Background contamination
Background contamination is a failure where an e-commerce background that should be clean white or a set grey shows shadows, gradients, stray objects or a colour cast, measured against the target colour with Delta E.
Background contamination is a production failure rather than a garment failure, but it shows immediately on a category page, where one slightly grey or gradient tile breaks a grid of clean white ones.
What it looks like
- A white background that is off-white, grey or tinted.
- Gradients or vignetting toward the edges.
- Shadows the style guide does not allow, or a visible floor line.
- Stray objects, reflections or edges of equipment.
How to catch it in review
Measure it. Sample the corners and edges of the image and compare with the target colour using Delta E: pure white #FFFFFF for most packshots, or the set colour a channel asks for, such as the #F1F1F1 Zalando recommends for model images in its image guidelines. This check is easy to automate, so it should never depend on a reviewer's screen.
How to prevent it
Write the background as a value and a tolerance in the photography style guide, check it automatically on every image, and correct or re-make the images that fail before anyone reviews the garment.
Related: acceptance rate.