Inpainting changes products outside the mask: how do you inspect masks and output differences?

Save original, mask and output at matching dimensions

This applies when background editing changes product lettering or a corner repair shifts subject colors. Preserve the original, submitted mask and output and record dimensions and cropping. A mask correctly positioned in the editor may shift after submission-time scaling or rotation. Inspect the actual processed files rather than only the preview.

Check mask meaning, coordinates and preprocessing

Confirm the tool’s black-and-white mask convention instead of transferring conventions between APIs. Inspect feathering, expansion and scaling and separate coordinate errors from reconstruction of unmasked regions. Difference images locate changes, but lossy encoding and color conversions also produce differences. Match dimensions and comparison conditions before interpreting them.

Composite preserved regions where needed and inspect seams

Correct masks and preprocessing, then retry a small sample with explicit allowed changes. Restore protected product areas by compositing the original with the mask where needed, inspecting transitions. Preserve recoverable originals instead of overwriting the only copy. Forced outside-pixel preservation can create unnatural seams and requires application-specific judgment.

Compare both inside and outside the masked area

Check that the intended repair succeeded inside the mask and that protected labels, colors and geometry remain acceptable outside it. Use pixel comparisons or difference statistics for strictly preserved regions and magnified visual review elsewhere. Report remaining changes explicitly. Unchanged dimensions and a successful local-edit indicator do not prove unchanged outside content.

This article edited no image or executed any model and provides no universal mask-color rule. Official Diffusers examples describe compositing preserved regions; other services may lack the same feature. Lossy outputs need not be byte-identical. Record pixel equality, visual similarity and business acceptability as separate judgments.