I'd like to prevent my prints from being copied by clients at places like Costco and Walgreens. What's the best way to do this? I tried printing a copyright mark on the back of the prints with my inkjet printer, but that didn't seem to work out very well. Any recommendations greatly appreciated.
First off, you will never be able to stop someone from copying your photo if they are willing to do it. Everyone has an all-in-one printer these days (Ritz is GIVING one away right now.) and if they're willing to either deal with your watermark or crop it out they can do it themselves. I put a label on the back of my prints with my copyright, phone number and website. This has not only stopped places from copying the photo but it gives them (and the customer) a way of contacting me. You could always put a watermark on the corner of your photos with your copyright info. But first and foremost educate your customers on copyright law. You would be surprised how many people ACTUALLY don't know it's illegal to copy photos without permission. Tell them about copyrights and let them know how easy it is to come back to you and get copies, or crop the photo, or all the different sizes you can print.
Secondly: you will never be able to stop someone from copying your photo if they are willing to do it.
I've seen my images: low res web images with watermark on them - in a meet program and even in the yellow pages. Copies can be made with cell phones now, uploaded to Wallymart and mailed back to you for less than $2.
I can only suggest the route I took: don't fight it, live with it and find a way to work with it. My digital images sales are skyrocketing and they can do just about whatever they want with the images - without me worrying, caring or wasting time and money trying to fight the inevitable.
I work at JC Penney portrait studio and we get this all the time.
We offer full copyright releases coupled with a CD of the entire session in full resolution photos for 100 dollars and people find this ludicrous and end up ordering one sheet of 5X7s just to scan it.
I'm an equine photographer, and I put my signature close to the subject, on every print. I also stamp the back with a rubber stamp and permanent fast drying ink. The stamp has my copyright, name, address and phone number. A sticker can simply be pulled off.
I've had calls from Wal-Marts all over the continent telling me someone wants to copy an image. They know by law they have to have the photographer's permission to copy.
I am a Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep photographer, and give (yes for free) a CD of Hi-Res images for the family to make unlimited images, I write an ok to print on the CD, give the family a signed release on paper & inform them in a cover letter to supply the paper to the lab ... still, locally, most Walgreen's, Walmart & Costco labs still call me to verify it is ok to print
