First, about Royalty-free and Traditional Licensing

ROYALTY-FREE IMAGERY
Royalty-free does not mean FREE. It means paying once and never worrying about negotiating re-use rights later. The image may be used over and over again and in different mediums without incurring additional fees or costs. It’s not for sharing though, it’s for a single owner only.


RIGHTS-PROTECTED IMAGERY

Rights-protected products are high-quality products with a license and fee based on your specific use. The fee is calculated from several factors including size, placement, duration of use and geographic distribution. At the time you order a rights-protected product, you will be asked to submit information that will will specify the rights to be granted and determine your licensing fee.

Can I use the images from the comping CDs and the internet?

Images from comping CDs and the internet may be used only for layout and customer presentation. Comping images are NOT licensed for use in final projects

How large can I print your digital images?

As a general rule of thumb, we say that the images can safely be enlarged to 125% of their original image size without affecting the quality. Since it's critical that you know what resolution you need for the output device, we recommend that you consult directly with your printer or service bureau to find out the specific capabilities of the device that will be used.

Why do some images come in RGB instead of CMYK?

Our Images are meant to be as versatile as possible for the end user. When an RGB image is converted to CMYK, several parameters must be taken into consideration, including paper stock, four-color film output device, layout software programs used, types of inks used, and special effects intended by you, the designer. We don't want to make these decisions for you since we'd rather you have the control in deciding exactly how your images are converted to CMYK.

Tips for enlarging images

The high-res images have been optimized for a final print size of 8.5"x11", using a screen frequency of 150lpi. You can, however, print the images at a larger size. For the best quality, remember the general guideline of keeping the image resolution (ppi) equal to twice the screen frequency (lpi).

Here are some of the possible ways to use images at sizes larger than 8.5"x11":

• Use a lower screen frequency.
  If you only require a 130lpi screen frequency, you can enlarge the image to 9.8"x12.7" at 260ppi and still maintain the 2-to-1 ratio of ppi to lpi. Lower screen frequencies will allow you to enlarge the images even further.
   
• Re-sample the image to a higher resolution.
  Many image-editing programs will allow you to re-sample an image to a higher resolution. Re-sampling will enable you to maintain the 2-to-1 ratio of ppi to lpi. Software programs are able to add data to your image by interpolating the colors of adjacent pixels in the image. This can cause the image to appear somewhat out of focus or blurry. To compensate for this, you may want to apply a sharpening filter to the image to eliminate some of the blurring. We recommend that you experiment with this technique to determine if the results will be satisfactory for your needs.
   
• Use a lower ppi-to-lpi ratio, such as 1.5 to 1.
  The recommendation of the image resolution (ppi) equaling twice the screen frequency (lpi) is to ensure the highest quality. You can go below this ratio with relatively little noticeable difference in quality. By using the ratio of 1.5 to 1, you can enlarge the images to 11.4"x17.2". You should never go below a 1-to-1 ratio of ppi to lpi

What are your image size specifications

Low Res

72 dpi

600 K - 2 Mb

Mid Res

300 dpi

10 Mb - 18 Mb

High Res

300 dpi

28 Mb - 32 Mb

If I want to charge my client for the image, does it then belong to him?

No. You or your client must either purchase another copy of the image or another CD-ROM volume containing the image. If the image is used as part of a product or job this does not apply. Using an image in a product or job for a client does not give the client the right to use the image themselves for other work.

Can I get research assistance if I can’t find an image I’m looking for?

We’d love to help! Contact us and we’ll see what we can do for you.