5 Tips for Selling Your Designs or Photographs Online

Advertise here with BSA

The internet offers designers and photographers of all types more and more ways to sell their works online. The web also puts designers in front of customers who might not otherwise have ever seen their artwork. Overall, it’s a win-win situation for both buyers and sellers.

If you’re trying to sell your works online, there’s more than one way to approach the process. Some photographers and designers sell the finished piece, which must then be shipped through the mail or parcel delivery service after purchase. Others sell a digital file, like a JPEG or PDF, in which case the buyer can receive the artwork or design via internet download and must pursue the means to print it themselves. Some designers sell artworks they create from their own ideas, while others offer to design custom works for paying customers.

Selling design files online is incredibly easy and cost effective. Whether you’re selling your works on a digital marketplace like Etsy or you have your own website where people buy your wares, much of the process can be automated. If you’re selling a pre-made design, you can set your sites up so that the buyer can download the file immediately after they have paid. If you’re selling custom designs, you can create questionnaire forms to gather information that helps to streamline the design process. It’s a great way for designers to make extra money and for customers to easily get artworks and custom print pieces to suit their needs.

Once the file has been sent, the transaction is basically over, but the buyer will probably still have to find a way to print it. That can be a problem if the digital file isn’t created with the proper settings. If the customer can’t use the file, they may end up having to reach out to the designer again to get the file fixed. This means extra time devoted to a project that should be finished, and valuable time pulled away from other projects.

For short transactions and satisfied customers, there are a few steps you can take to create digital files that are ready to be used immediately after delivery:

File Formats. PDFs and high-resolution JPEG files work the best. Though there are other image formats like PNGs and TIFFs, they often don’t print correctly or can be hard to convert for multiple uses. PDFs are preferred for printing most design projects, but JPEGs can work well for images that are photographs, as long as they are large in size and have a high resolution.

Image Resolution. When creating and saving JPEGs or PDF files with images, the higher the resolution the better. At the very least, the images should be at a 300 DPI when the image is scaled to 100%. If the resolution is low, the details will not be as evident, the design will be blurry and the printing will likely look pixelated. The exception to this rule is if the file will be used for large format printing like a canvas, a window cling or a hanging banner. If the design or photo is meant for large format use, resolution can be as low as 150 DPI.

Font. As mentioned earlier, JPEGs are okay if the file is just a photo, but if it’s a digital design or includes text, PDFs are best. With PDFs, fonts should be embedded so that the selected font is the one that is printed. Otherwise, there is the risk the buyer or the printer won’t have access to the font, which means a different one might be used that doesn’t match the design as well. If the font is not embedded, all of the text should be converted to curves (paths), which may reduce printing problems.

Bleed & Crop Marks. Bleeds and crop marks aren’t needed for all pieces, but are often helpful. The bleed is part of the design that extends off the page and is cut off during the trimming process. The crop marks tell the printer where the piece should be cut, to remove the bleed and reveal the final design. The combination of the bleed and crop marks ensures that there will be no negative or “white space” at the edge of the finished cut piece. Bleeds of 1/8″ around the edge of the design are sufficient for business cards, wedding invitations, and other small format projects. Larger items such as canvas prints and posters need a 1/4″ bleed.

Locked Files. Whether or not to lock the files depends on the designer and sometimes depends on the project. Most designers will lock artworks to protect creative integrity and to prevent the design from being manipulated for other purposes. Some designers will leave the files for things like invitations and announcements unlocked so that the buyer can make text additions to the designs. If the file is locked, the customer may contact the designer and request him or her to make changes. If the file is unlocked, the customer can pretty much do whatever they want with it. The choice to lock or unlock may be something worth deciding on a case-by-case, file-by-file basis.

Selling digital designs online can be a great moneymaker for designers. It’s a great way to sell unused designs or to drum up new customers for personalized projects. Of course, each designer is different, and customers are varied as well. Even so, the advice here can help with the creation of digital files that can be easily bought and sold online, and which can be accepted and useable by most printers. Use these tips to help you get started with selling designs online.

Advertise here with BSA

The post 5 Tips for Selling Your Designs or Photographs Online appeared first on DICKLEUNG DESIGN 2014.