You need the logo floating, not boxed. The route depends entirely on one question: do you have the vector?

Vector first — always

If the logo exists as SVG, AI, EPS or PDF, stop reading and use that. A vector is already resolution-independent and already transparent — you don’t “remove” anything, you export it. Open it in Illustrator, Inkscape or Figma and export a PNG at whatever size you need. The edge will be mathematically perfect at every pixel, which no bitmap cleanup can match.

Where to look before resorting to removal: the brand’s official press/brand kit (search “company brand assets”), the sender’s original file, or the PDF it came embedded in — open the PDF in Inkscape or Illustrator and the vector artwork often survives intact, or use pdfimages to pull an embedded image out at its full original resolution. Either beats cleaning up a screenshot.

Bitmap removal is the fallback for when the only copy you have is a JPEG someone pasted into a slide deck three jobs ago.

Bitmap route: color mode vs AI mode

The choice is made by the background, not the logo:

• Solid or near-solid background (white box, flat color, slide-deck rectangle) → color mode. The Connected background pass erases the frame automatically; if the logo contains white shapes that touch the border, keep it on Connected so enclosed whites survive. Tune tolerance just high enough to kill JPEG noise — logos saved as JPEG usually need a few extra points to swallow compression artifacts.
• Gradient, photo or textured background (logo screenshotted off a website header, photographed signage) → AI mode. There’s no single “background color” for color mode to find; the model estimates the whole shape instead. Note its limits — it works at 320×320 and upscales, so sharp geometric edges come out slightly softer than a color cut. For a flat-color logo on a gradient, AI usually still wins because the background genuinely isn’t one color.

The halo problem

Run a white-background logo through removal, place it on a dark header, and suddenly it wears a pale fringe. That fringe was always there — anti-aliased edge pixels in the source are blends between logo color and background color. The blend was invisible while both were on white.

Fixes, in order:

1. Lower tolerance a few points — the halo pixels are closer to the old background than the logo, so tightening the cut discards them. Watch for the edge turning jagged.
2. Add 1–2 px of edge feather — softens the transition instead of deleting it; better for rounded marks, worse for razor-sharp type.
3. Test on both fills — composite the result over white and over a dark color in the tool’s New background option before downloading. A halo that survives a dark test is a halo that survives production.

The same applies in reverse for logos lifted off dark backgrounds — the fringe will be dark and show on light surfaces.

One more edge case worth checking before you export: inner counters. The enclosed whites inside an a, e, o or a ring-shaped mark are background too, but they’re not connected to the frame — flood fill can’t reach them. If your logo has counters that should be transparent, run the second pass with Same color everywhere (which removes the color wherever it appears), or accept them as filled. Forgetting this is how logos ship with white polka dots where the letter holes should be.

Sizes that matter

Save the transparent master at the largest size you have, then export per use:

Use	Size you need
Favicon / shortcut icon	32×32 px (also 16×16 historically)
Apple touch icon / PWA	180×180 and 512×512 px
Social avatar, app icon	≥400×400 px, square canvas
Website header / docs	2–3× the displayed size for retina
Print	~300 dpi at placed size (5 cm ≈ 600 px) — vector preferred

Always keep the master as PNG — JPEG export flattens transparency and you’re back to a box. If the destination accepts it, SVG (when you built it from a vector) or WebP (smaller, alpha-safe) are the better formats.

One legal footnote

If it’s someone else’s logo: removing the background changes nothing about ownership. Trademark rules still apply to how and where you use the mark, and most brands publish official asset kits with sanctioned transparent versions — which are also higher quality than anything you’ll clean up yourself. Not legal advice; check the brand’s usage guidelines.

Frequently asked questions

My logo is on a pure white background — one click done?

Almost. A flat white rectangle behind a logo is color mode's home turf: the *Connected background* pass removes it automatically. The part that needs care is the edge — anti-aliased pixels carry a whitish fringe that stays invisible until the logo lands on a dark background. Zoom in and add 1–2 px of feather, or re-check tolerance, before calling it done.

Why does my transparent logo have a white (or black) outline?

That's the anti-aliasing halo: edge pixels in the source were blended against the old background, so a white backdrop leaves semi-white pixels welded to your logo's edge. On white they were invisible; on any other color they glow. Reduce tolerance slightly so the fringe survives as edge, or add a small feather so it blends — and always test the PNG over both a light and a dark fill.

Is a PNG with transparency good enough for print?

Only if it's big enough — print needs about 300 dpi at the final placed size, so a logo printed 5 cm wide wants roughly 600 px of source. But if the job is real print work, send the vector file instead; a PNG is the fallback, not the deliverable printers want.

Can I remove the background from a company logo I don't own?

Technically yes, legally murky — removing a background doesn't remove trademark rights. Using someone's logo on your own materials still needs permission or a licensed brand-asset kit; most companies publish official logo packs with pre-made transparent versions. This is a practical note, not legal advice.