We're frequently asked questions about our Photo Library, and, as many of them are more or less the same, here's your chance to cut out the middleman (us) and go straight to the answer!
So - here are our top FAQs:
What
is a photo library?
What
type of photo do I need for printing?
What
type of photo do I need for CD-ROM, DVD, web site or computer work?
What
does "dpi" mean?
What
are JPEG and TIF images?
What
size will my photo be when it's printed?
What
size will my photo be on screen?
What
do you mean by "copyright-free"?
What
do you mean by "Single Use in a Single Medium"?
When
I buy a picture, is it mine?
How
do you supply images to me?
Can
you e-mail images?
What
do you charge?
How
do I order?
How
do I download your copyright-free images?
A photo library is a resource of images which the owner offers for use to others. We offer high resolution images for commercial licensed used, and smaller low resolution images for non-commercial copyright-free uses.
What type of photo do I need for printing?
Printers work to much higher resolution than you need to fill a computer screen. For most work 300 dpi (dots per inch) is the minimum quality. Our images range from 4 to 7 megapixel pictures typically have a maximum dimension from about 1800 to about 3000 pixels, which, at 300 dpi, gives a high quality print size of from about 6 to 10 inches (or about 15 to 25 cm). It is possible to artificially increase the size of our images, using softening to reduce the pixelation that may become evident, for very large prints for viewing at a distance.
What type of photo do I need for CD-ROM, DVD, web site or computer work?
When a computer displays an image it has to call up the file, interpret it, and display it. This takes time, particularly when the file has to be downloaded from the internet. So, usually the smaller the file size the better. However small files contain less information, so reproduction is less good. For colour photos JPEG (jpg) files are a good choice, because they can reproduce colours faithfully while reducing the file size by 90% plus. Also the JPEG format is recognised by almost all photo software and computer operating systems.
"dpi" stands for "dots per inch", where the dots are the building blocks for a printed colour photo. Usually one pixel equals one dot. so a 300 pixel wide photo will only be on inch wide when printed at 300 d[pi (standard publishing format).
"dpi" is a standard and non-metric term in photo printing. To convert it to centimetres remember that 1 inch equals 2.54 cm. So, 300 dpi equals 300/2.54 dots per cm, or 118 dots per cm.
An image, both printed and when displayed by a computer, is made up of a large number of tiny dots, or pixels. Each pixel is coloured , and is more or less bright. To describe a picture completely we need to know the position, colour, and brightness of evey dot. This leads to very large file sizes for pictures in, for example, TIF (total image format) format.
JPEG (jpg) files contain compressed picture information, and, for the same picture size, are smaller than TIF files. To understand this imagine a picture of a bird flying in a blue sky. Every dot in the blue sky will be very like every other dot in the sky. So we can cut down the amount of information needed to describe the sky - along the lines of "this dot is just like the previous dot" (same colour, same brightness). The bird itself will need to be described in more detail, but we can reduce the amount of information (and therefore the file size) considerably and still have a good picture. This is what JPEG does.
Any user of JPEG will know that you can choose lots of different levels of compression. The higher the compression the smaller the file size, but also the lower the quality. This is because as you increase compression JPEG becomes more sloppy about whether one dot is in fact the same as the previous dot, plus other effects due to the way in which JPEG compresses. But you can produce massive savings in file size (about 90%) and still have a very good picture.
What size will my photo be when it's printed?
Professional printers of, for example, glossy magazines, use 300 dpi printing. They have standardised on this because the average human eye can't see the dots at this resolution, although they are very clear under a lens. If they use lower resolution they reduce the quality of their publication. So, for example, our 480 pixel wide copyright-free photos on this web site will only be 480/300 = 1.6 inches (about 4cm) wide when printed. If they are printed to greater size they will be severely pixellated.
Our standard files are from about 1800 to about 3000 pixels wide (or high) and will be from about 6 to 10 inches (15 to 25 cm) across when printed at 300 dpi. This is large enough for the majority of publishing uses. We can supply larger files on request.
What size will my photo be on screen?
Most computer screens are set at 800 pixels wide by 600 pixels high. Computers are becoming ever faster, and higher resolutions, such as 1024 by 768, and 1280 by 1024 pixels, are becoming more common. So, for example, our 480 pixel wide copyright-free photographs are just wider than half screen at 800 by 600 display, and just less than half screen at 1024 by 768 display.
What do you mean by "copyright-free"?
We own or administer the copyrights on all our photographs. So we can grant copyright-free (royalty-free) status when we choose. We don't do this for our full size files but we do allow you to use the 480 pixel wide (or high) images on this web site for NON-COMMERCIAL USE only. Basically this means anything which does not involve making money. In return for the free use of our image we do require a credit and/or a link.
When I buy a picture, is it mine?
Sorry - no. What we sell is the USE of an image - for example the right to print 20,000 copies in a magazine. The original image remains the property of NVM Digital.
How do you supply images to me?
As e-mail attachments. These are typically about 2 Mb in size, so they download very quickly on broadband, but may take 10-15 minutes using a dial-up connection. An occasional problem is that customers' in-boxes are sometimes full, or that their systems (particularly in large organisations) won't allow the receipt of large file attachments. While this problem is declining as computer hard disks increase in capacity please be sure that you can accept large file attachments before ordering.
Yes. We supply full size high quality JPEG images by e-mail. See How do you supply images to me?
Now this is a really simple answer! £15 (sterling) for a single use in a single medium.
Make a note of the codes of the photos you require - e.g. "YD06". You then use these codes either in our printable order form or when ordering through our on-line shop. The photo code is essential to allow us to find the photo you require.
How do I download your copyright-free images?
Let's assume that you are using Internet Explorer on a PC, as most people are. Right click on the image. From the options list that appears choose "Save Picture As". Choose where you want to save it on your computer and click "save". You now have an exact copy of our web site JPEG image. Alternatively you can select the photo, copy, and save.
What do you mean by "Single Use in a Single Medium"?
For commercial use our price is for a "Single Use in a Single Medium". This means, for example, one photo used in one advert. The advert may be reprinted or re-broadcast as often as required, but any change in the advert or the medium requires a new fee. See our commercial use price list.
If you have any other questions please e-mail us.
Dave
Mulligan
NVM
Digital
February
2008