Man, House Industry fonts are a rip off!

[TyrantDesigner]

I get it. You make a font, you want to get what it's worth ... But the shear liscensing is horrible for those fonts.

This is the 3rd time this year a customer calls me up seeing if I can do work for them ... only their stuff is all most all house industries b.s.

I priced out what it would cost to just make one simple banner for them in their fonts ... $850 ... for 4 fonts at the basic packages. Not only that, but it doesn't matter if I own it, since 1/3 my work is logos ... if I use those fonts to make a logo ... the customer needs to buy a special logo liscense just for that and still have to buy a standard font package from them (which is required regardless, unless the end user never wants to make changes to design work). and lord help you if you are a company that does over $5 mill (on either side of the design process).

Apparently, no one else can do the work either because of that liscensing and them not wanting to pay an additional $850 for fonts on a $150 banner. ...


Wow.

I'm going to sell them on similar but free fonts instead ... but it won't happen with that sort of price structure.

That makes me really sad ... It would be fine if I had an exclusive customer who all I did was branding for them and they never went anywhere else for anything ... but in this day an age, companies shop around.

 

[rjssigns]

I've told clients this in the past: You want specific fonts, you buy. As soon as they see the price it's: Let's see what else ya got.

 

[Gino]

That's just another reason this industry is in the shape its in...... everyone wants to make a killing right off the bat.

The time alone to research non-usable fonts is a waste. Unless someone provides us with vector/outlined art for specialty fonts, we generally won't do it. We're not gonna waste time telling someone what's legal or not, just to have that person go next door where the guy will do it by hacking in somewhere.

Someone earlier was talking about customers not knowing how to provide artwork properly..... here's a good reason why. They don't follow the law at all, and get upset when we say, we can't do this because of whatever laws we'd be breaking..... or their pocketbook.



Unless Mickey Mouse or Harley is in the file, I'll use it if the customer has a ready-to-print or cut file for me.

 

[TyrantDesigner]

That's just another reason this industry is in the shape its in...... everyone wants to make a killing right off the bat.

The time alone to research non-usable fonts is a waste. Unless someone provides us with vector/outlined art for specialty fonts, we generally won't do it. We're not gonna waste time telling someone what's legal or not, just to have that person go next door where the guy will do it by hacking in somewhere.

Someone earlier was talking about customers not knowing how to provide artwork properly..... here's a good reason why. They don't follow the law at all, and get upset when we say, we can't do this because of whatever laws we'd be breaking..... or their pocketbook.



Unless Mickey Mouse or Harley is in the file, I'll use it if the customer has a ready-to-print or cut file for me.

It took me 5 minutes to get that price ... the bad part is they need to have the file designed. If it was print ready it would be different.

But yeah, pretty much agree with that.

 

[Rick]

I'm pretty selective of my font purchases, but I can't complain,
I've made a lot of money off my House Industry fonts. I think
they're cheap IF you are a designer... if I was replicating a design,
then pass the cost to the client, Vector Dr, have them send the right file, or
redesign it.

 

[Jillbeans]

I love their fonts, but have never been able to afford one.
What p!ssed me off one time was I got a realllly fugly logo file from a "designer" who had no idea about converting to curves.
It was like pulling teeth to get her to send me the outlines for a very small sign job.
I was so envious that a stupid twit could afford that cool font.

Love....Jill

 

[Pat Whatley]

I was so envious that a stupid twit could afford that cool font.

She couldn't afford it. She downloaded it off some Russian site along with her copy of Illustrator.

 

[Jillbeans]

:ROFLMAO:

 

[Marlene]

I went and took a look at their fonts as I was curious and have to say I wasn't very impressed. they look mostly like free fonts I've seen. not sure what the value of these are

 

[TyrantDesigner]

Variants Marlene. Neutraface for example has a wide range of variants with full character maps. http://www.houseind.com/fonts/neutraface/viewfonts ... plus it's really clean. There are about 7 that are just like it in the free to really affordable range (myfont.com has 2 that are $80 for 4 font variants without the garbage licensing agreement)

If I ran a design house, I would buy them ... but as a designer in none of the top 5 cities for that (atlanta, nyc, chicago, seatle & san fran) ... I'm not forking out $175 for a font knowing that the liscensing agreement includes this ...

If you are an advertising agency, acting on behalf of an advertising agency or otherwise acting in a similar capacity or for the benefit of a third party, the purchase of a license for your client is required and depending upon the scope of the intended use, a further license upgrade and/or the purchase of a special license may be required.

And this one.

A special license is required to use the House Font Software in logo design, with or in electronic books or games, goods for sale, retail packaging, signage or alphabet products such as scrapbook products or software, adhesive or rub on lettering, game playing or gaming devices irrespective of whether the Font Software itself is embedded into the device or if it is merely the designs of the Fonts embodied in the Font Software that are displayed.

They can eat my butt.