Problem with importing PNG with transparent background

[Lonewaffle]

I'm really hoping someone can help me with a frustrating issue. I'm creating simple text t-shirt designs that end up as PNG files with transparent backgrounds. There is white (clear?) space around the text that's need to ensure proper spacing when placed on the shirt and that works great. The issue is that I'm trying to then use these generated designs to create product mockups within Pixelmator and every time I bring in a design PNG, it strips off the transparent whitespace, which is causing the design to not end up the same size and location as the placeholder that I'm replacing. It keeps shrinking the design and moving it up. Is there a way to make Pixelmator import the PNG as the entire size, including the surrounding transparent space?

This is the template with a placeholder layer:


This is the resulting image after replacing the placeholder:


This is how the PNG design file looks when opened in Pixelmator. It still has the desired spacing.


After the import, you can see from the handles that there is no longer any whitespace around the text:


Any thoughts on to fix this so I don't have to manually correct the size and placement on each mockup would be really appreciated!

-Josh

[EllenM]

Right now I don´t understand the workaround with a PNG. Why not placing Text object/s directly instead?

[Lonewaffle]

I'm automating this process using macOS Shortcuts to take my design PNGs that I'm uploading to my print on demand provider and automatically create corresponding mockups. I just ended up placing the placeholder lower and larger than it's supposed to be so that the final result ends up in the right place.

Just kind of defeats the point of placeholders if it's going to change the placement or size after being replaced, but oh well.

[Aurelija]

This behavior is expected in Pixelmator Pro at the moment but as a workaround, you can export your text with a faint (let's say 1% opacity) background or draw some transparent pixels in the corners so that the empty space doesn't get cropped. You can then use the Repair tool to remove those pixels in the final design. It's a bit of a clunky way to do it but should work for what you're going for.

[Lonewaffle]

Thanks, it's not a bad idea, though it's tricky to automate. I'll still keep that in mind for future projects. Overall, I agree with the decision to automatically crop white space like this in most situations. I was just hoping it was something I could toggle off for this project.

Thanks again!

[JordanSjodin]

Wow, I just stumbled upon this same issue. This is so frustrating! I have a png for an app icon that has the correct sizing with the logo placed in the middle as the designer wanted. I'm trying to scale and crop the image, but keep the relative whitespace the designer intended, but every time I bring it into Pixelmator it removes the whitespace.

This is very frustrating and not at all expected from a graphic design app... I understand it as a nice feature but it must be optional. Is there a workaround?

Normally I'd adjust the canvas to my new size, and then drag and scale the image down... until the widths are the same and then center it vertically. I feel like this worked in the old Pixelmator, but in Pro I can't do this.