What are the differences between Royalty-Free and Rights-Managed?

Rights-managed offers individual images to be rented through the negotiation of a specific price for a specific use. It offers clients exclusive rights plus the ability to restrict similar use of the image by others.

The royalty-free concept allows customers an unlimited usage, where they do not need to pay royalties after the initial purchase. This greatly reduces the costs and allows greater freedom with the images purchased.

What is Royalty-Free?

Royalty-Free Digital Stock Photography is a concept where user of the images does not have to pay any royalty for repeated use of the images. The buyer does not own the copyright of the images but have purchased the rights to use the images legally without additional fees or interruption from the retailer. These images cannot be sold or transferred but it offers a wide range of benefits; mainly lower pricing and convenience.

What's the difference between RGB and CMYK formats?

RGB is the primary color model used by electronic display devices such as a monitor. CMYK is the primary color model used by color printers. In RGB, images are created by combining red, green, and blue light. This additive process can create millions of different colors by using different concentrations of the primaries. CMYK, in contrast, creates different colors in a subtractive process using four colors or inks: cyan (blue), magenta (red), yellow, and black.

The differences between RGB and CMYK become crucial when desktop publishers attempt to move documents from their screens onto hard copy. There are many RGB colors that CMYK printers cannot reproduce. Something that looks good on the monitor may not look the same in print. Therefore, it will be best for you to check with the printing company as they can advise you on whether the quality of the images would be sufficient for your project.

What is stock photography?

Instead of assigning your own photographers, stock photography is a set of ready-to-use images for subscribers who purchased the rights to use them. With digital stock photography, you get to see the final image even before you are granted the rights to use them and these images can be licensed immediately. The cost for stock photography, especially royalty-free images are much lower compared to assignment photography. Stock photography saves you model, photographer, location, props, art direction and editing costs.