Fringe pixels around a selection

What are fringe pixels?

When you move or paste an anti-aliased selection, some of the pixels surrounding the selection border are included with the selection. These additional pixels create what's known as a fringe or halo around the edges of the pasted selection. This fringe effect becomes particularly noticeable when you select against a background that differs significantly from the original.

Fringe pixels are a natural byproduct of anti-aliasing, which creates smooth edges by partially filling pixels along the selection border. While anti-aliasing improves the appearance of edges, these partially transparent pixels can retain colors from the original background, creating visible artifacts when moved to a new context.

Why fringe pixels occur

Fringe pixels typically appear for several reasons:

• Anti-aliased selections: Create smooth edges by partially filling edge pixels, while retaining some color from the original background.
• Contrast changes: Make fringe pixels more visible when moving a selection to a background with a different color.
• Transparency blending: Allow semi-transparent edge pixels to retain traces of the original background when blended with a new one.

Matting commands for removing fringe pixels

• Color Decontaminate: Replace background colors in fringe pixels with nearby thoroughly selected pixel colors to preserve natural edges while eliminating contamination.
• Defringe: Replace fringe pixel colors with pixels farther inside the selection to create cleaner edges and smooth transitions.
• Remove Black Matte and Remove White Matte: Remove black or white matte edges from anti-aliased selections, ensuring clean placement on different backgrounds.