every background pixel has the RGB value 255, 255, 255, the colour Amazon and Walmart require behind the product in the main image.
Pure white is a number, not a look. In 8-bit RGB each channel runs from 0 to 255, and pure white is all three channels at the maximum. A backdrop that looks white on a laptop can measure 245 or 250, which reads as pale grey once the image sits on a white search results page.
Amazon's product image requirements say the main image must have a pure white background, RGB 255, 255, 255. Walmart asks for "seamless white 255/255/255 RGB" on its main image. TikTok Shop asks for a pure white background on the main image without giving a value. Etsy has no white-background rule and does not accept transparent PNG files.
Most failures come from the shoot rather than the edit. A white paper sweep lit unevenly gives grey corners and a gradient behind the product. Heavy JPEG compression adds faint noise along edges; Amazon's technical file requirements ask for minimal compression and JPEG at maximum quality. Some sellers upload a transparent PNG and expect the platform to fill it with white, which it may not do.
The opposite mistake is pushing exposure until the background clips to 255. That works for dark products, but on white or pale items it burns away the edges and the product disappears into the page. It is cleaner to separate the product from its background and set the background to white on its own.
PicBarn's main image tab removes the original background with Bria and composites the product onto a flat RGB 255 canvas, so the background is exact while the product pixels stay as you shot them.
See also
- Main imageThe main image is the first photo in a product listing, the one buyers see in search results, and on most marketplaces it must show the real product alone on a plain white background.
- sRGBsRGB is the standard RGB colour space for screens and the web, proposed by HP and Microsoft in 1996, and the safest colour space for product photos uploaded to any marketplace.
- Contact shadowA contact shadow is the small, dark shadow right where a product touches the surface beneath it, which keeps a cut-out product from looking as if it is floating.
- Background removalBackground removal is the process of separating a product from everything behind it, producing a cut-out that can be placed on pure white or into a new scene.
Related
- Amazon main image rules: pure white background, 2000 px, and how to pass themThe Amazon main-image requirements in plain language — white background, product fill, size — and the fastest way to produce a compliant image plus lifestyle gallery shots.
- Amazon image requirements checkerFree: upload an image, see which marketplace rules it passes.
- AI product photography — lifestyle scenes from one photoPlace your product in a kitchen, living room, desk or outdoor scene. The product stays pixel-exact; the scene, light and shadows are generated around it.