What is a transparent background?

A transparent background is invisible to the human eye.  If you drag an image with a transparent background onto your desktop, you will be able to see your wallpaper behind the image instead of a background.  Transparent backgrounds are helpful during the design process, but printers often have trouble converting them into viable print files.  Images with transparent backgrounds will print distorted or entire jobs will error and not print at all.  Flattening a document removes the transparent layers and eliminates transparency related print problems.  If you suspect that your document contains a transparent image but you are unsure of how to flatten it in Photoshop or the graphic design program you are using, you can send the document to [email protected] for assistance.