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06/15/2006 01:35:42 PM · #1 |
Doing photo shoots for people and relying on the purchase of prints for the majority of payment requires that you are able to show people the proofs without them being able to download the images or print them themselves illegally. most people are honest... but not all :(
I often give proofs via the internet on a web page which is flash enabled, so they can't download their images from there, unless they do a print sreen. I willing to take that risk as it makes for very crappy pictures, and only the computer savy will know how to do it.
However what if the customer doesn't have internet, or wants to look at them offline...
I realized today that you could make a contact sheet in photoshop, and save it as a pdf. You can make the pdf as a file which cannot be copied from, or printed. Great for protecting the images. Again the print screen is available, but I guess I will have to live with it. The pdf is much better than sending them files to send and copy around.
any other solutions?
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06/15/2006 01:55:50 PM · #2 |
Originally posted by leaf:
I realized today that you could make a contact sheet in photoshop, and save it as a pdf. You can make the pdf as a file which cannot be copied from, or printed. Great for protecting the images. Again the print screen is available, but I guess I will have to live with it. The pdf is much better than sending them files to send and copy around.
any other solutions? |
You can also save any single image from Photoshop in PDF format as well as contact sheets, but I think you have to open and re-save with Acrobat (full version, not Reader) in order to save with selecting and printing disabled (password-protected). Overall, I think it (Acrobat) is an excellent solution for this dilemma, as the PDF format can be read almost anywhere on any platform, and is easy to view online, download, or copy to disks to distribute to clients. I don't worry much about PrintScreen, as the resolution is always really low. |
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06/15/2006 02:44:03 PM · #3 |
There are guys out there selling Acrobat "password recovery" programs for $29.95 Using Acrobat just makes it harder to steal images, although it may eliminate the other person being able to say "I didn't know it was wrong".
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06/15/2006 02:50:33 PM · #4 |
Originally posted by hankk:
There are guys out there selling Acrobat "password recovery" programs for $29.95 Using Acrobat just makes it harder to steal images, although it may eliminate the other person being able to say "I didn't know it was wrong". |
Yes it will, and the average customer isn't the one buying such a program, either.
While saving in Acrobat, I'd also resample down to screen resolution (72 dpi). If they can make a decent print from a 72 dpi contact sheet then maybe they deserve it.
When I make my own proof sheets in Acrobat, I save at either 300 or 600 dpi, with 12 images/letter-sized page; if I print them, I usually do it on a color laser at work. |
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06/15/2006 02:56:06 PM · #5 |
not sure on this so forgive me if it is a stupid question as an answer to your very good question...
Since you normally do them as flash for security reasons, couldn't you just "publish" that flash document to the CD and they can view it in their own computer even without internet access?
I seem to remember someone showing me a digital business card/resume they had where it had this cool show displaying his different talents. It was done on those small business card sized CDs for portability and cost effectiveness.
Just a thought
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06/15/2006 04:11:28 PM · #6 |
Originally posted by GeneralE:
Originally posted by hankk:
There are guys out there selling Acrobat "password recovery" programs for $29.95 Using Acrobat just makes it harder to steal images, although it may eliminate the other person being able to say "I didn't know it was wrong". |
Yes it will, and the average customer isn't the one buying such a program, either.
While saving in Acrobat, I'd also resample down to screen resolution (72 dpi). If they can make a decent print from a 72 dpi contact sheet then maybe they deserve it.
When I make my own proof sheets in Acrobat, I save at either 300 or 600 dpi, with 12 images/letter-sized page; if I print them, I usually do it on a color laser at work. |
Locks (and passwords) only keep the honest people honest.
Acrobat also has a feature where you can add a watermark to either the on-screen version or the printed version or both. So you can display the photos on screen without a watermark, but have a watermark on them when they're printed.
What sort of laser printer are you using? Mine doesn't seem to be as good as an inkjet--when I look closely, I can see dots and what looks like some sort of "halftoning".
Message edited by author 2006-06-15 16:12:00. |
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06/15/2006 04:20:42 PM · #7 |
The only way to stop people from making prints is to watermark the proofs, or make them very low resolution, so that good prints are impossible to make.
A flash or PDF-based approach will not stop someone who is determined. |
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06/15/2006 04:28:14 PM · #8 |
Originally posted by Raziel:
The only way to stop people from making prints is to watermark the proofs, or make them very low resolution, so that good prints are impossible to make.
A flash or PDF-based approach will not stop someone who is determined. |
I do both -- PDF and lo-res.
At work we have an HP ColorJet 5500 (CMYK, up to a 12x18 sheet, 1200dpi). Especially if printed to glossy paper, they are quite acceptable for proof sheets, and would probably work well for invites, newsletters, flyers, etc. We use it for proofs and as a very short-run "digital press" for the occasional small job (I work at an offset print shop).
But it's a pretty expensive, business-oriented printer.
I just realized I have some laser transparency material -- I'm going to try making my own "slides" with this thing ... |
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