Help & Articles

1. Click the orders link and log on to the maskmill.com service.
2. Choose the Express delivery (max. 4 hours) or Normal delivery (max. 24 hours) and name your order.
3. Upload the files.
4. Having done that, you may give us further information and instructions about the project.
5. Accept the order for a price quotation or for immediate production.

Uploading files is quick and easy. Simply select or "drag and drop" files to the upload area and and start the upload. You can see the upload progress and also use your computer for other purposes while the files are transferred on the background.

Maskmill offers two distinct services: manual background removal — done by hand using clipping paths or image masking, whichever technique best fits each image, priced in Easy/Medium/Advanced tiers — and a separate AI background removal service, which is fully automated and delivered instantly. Hourly editing is also done by hand. Choose manual if precision hand-finishing matters more than speed; choose AI background removal if you want an instant, automated result.

A clipping path is a hand-drawn path created with Photoshop's Pen tool. If a clipping path is created, everything inside the path is opaque, and everything outside the path is transparent.

With image masking, you can create a separate alpha channel to control the blurriness of an object or isolate it from the rest of your image. This applies especially if the edges are not well defined or are complicated. The alpha mask allows you to easily select and edit the mask with image editing software, for example by switching the background image for another.

Clipping path is a hand made path created with Photoshop's Pen tool. If a clipping path is created, everything inside the path is opaque and everything outside the path, however, is transparent.

Example of a hand made clipping path:

Please note that if you create a clipping path with Photoshop´s magic wand or any other similar tool, the path can easily be a) inaccurate or b) so complicated that it could slow down or even jam the postscript printers in use. So professional clipping paths should always be hand made!

Masks can also be used in case you wish to isolate a portion of an image from the rest of a photo. This goes especially if the edges are not well defined or are very complicated (as hair on our example). Masked images are delivered as TIF or PSD files, mask in turn stored as a separate alpha channel.

Example of masking:

…and clipped and masked example next to each other:

Mask in Alpha channel

Manual background removal (Easy tier, hand-done via clipping path or masking) starts at EUR 1.40 per image with Normal turnaround, or EUR 2.80 per image with Express turnaround. Medium and Advanced tiers cost more depending on complexity. AI background removal is priced separately per image with volume tiers. See the full price list at /catalog.json. If clipping or masking does not fit the complexity tiers, we charge EUR 17.00 per hour with Normal turnaround or EUR 34.00 per hour with Express turnaround.

500 images at the manual background removal Easy tier with Normal turnaround would cost 500 × EUR 1.40 per image. See /catalog.json for a full worked example, including VAT treatment, and for AI background removal pricing.

Yes — Maskmill offers cumulative account discounts based on your total spend over time, starting at 10% from EUR 600. This is separate from per-order pricing; single orders are priced per image at the published tier rates.

Normal turnaround is max. 24 hours. Express turnaround is max. 4 hours for an additional fee. AI background removal is instant.

You will be informed about your completed orders by e-mail, and you can download the finished files from our server.

We offer two options for downloading: you can download all pictures in a single compressed file, or download all pictures separately. Detailed instructions are available on the download page.

You can access the built clipping paths in Photoshop from Window -> Paths tab.

If the path has been activated as "Clipping Path", the background will be automatically transparent in graphical industry and printing house processing.

If you on the other hand wish to edit or delete the background yourself, you can make a selection out of it. In this example, we have turned the path into selection, then "Inversed" it and simply deleted the background.

If you save or export this image in PNG format, you can place it to web pages or PowerPoint presentations with transparent background.

You may apply for credit on your user account, which means you will be invoiced once or twice a month. The applicable term of payment is 14 days. Invoicing fee for under € 50,- invoices is € 5,- / invoice.

You can pay also with credit card – in this case when the order is confirmed, a respective provision is made on your credit card. The charge will be executed only after successful completion of the work!

No — all published prices exclude VAT. EU businesses outside Estonia with a VAT number validated within the last four months, and customers outside the EU, pay 0% VAT (reverse charge). Estonian customers (and any customer without a valid VAT number on file) are charged 24% VAT.