Art Licensing: How to Transfer Multiple & Large Hi-Res Files

Often it is not an option to send electronic images to clients on CDs or DVDs via snail-mail (postal delivery) because in the art licensing industry manufacturers need high-resolution (HiRes) files as soon as possible to meet their deadlines. And, if there are many files to send and the files are large, there may be a problem sending them via electronic mail (e-mail) because the recipient's e-mail carrier often limits each e-mail to 25MB or less. Most of the Hi-Res files requested by my clients are 3MB to 9MB. If three or more images are requested, they usually cannot be sent in one e-mail because it will most likely be rejected by the e-mail carrier. And, if a large Hi-Res layered Adobe Photoshop image needs to be sent it may be at least 250MB in size that is impossible to transfer via e-mail. Some manufacturers have ftp (file transfer protocol) sites where an artist can enter a password and upload large files. However, most do not.

So how can artists transfer multiple and large HiRes files to manufactures? This is where internet file sharing host services make it possible such as dropbox, Goggle Drive, YouSendIt, MediaFire, RapidShare, ShareFile, etc. Most of them are free with limited options. Additional options are available at a cost.

One of the most popular file sharing service used by artists is YouSendIt.com. The free version allows a person to store up to 5GB of files on the YouSendIt site with a maximum of 100MB per file size. The files can be customized for the length of time they are stored on the site. YouSendIt also tracks when files are download and by whom which makes it convenient in tracking that the client received the file(s). The downside to the free version is that only a link to one file at a time can be sent to a recipient via a YouSendIt e-mail. But, for $9.99 per month, a person can store up to 25GB and send links to multiple files with a maximum of 1GB file size. Note: I purchased the service so that I could send links of multiple large Hi-Res files to all my clients (manufactuers, publication editors, agent) with one e-mail. With the limitation of the free version, I found it VERY cumbersome and unprofessional to send multiple e-mails when clients requested numerous images! All my clients find YouSendIt sent links straightforward and easy to download files. I usually limit the storage time of each file on the site to about ten days for security reasons. That way, not many images are available if the site is hacked (unauthorized access was gained to the site).

To find out about other file sharing services, read "10 file-sharing options: Dropbox, Goggle Drive and more" by Serdar Yepulalp on the Computer World website. He described and listed the options of MediaFire, RapidShare, ShareFire, YouSendIt, Box, Dropbox, Google Drive, Minus, SkyDrive, and SugarSync.

Please share your experience with any file sharing services. Click on the comments section (below) to write your comment.