A what would you do scenario for you guys...

I would ask what YOU would want another sign company to do if a customer walked in with YOUR artwork and asked them to use it...?

 

in my opinion you could get in trouble if the other company finds out that you used their art work with out their permission, i would tell the customer ''sr. do you know how to read?'' or ask them to show you a paper where the other sign company gives the client the rights to the artwork (unlikely) if not i would just turn it down, to small of a job to get in trouble imo. good luck

 

What are we talking here ?? A little decal for $45 or so ?? How intricate can it be ?? How much time did the other shop put into it ??


Do it and get an extra $10 and send it to the other shop for the referral. They'll love ya for being honest with them. Seriously, they already lost the job or the guy would've stayed where someone put something down on file and forgot to collect a deposit. Besides, who designs for free...... ?? Only an idiot, so do they really deserve the consideration you're offering up or losing sleep over ??


Personally, I wouldn't do it, but that's not to say you can't. It's your reputation and your sleepless nights you've got to deal with on this one.

 

I never give out computer files until I get paid period

 

Ask for a copy of the release.

 

+1 to that!

Dan

 

Not give it a minute's thought.
If they have the art I assume they must have paid for it, or somebody gave it to them for free.
It's really none of my business.

 

A simple "no brainer": No Thank You!


JB

 

How can the other shop own the artwork if the customer has it on him?
One they give it to the customer it is his I would think.

 

Not really Edna dear. If I design a logo for a company, and don't give then the rights to reproduce it, it's all mine!!!!

 

I'd tell them I could do it after I got approval from the other sign company.
I'm thinking the other sign company is probably stoopid and just blithely handed it out, might be a good heads-up for them.
If the other company did not sell the artwork to the guy, I'd be leery of dealing with him.
Love....Jill

 

the "art" with the other shops name on it is just that, their design. if it has a shop name on it in anyway, it isn't yours or the customers to to use anyway you want to. if a customer purchased a design, they would come in with ready for production files, not a PDF with a shop drawing.

 

That's what I would do.

Gino, you seem to be giving out two very different pieces of advice. Telling him to "do it" and then saying "personally you wouldn't do it".

Don't get that at all.

 

Sign Up Graphics

Asked the customer to see if they purchased the artwork and can use it

 

Not really two sets of advice, but for what it is..... I think he could easily just do it, get an extra $10 bucks or so, give it to the other shop and be done with it. If he's too high, the customer will go back to them or keep shopping around. If the OP here gets the job, just give them a courtesy finders fee and then tell them to be more careful with giving out free artwork and files. It would be a cheap lesson for them. The other sign shop would be lucky in my eyes to have someone do this and give them a token piece of advice to not do this anymore. They'd probably become friends and good things would pass between them from there-on-in.

For me, I wouldn't be bothered with this kind of nonsense to begin with. Someone show me that, I wouldn't heat my printer up for that job. We have a shop minimum and I'm sure this ain't gonna reach that.

The reputation part could go either way. To most, it means nothing.... only the almighty buck.


The real problem with a forum like this is that there isn't any 100% way of handling any of these predicaments all these people come up with. When it comes to guessing the difficulty to the number of colors to the quality of a file to any number of things..... are the printers busy, can I fit it in in the next 2 days, am I running something like this this afternoon, is this worth d!cking around with for $50, is this gonna come back and bite me in the rump, why didn't the other people do this if they created it, why is this guy shopping around a little decal.... even if it's a $300 job, why, why, why, why why........... ??

This kind of questioning is worthless. You and I both know 99.9% of these people are gonna do what they want and take the money by lowballing. Is that what our industry is based upon ?? Lowballing and stealing others artwork or files ?? Has this trade turned into fast food business for lettering ??

Sure, as we all hear.... ya gotta start somewhere, but no one starts by learning and asking questions, they all just want to buy cheap equipment, run it as cheaply as possible and then compare how low or how high they can go by asking others and when they don't get the right answers, they just blow it and lowball to make something.

How many questions can you answer about stealing other people's files, regardless of how you receive it ?? How many times can someone answer what is the cheapest ink to use, but they still wanna get dollar-wise, what you or I get using high end supplies with plenty of overhead. No one wants to compare apples to apples.... just buck to buck and the H*ll with what's in between the order and the paid invoice. What's the cheapest lam I can use ?? What can you do if someone brings you a copyrighted logo ?? Can I sell anything I want ?? Can I letter this truck in the snow ?? Can I weld this together with chewing gum.... it's only a temporary sign ?? Can I use any kinda wire, since it says to use 12 or 14...... I have an old extension cord I can cut apart. What does U/L mean.... do I really need to use it in the mall ?? I never heard of it and never used it, although the city codes calls for it. I made two boxes in my life and they're still up. They don't work, but they didn't fall on anybody.

Do you realize how bad the industry looks by the questions in this forum alone ?? AND this represents a miniscule cross-section of the whole industry. Take what you read here and multiply if by 99%.

That's why it has a second opinion in there.

We 're gonna start to need a serious column and a stoopid column, as this stuff is getting quite ridiculous.

:Oops: done.......... :Sleeping:
​

 

Wow, that was quite the response.

I don't know the original poster but I sense that he/she is like many. Seeking an answer for (what is basically) an ethics question.

I've seen this many times on this board. Some are looking for an "out". Some want to find that one person who may give them the "green light" they were looking for, before embarking upon some course of action that is in a "grey area", etc.

Some generally don't know, but aren't willing to invest the time and effort into simply thinking it through and making up their own mind. (and in the process, developing shop policy).

Since I'm old...er, older, I reflect more on where my start came from and the thoughts I had as a newbie. Things like this forum just didn't exist.

But I learned to work every problem (common to sign shops) out pretty much on my own, and by trial and error. Did I have some mis-steps? Oh boy, let me tell you.

I sincerely hope that readers of this forum (especially un-seasoned or newer signmakers) take advantage of the wealth of information provided here. We forum members don't always line up with each other on each "issue" discussed, but I believe there's a general feeling from each of us to try and help the trade.

So look who's getting long-winded now. Apologies.