link to homepage
lbordertop
menu bar icon

1x1
Stock Photos
business card printing icon 5

business card printing icon 6

To Home Page
HomePage

01635 255 552

menuclose

 

11-1
392head
spacer
Stock Photos for Designers & Desktop Publishers
 
spacer
spacer

Stock Photos

We've lost count the number of times we've been asked whether we supply stock photos. Unfortunately we don't, but decided it might be helpful to feature one of the UK's largest stock photo sites - Fotolia.

What is Stock Photography?


A stock photograph is an image, usually supplied in a digital format, that can be used for commercial and non-commercial use. Prior to the 'digital age' and the internet anyone requiring a hi-resolution photograph for a project would need to select an image from a printed catalogue, arrange payment and then wait for the image to be saved to CD and sent via post/courier.

Many design agencies, commercial printers etc. usually purchased 'themed' CD's with a 100 or so quality images. This had its drawbacks as many of the images were never used in projects, but still had to be paid for.

These days, with high-end digital photography available to the masses, finding and purchasing that ideal picture is far easier, and much more affordable!

Many non-professional photographers are now offering their 'best shots' for sale on sites such as Fotolia. Images stored at Fotolia are licensed on behalf of the submitting photographer and prices start at £1.00.

Stock photography is commonly sold as either rights managed or royalty free, (see side boxes, bottom right).

Click on this logo: to visit the Fotolia site.
Stunning images for your website from just £1.
Up to 100 times cheaper than other top image providers.
Quality assured by Fotolia's team of professional photographers & designers.
International database - millions of images from over a hundred countries
Large range of categories including business, concept, lifestyle, sport & travel.
Powerful search engine to help you find the ideal photography for your website.
Flexible royalty free licences - no limits on image usage.
Instant free account signup.

stock photos icon fotolia

Free Photos

Fotolia also provide some hi-res royalty-free photos completely free of charge, as per the images below. New ones are available every day.
© Steeve Roche - FOTOLIA
© Rainer Tagwercher - FOTOLIA


Who needs a stock photo, and why don't I just use an image I've 'found' on the net?

If you are designing some material for in-house use, a Powerpoint slide presentation for instance, then the above is not an issue. Where problems can arise is if you are working on a project where the final artwork will be professionally printed, e.g. brochure, flyer or any other marketing material.

Apart from the obvious copyright issue, most images you find on the web usually have a resolution of 72dpi (dots per square inch). The monitor you are reading these words on will probably have a similar resolution. This means that viewing a 72dpi image onscreen will usually give great results.

However, if you need to have your image printed professionally, then a higher resolution will need to be supplied. I won't bore you with the technical explanation of why this is, suffice to say that whoever prints your image will probably need an image of at least 300dpi. An easy way to 'visualise' this is to load any 72dpi picture into your favourite picture editor. Set the view at 100%. The picture looks great, unless you've used a poorly-taken one to begin with. Now, set the view to 150% or 200%. You'll now notice the picture is not looking so good and is beginning to 'break up' and becoming blurry.

This is the same that happens when trying to print a low-res image on a high-res system. (The imagesetter that produces the film can often have a resolution way in excess of 2000 dpi!).

The only way you are going to get great results when sourcing your pictures is to choose a high resolution image!


How do I find a suitable hi-res image?

We've included the resources on this page to help you source that must-have image for your project.

 

Rights-Managed licensing

- or "RM", is priced for a specific use based on factors such as length of use; type of use; number of insertions; size; number of impressions or displays; geographic region; etc.

This type of licensing allows stricter control over an image's use.

For some photos lacking a model or property release rights-managed licensing is needed to make sure it is not used for advertising because the image lacks a model release or property release.



Search for more stock photos here:

 

Contact
Contact us here with your printing query or for requesting samples
We will deal with your enquiry as soon as possible
You can also call us on: 01635 255 552
Return to Home page

back to top

Would you like to write for us?

To Home Page
 

Enquiry Form

 
rbordertop
footer1
footer3
PRODUCTS SITE INFO ARTICLES OTHER SITE INFO TUTORIALS
Business Cards
Brochures & Flyers
Compliment Slips
Continuous Stationery
Digital Printing Service
Envelope Printing
Folder Printing
Invoices - NCR
Letterheads
Printed Envelopes
Specialist Labels
Trade Printing Service
Xmas Card Printing
Contact Us
Delivery
Terms & Conds.
Privacy
Sitemap
Resources

To Home Page HOME

ARTWORK
Artwork & Design
Artwork Help

Booklet / Self Publishing
Business Card Materials/Boards
Branding and your Image
Colour Problems Discussed
Development of Print Technology
Digital or Litho?
Fonts Explained
Free Business Cards - a bargain right?
History of the Business Card
Legal Requirements for Stationery
Logo Design - where do you begin?
Spot & Process Colours Explained
Using QR Codes on your Stationery
Web Design
Web Design to Print Design
When is Black & White Printing Appropriate?
Copyright - who owns it?
FAQ - Business Cards
FAQ - General Questions
FOR SALE - Used Print Equipment
Glossary of Printing Terms
Job Vacancies
Paper Sizes in the UK
Software for Print & Design
Stock Photo Service
Testimonials
Write for Us
Converting Fonts to Outlines
Design a Business Card
Design a Folded A4 Leaflet
Design a Letterhead
Preparing a Print File in InDesign
Preparing Artwork for Spot UV
Rich Black Colour in Artwork

PHOTOSHOP TUTORIALS

- see full list in main menu on left or follow this link: Photoshop Tutorials
footer4
footer2

"Just to let you know I received the business cards and compliment slips yesterday. Thanks for your help. I'm delighted with the quality. If I can pass some business your way in the future I will."

Kenny King
Ixisys - www.ixisys.com

spacer

Castle Print & Design in partnership with:

  •   The Roman Group
  •   Centurion House
  •   Woodside Road
  •   Southbourne
  •   Bournemouth
  •   Dorset BH5 2BA

  •   Tel: 01635 255 552
  •   Fax: 0800 389 7262

 
laminated business cards icon
 

"I don't normally have the time to shop around too much, but was very happy with your prices and service. The logo you designed for us has been very well received. Look forward to many years of continued business."

Steve Thompson
Horizon Electrical

© Copyright 1992 - 2013 Castle Print & Design - All rights reserved

business card iconbusiness card image 4