Can PDF documents of art with a licence to print a small number of copies be sold from the Serif Affinity Store please?

[William Overington]

A side discussion arose in another thread, starting with the following post, then continuing.

https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/176510-futurist-style-or-thereabouts/&do=findComment&comment=1018117

The side discussion about how to earn money from producing output using Serif Affinity software.

Will Serif consider my idea about selling, from Serif Affinity Store, PDF documents of art produces by users of Affinity software, with a licence to print or have printed up to five copies for personal use by the purchaser or to give to family and friends please?

I think it is a good idea and could be an incentive for users of Affinity software to produce good quality art in a pure electronic PDF document form, potentially earn some money from sales of licences to print a small number of copies of their work, and perhaps result in new opportunities for them.

William

[William Overington]

Is there anybody who is willing to say that they think this is a good idea please?

This could be because you would possibly like to buy a licence to print some copies of art sold in this way, or because you like the idea of trying to earn some money from your art in this way, or because you like an optimistic, positive idea for progress, or because you like opportunity creating infrastructures, or for some other reason, or some combination of those.

Such support for the idea would be good.

I opine that this would be a forward-looking facility to implement.

William

 

[walt.farrell]

I don't think the web needs another site for users to sell their work, William. There are a number available already. If you have something to sell, you can just use one of them if you don't want to run your own.

For example, some users (including Serif's James Ritson) use https://gumroad.com (note: I have no connection with that site, and am only a customer there, not a seller).

[William Overington]

Hi Walt

Thank you for posting.

William

 

[William Overington]

For the avoidance of doubt, I thanked Walt for his courtesy in having replied.

I still consider that a Serif run facility for this specific purpose for people using Affinity software would be a good idea.

Maybe the idea needs some rule such that Serif must approve the particular artwork so that only high quality artwork is available through the Serif Store in this way.

Fundamentally I regard what I am suggesting as not much different from Serif selling content not produced by Serif in the Serif Store, such as brushes, clip art and fonts. I appreciate that those items are for use with Serif Affinity software, though some not necessarily only with Serif Affinity software, but I opine that what I am suggesting is worthy of serious consideration.

William

 

[William Overington]

1 hour ago, walt.farrell said:

I don't think the web needs another site for users to sell their work, William. There are a number available already. If you have something to sell, you can just use one of them if you don't want to run your own.

How many of them have indemnification clauses in their Terms and Conditions such that if anyone complains the seller could end up losing lots, perhaps becoming homeless?

Serif is a sensible English business and would be able to have reasonable terms and conditions not all this indemnification stuff extending to an enormous number of people.

I actually bought something off a well-known UK business and later they sent me an email asking me to review my purchase. I looked to do that, saw a link to Terms and Conditions and found that if I sent in a review I would need to give indemniification and if anybody complained about the review I would be liable for lots in relation to various businesses and people. So forget it, no review provided.

William

 

[Murfee]

23 minutes ago, William Overington said:

Fundamentally I regard what I am suggesting as not much different from Serif selling content not produced by Serif in the Serif Store, such as brushes, clip art and fonts. I appreciate that those items are for use with Serif Affinity software, though some not necessarily only with Serif Affinity software, but I opine that what I am suggesting is worthy of serious consideration.

The content in the Serif Store is for people to use to create their own artwork, a big difference from paying to print art created by somebody else.

I agree with Walt, there are plenty of sites already for those wanting to sell their work.

Have you really considered all the time and cost implications for Serif to set up and maintain such a site, for probably very little in return. I do not think a site for creatives is the right place for what you are proposing.
 

 

 

[prophet]

13 minutes ago, Murfee said:

Have you really considered all the time and cost implications for Serif to set up and maintain such a site

This! I want my Serif friends working on their software, not running an art selling site.

[William Overington]

21 hours ago, walt.farrell said:

I don't think the web needs another site for users to sell their work, William. There are a number available already. If you have something to sell, you can just use one of them if you don't want to run your own.

For the avoidance of doubt I was not thinking in terms of selling licences to print my work, I was thinking in terms of me wanting to be able to buy licences to print copies of work by others, not to sell, just to arrange to have printed, lawfully by me and with fair dealing by me, printed by an online virtual print house, two to five copies and for me to then frame one or two for my personal art collection.

There is lots of art in the Share your work forum that would look good as hardcopy prints.

William

 

[R C-R]

@William Overington, how would Serif enforce or even monitor the number of prints that were made from PDF documents, whether sourced from the Affinity store or anywhere else?

Why would they even want to get involved in anything like this? It doesn't promote the use of the Affinity products since a PDF can be printed using many different applications.

[William Overington]

39 minutes ago, R C-R said:

@William Overington, how would Serif enforce or even monitor the number of prints that were made from PDF documents, whether sourced from the Affinity store or anywhere else?

There would be no monitoring of the number of prints by Serif, nor any enforcement.

My thinking is that people post things in the Share your work forum and it would be possible for someone to make a copy of that artwork and use that copy to produce a print and frame it and display it.

But I would not do that as I would regard it as improper for me to do that without permission.

Yet if the artist could (also) make it available in the Serif store and I could pay £1 and thus permission from the artist to print a copy, or to get a copy printed by a printing service, then fine, I could get the print honourably and the artist would recive a small reward. So, maybe the artist gets 50p, maybe as a credit for purchases from Serif store for amounts up to some level, but as money above that. So if lots of people bought such a licence to print some particular artwork the artist would benefit, not only from the monetary reward but by recognition of his or her art as it would be displayed in many homes and offices.

I cannot guarantee what else might happen, but if an artist has his or her art noticed, then que sera sera!

 

39 minutes ago, R C-R said:

Why would they even want to get involved in anything like this? It doesn't promote the use of the Affinity products since a PDF can be printed using many different applications.

Well, it could be restricted to PDF documents produced using Affinity products. Maybe a condition being that the item is also available in the clear in the Share your work forum.

But over the years I have had various ideas - I don't mean just in relation to Serif - some make progress, some don't.

From posts other than from me in this thread, it looks like this one won't get off the ground, yet it could have soared in splendour as an opportunity creating infrastructure for people who produce art using Serif Affinity products.

Alas, mais c'est la vie. This idea could work if people want it to work. If they don't, then it won't.

William

 

[R C-R]

22 minutes ago, William Overington said:

Well, it could be restricted to PDF documents produced using Affinity products.

How could they know if the PDF was made using any Affinity app or if it was made using several apps, one of them being an Affinity one & others as well?

Your idea is not practical.

[William Overington]

If it can't be done then it can't be done.

I put forward an idea, nobody has expressed any interest, so, c'est la vie, it won't happen.

William