Collage sheets were a part of the original concept for the Art Safe. We were going to offer choices of Sheer Heaven, Cre8it Water Resistant Matte, or Cre8it Waterproof Inkjet Canvas. Then, we planned to offer a choice of sizes - trying to guess which sizes people might want and need. And we were thinking about custom orders too! Pretty soon, it became apparent that the smart way to please all of the people all of the time (or most of the time anyway) was to give them the images and let them print them out as needed.
Do I need to know much computer-eze to use these images?
You need to know how to tell your computer to print a file after you open it. The images are all TIFF format files - one of the oldest and widely accepted formats for graphic images. They are fine on both Macinotsh and PC platforms and work with almost all software programs. You can import them into word processing and page layout programs and resize them there, or, for best results, open them in any image editing program and change them to your heart's content. And, the more you learn about your computer, the more possibilities for using these images. They will grow with you.
What does “Royalty Free” mean if the images are still copyrighted?
The copyright that a creator owns after creating an original image is made up of a bundle of usage rights. Some of those can be licensed to other people without damaging or diminishing the ownership of the copyright. Over the years, in the publishing and advertising world, “Rights Managed” contracts were used to grant one time use rights for a specific project. That use might be compensated in a single fee, or stretched out by a series of royalty payments each time the image was used. In more recent times, in an attempt to cut down on tracking and bookkeeping, some agencies have offered CDs of “Royalty Free” images - which means that once the image is purchased, it may be used more than once without additional payment. Quality CDs of this type run $499 and up, and the type of usage granted is usually limited. Our CD images are Royalty Free, but with very liberal usage granted, and with what some have called “insane” pricing.
Are these “junk” photos that you can’t use for anything else?
Art Safe images are the cream of our crop. Many have previously been used for calendars, cards, advertisements, etc. And, to make that even better, we are carefully selecting the images to suit what we know are the needs and interest of paper, mixed media, and digital artists. Some photos are already art - that is, you could print them and frame them and hang them on your wall. But others have been selected because they have elements which will work well in collage - like a blank area into which words or another image could be inserted - or because they make wonderful backgrounds, or because they will work well in PhotoShop “Compositing”, which is the digital cousin of collage.
These images are large! Many of them are 5"x7". What should I do if my computer is old and doesn't have much memory or hard drive space to open and store large images?
Using PhotoShop Elements or most other image editing programs, you can open the image file and resample/resize it to reduce the size and/or the resolution, and then “Save As” that copy to your computer, where you can use it. Because the CDs are not rewritable, you will not be able to accidently destroy the original.
The License Agreement says I can’t share these images. If I am a teacher, can I print copies of an image and use the copies in my class?
To grant any kind of resdistribution rights is very dangerous water for us. However, we will be happy to talk to you about specifics and we will grant the permission if we feel that it works for everyone involved.
Do you have a question that is not answered here?
Please contact us by email and ask about it. Most times, we will grant permission for your project.
