Guide
A white background marketplaces accept
Pure white is a number — 255, 255, 255 — and a photograph almost never contains it. This is what a pure-white check looks for, how the file saved here is measured against it, and which of the usual figures are rules and which are habit.
Nearly white is not white
A product shot on a white sweep comes out of the camera at something like 245 to 252 in each channel, with a slight warm or cool cast and a gradient where the light falls off. To an eye that is white. To an automated check it is a pale grey background, and the image is flagged. Brightening the photo until the background clips to 255 also brightens the product, which is why the reliable fix is to cut the product out and lay it on exact white.
| Check | How it is measured | Warning when |
|---|---|---|
| Background exactly white | the JPEG is decoded and every background pixel compared with 255, 255, 255 | below 99.5% |
| Product fills the frame | the product's box against the frame, on its longer side | below 85% |
| Output size | the decoded file's own width and height | different from the preset |
The figures, and how sure they are
Common practice for marketplace main images: RGB 255,255,255 ground, product about 85% of the frame, at least 1,000 px on the long side so zoom works. Source: LetsEnhance summary of Amazon image guidelines, checked 18 October 2026 — a secondary summary, so confirm on the marketplace’s own seller pages.
- Flipkart and Meesho image rules were not verified for this page. Until they are, the square 2,000 px pure-white preset is offered as common practice, not as their rule.
- White products on white. A white mug on a white sweep has no colour difference along its rim. Lower the edge band and repair the rim with the keep brush, or photograph it on a mid-grey and cut it out from that.
Questions about white backgrounds
Why does my white background get rejected?
Because it is nearly white. A sweep photographed at 250, 250, 248 looks white and is not 255, 255, 255, and a check for pure white counts it as grey. The add-white-background page replaces the background with exact white and then decodes the saved JPEG to count how much of it really is 255, 255, 255.
Does JPEG compression spoil pure white?
A flat area of pure white survives JPEG encoding as pure white; the pixels next to the product's edge are the ones that can shift. The receipt reports the share of background pixels that decoded to exactly white and warns below 99.5%. PNG avoids the question entirely.
How much of the frame should the product fill?
About 85% of the frame is the figure commonly quoted for marketplace main images. The Save panel on the product and white-background pages prints how much of the frame's longer side the product fills, against that 85%.
What size should a marketplace image be?
At least 1,000 pixels on the long side is commonly quoted so zoom works, and the square 2,000 px preset here is common practice. Check the seller documentation of the marketplace you list on; the preset is labelled secondary for that reason.
Can I keep a soft shadow under the product?
Some marketplaces allow a natural shadow on the main image and some do not. The ground shadow on the Finish panel is off by default; turn it on only if your marketplace's rules allow it.
Read next
- Add white background to photoThe cutout laid on pure white, 255, 255, 255, square, as a JPEG — and the saved file checked to prove the white is exact.
- Product photo background removerA narrow detail band for hard manufactured edges, plus keep and take-away brushes for handles and holes.
- Remove background from multiple imagesUp to twenty-five pictures in one queue, each boundary measured, or the studio's own settings applied to all of them.
- Remove white backgroundA colour key on white with exact unmixing, so anti-aliased edges become soft transparency instead of a grey ring.