Not a "what would you do?" But a "should I do..."

[Conor Knoxx]

perhaps I'm getting off-topic here....
but for the sake of argument - if we are talking about 100 or 150 pixel wide thumbnails here, of stock photography (watermarks or not ) - and you expand them to a 24 x 36 inch print, are they not going to look insanely, terribly, horribly bad? !

why not blow them up to "full print size" and don't try to improve them, then print a full size section on a letter size piece of paper to show him as a "proof"... so he can see up close how terrible, fuzzy and grainy it is...

then explain that you can't print such low-res files for him, at that size, you need the (purchased) high-resolution ones ... (just ignore the "my camera did it" line, since you only back him into a corner by getting into that lie again) - so you'd like to do it.. but you don't want him to waste his money on such bad looking signs?

 

[hydo1]

Scramble an image with some photoshop filters, print one, call him and tell him there is a huge problem. Then explain that when you try to print an image from istock, dreamstime, etc and they haven't been paid for the images print scrambled.

If he wants to play games, play them back. Sounds like fun to me, wish I had customers like that.

 

[Zambookajoe]

I seen an ad here in the newspaper had a shuttestock n crosshair right throught the darn thing mad me laugh like crazy.!

Just print and and tell him is camera is fucqed
LOL

 

[royster13]

Report the newspaper to Shutterstock and they will give you a reward....

 

[Mosh]

Just tell him the truth. Best policy!

 

[onesource]

True.. but it's not money and the feds won't be knocking at his door, besides the guy is selling food at his establishment and may look better than what he serves.
I say it's up to Pat and he wont be see any trouble out of it.

If someone brings me in a picture of a $100 bill wanting them reproduced in the same exact size and cloth/paper... I won't get off the hook just because my work order says customer supplied artwork.

As much as I'd love to print this job, I wouldn't do it... Not for the money, but because of the shear stupidity of the whole thing. But then again, I still wouldn't do it.



I like this the most... It is an insult for him to say his camera does that... wow.

 

[Zambookajoe]

what kind of reward are we talking about, LOL maybe my time to cash in on something

 

[JR's]

Wow wow, Rick holy cow man. LOL(glue the right button down his mouse, shave his cat and I would trip his mother with a stick if a clown tried that on me. ) Trip his mother with a stick, too funny.
And mosh has a good point,(just tell him the truth, best policy!)

JR

 

[Checkers]

"he told me he would have his web designer take the pictures and send them to me."

Hey Pat,
I would call the client and let him know that the web designer is trying to steal from your client. Then offer to either buy the stock photos for him or offer to take your own.

Checkers

 

[Deaton Design]

I would be worried Pat, that when he puts up the pics you printed, that he would lay blame on you if anyone said anything. You know people will notice the watermarks, and know they are being used illegally, and if they question him, he will probably say, the sign guy did them that way, thats what he sold me.
Id tell him to get the real images or move on.

 

[Wes Phifer]

Tell him to get you new art but don't give him his money back. You will do the job like you promised with his art not istocks.

 

[pointjockey]

Man I love accents! I guess lots of people don't like dealing with them. I have tons of Hispanic and Indian customers. Almost all of them pay in cash upfront(no cc fees), and are very loyal. It's rare that they question a quote. When they do I'll play along if needed.

FYI. I speak Spanish very well. But only a few of my Hispanic customers know it. It's like being a fly on the wall when they are talking about the "project" in front of me.

 

[Mainframe]

Print a decal for the back advertising where the pics came from & web site where the can purchase if they desire

 

[Farmboy]

Easy way to catch him in his lie. Ask him for the memory stick or card from the camera so you can pull the pics off it because what you have isn't good enough. True he could just load these up on a memory card and bring them, but it'll make him sweat some. While your at it you may as well print your logo on the signs and tell him thats how they come out of your printer. Worth a shot. lol

 

[Pat Whatley]

I just called him and told him I wasn't going to use the pictures because of the copyright problems and told him to get better pictures. He said he'd "take some more" I think by "take" he means stole...not photographed.

He brought in another order today. He's going to start selling some pumpkin spice muffins he's making using muffin mix he's buying through a food distributor. What's he bring me? A pumpkin spice muffin mix bag from Williams Sonoma. He wants me to photoshop out the Williams Sonoma name and put his restaurant name in there. Again I told him no but this time convinced him to let me do something similar, but different.

 

[iSign]

buy half the pics for him, save the receipt, print them... and print an invoice for half the order, half the photo purchases & an hour of locating the images... call him to pick up the order & when he gets there and asks about the additional charges, tell him your "digital processor" put them there... it's all wired into the place he must have got his camera... because it made me pay your bill up front... so i stopped half way in case you didn't want to spend any more"

"Always watching out for my customers ya know... damn digital processors!"

 

[GypsyGraphics]

Tell him you'll have to edit out the watermark and charge him the cost to purchase the images, plus your time.

 

[GypsyGraphics]

I just called him and told him I wasn't going to use the pictures because of the copyright problems and told him to get better pictures. He said he'd "take some more" I think by "take" he means stole...not photographed.

He brought in another order today. He's going to start selling some pumpkin spice muffins he's making using muffin mix he's buying through a food distributor. What's he bring me? A pumpkin spice muffin mix bag from Williams Sonoma. He wants me to photoshop out the Williams Sonoma name and put his restaurant name in there. Again I told him no but this time convinced him to let me do something similar, but different.

Hadn't gotten this far in the thread before posting. My suggestion at lest made him happy, kept the job for you and legal. There's now way to make his latest request ligate.... he's got to go!

 

[Ken]

I'll go with Rooster on this one..you've got the cash..He's given you watermarked images....so, no copyright theft..the copyright is on the images..."that's just how it comes out of the printer"...lol
Cheers!
Ken

 

[bob]

I'll go with Rooster on this one..you've got the cash..He's given you watermarked images....so, no copyright theft..the copyright is on the images...

Exactly so.

The question would seem to be one of producing shoddy work rather than one of copyright infringement.

A watermark is only an identification stamp not a theft prevention mechanism. Even more so since the purveyors of stock images freely give out watermarked images with no apparent restrictions as to use.

Play a rousing rubber of 'What if...?':

What if a patron wanted some stock image or another specifically with the watermark? They absolutely did not want the image without the watermark? Perhaps for some deviant aesthetic reasons, it really doesn't matter why.

The question is just how would you come up with this image? Would you buy the unmarked image and then somehow add in the original watermark or would you just use the watermarked comp image that was freely provided you?

Just print the damned things and collect your money.