How to Crop & Prepare Product Images

Open your web browser and go to your preferred search engine

Type the name of your product into the search bar (for example, disposable camera) and click on the Images tab to see picture results instead of just text links

Browse through the results and click on the image that best represents your actual product — look for a clear, well-lit photo with no other items in the frame.

Before you download anything, check the image's dimensions in the preview panel. This tells you how large and sharp the picture is. Aim for a resolution of at least 600 × 600 pixels — anything smaller may look blurry or pixelated once uploaded

Yellow arrow — points to the image dimensions (1000 × 1000) displayed in the bottom-right corner of the preview panel. This confirms the image resolution is high enough to use

Once you've confirmed the image dimensions are large enough, right-click directly on the image preview to open a menu of options

From that menu, select Open image in new tab. This opens the full-size version of the image on its own, separate from the search results page

🔵 Blue arrow — points to the Open image in new tab option in the menu

Once the image opens in its own browser tab, take a moment to check that it looks clear and sharp — not blurry, cropped oddly, or covered in text or watermarks

Right-click on the full-size image again and select Save image as... This lets you choose where the file will be saved on your computer

⚫ Light gray arrow — points to the Save image as... option in the menu

Choose a folder you'll be able to find easily later, such as your Desktop or Downloads folder, and save the file

Find the image file you just saved on your computer

Right-click on the file, hover over Open with, and select Photos to open it in the Windows Photos app

🟢 Green arrow — points to the Edit with Photos option in the menu that appears

Once the image opens, click the Edit button in the top-left corner of the window. This switches the app into editing mode, where you can crop the image and remove its background.

At this stage, you'll likely notice extra white space surrounding your product. This empty space needs to be trimmed away so the final image fits neatly on your machine's display

Blue arrows — point to unwanted white space on the right-hand side of the image, next to the product

Orange arrows — point to unwanted white space below the product

Use the crop tool to trim the image as close to the edges of the product as possible, removing as much of the surrounding white space as you can without cutting off any part of the product itself

This image shows the photo cropped down to 710 × 580 pixels, with the extra white space trimmed away from all sides

Next, click the background removal icon in the toolbar at the top of the editing window

A panel will open on the right-hand side with three options. Select Remove — this option deletes the background completely, leaving only the product visible

🟠 Orange arrow — points to the panel on the right side of the screen, where the Remove option has been selected

Once you're happy with how the image looks, click Save options in the top-right corner of the window

Choose Save as copy, and make sure the file format is set to .png. This step is important — .png is the only format that keeps the transparent (see-through) background you just created. Saving in another format, like .jpg, will add a solid white background back in

This view shows a reminder tooltip explaining that .png format must be used to preserve the background removal, with the Save as copy option highlighted

In the window that opens, confirm the file name you'd like to use, and make sure Save as type is set to .png, then click Save

This view shows the file being saved as camera.png inside a Product Images folder

Once saved, open the file one more time to confirm everything looks correct

This view shows the completed image, with its dimensions and file size displayed at the bottom of the window, confirming the file saved successfully with the background removed

Log in to your VTM Vending Portal

Navigate to Products → Product List

Upload your finished image to the correct product listing so it's ready to display on the machine