For Art Licensing Success, Know How Manufacturers Make Products

Ever wonder how art is applied to products or even how the products are made? Well, knowing those things are important if you wish to license your art to manufactures. When manufacturers choose art for their products they do not only look for themes that are popular with consumers but look to see if the art can be applied to their products. For instance, some manufacturing processes requires that the art be painted by hand, others use decals to apply art to products and others use a dye-sublimation printing* process. Manufacturers of ceramic ware may use a different method to place art on their products than greeting card manufacturers. And even in the greeting card industry, some manufacturers embellish their products with embossing, die cuts, metallics, glitter, jewels, etc. while others do not. Knowing how the products are produced can help artists create designs that these manufacturers are looking for and thus optimize licensing opportunities.

* To find out about this process, read Wikipedia's "Dye-sublimation printer."

Some of the questions that may be asked by manufacturers are:
• Is the art in the correct format or can it be altered to fit their products?
• Can the colors be reproduced accurately or at least look well with their manufacturing process? There are limitations in the color selection with some manufacturing processes. For instance, colors are limited if ceramic manufacturers depend on colored glazes or decals when placing designs on their products.
• Can the art style be reproduced with their manufacturing process? If the design is hand painted on the product, intricate designs would most likely not be chosen because it would take too long to reproduce them. And yes, there are some designs that are hand painted on products such as sheet metal, ceramics, glass ornaments and stained glass.

Below are links to videos showing the methods that a few manufacturers use to produce their products. Some of the videos are not made by manufacturers but the process shown is the same that they use. Note: Dye-sublimation printing is often use because of its good resolution and bright colors. It works well for products such as mouse pads, fabrics, decorative flags, t-shirts, ceramics, plastic ware, etc. Fusible decals are used to apply art to glass containers, glass jewelry, glass doorknobs, etc.

Hand Painted Products
When art is to be reproduced by hand onto products, manufacturers want certain art styles so that the person doing the work can produce good results. For instance, if the product is glass manufacturers often require that the original art be painted with watercolors so that the gradation of colors can be easily seen. Also the design should not be too intricate. Sheet metal manufacturers may require a decorative painting style if the products are hand painted or very realistic art if an airbrush is used. However, the art style wanted really depends on individual manufacturers.

Watch "Ne'Qwa Art Fragrance Lamps" video of an amazing demonstration on reverse glass painting of artist Paul Brent's butterfly art in a Ne'Qwa ornament.

Textile /Cloth Product Printing
The silk screen method of printing fabrics are used by many manufacturers but some use other methods. Read "Printing Process" for information about them. The dye sublimation method is used for short fabric runs, banners, decorative flags, t-shirts and other products. The links below show the dye sublimation process of printing on fabric and flags. Also silk screen like printing via direct to garment (DTG) digital printing is used for t-shirts. Google the internet to find links to other processes. Note: youtube.com has many other interesting videos that demonstrate printing cloth products.

• Fabric: spoonflower.com (dye sublimation process for print on demand and custom designs for fabric) - "How does Spoonflower print your fabric?"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvVtYnPc_Mk&NR=1

• Dye sublimation process on Flags and Banners: "Velotex Direct Dye Sublimation Textile Printer"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFH5ijdhu4A&feature=fvst

• T-shirts: "DTG Epson 1390 Direct to Garment T-Shirt Printer.MP4"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lt7dagnE-3A&feature=related

Ceramic Product Printing (Tile, Plates & Mugs)
Many manufacturers of these products use a dye sublimation process to place art on them. The ceramic needs to have a polyester polymer coating on it so that it absorbs the dye when placed in the heat press. Some ceramic manufactures use decals and /or glazes to decorate their products. These products are fired in a kiln multiple times at various temperatures to achieve the effect that is desired. Decals are applied last and fired at a lower temperature than the previous firings. Below are several videos demonstrating these processes.

• Ceramic Plate (dye sublimation process): "Dye Sublimation to a Porcelain Plate Instruction"

• Ceramic Tile (dye sublimation process): "How to Sublimate a Single Tile"

• Ceramic Mug (dye sublimation process): "Sublimation Process Photo Mug"

• Noritake China (decal process): "Noritake: The Standard of Perfection Part 3" and "Noritake: The Standard of Perfection Part 4"

Melamine Product Manufacturing
Art is adhered to melamine plastic products either by the dye sublimation process or by embedding a printed image between two thin coats of melamine and curing the melamine layers. Read "What is the Process for Printing on Melamine Plates?" to learn about the embedding process. Look at the "Efay Melamine tableware" video to see how melamine dishes are manufactured.

Greeting Card and Gift Bag Printing
Offset printing presses are often used to print images on large batches of greeting cards and gift bags. Some cards and bags are embellished with cutout shapes, embossing, metallic foil, glitter and jewels. Specialized machines are used to adhere the glitter and foil to the paper, die cut shapes, and emboss the products. Below are videos showing some of these processes.

• Greeting Cards (offset press and die cut cards and envelops): "How a Greeting Card is Made"

• Adhere metallic foil: "Hot Stamping Digital-Diginove"

• Adhere metallic foil: "How to foil on laser printed images"

•Making Gift Bags: "gift bag making machine"

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER and knowing how manufacturers produce their products help artists create art that is needed. For instance, greeting card manufacturers that embellish their cards with metallics and glitter need art that have lines and outlines incorporated into the art for placement of metallic foil and areas for glitter. Knowing that a manufacturer is limited in the number of colors, as is often the case with printed fabrics, the artist can create art with a limited number of colors. And if the manufacturer produces hand painted products, an artist can submit the right kind of art and art style for licensing consideration.

Comments are welcomed. Please click on comments and write them in the comment window at the bottom of this article.

Marketing: Manufacturers Use Facebook to Promote Products & Connect with Customers

Connecting with others via social media is all the rage especially on Facebook. Some manufacturers that license art are taking advantage in the popularity of social media by staying in touch with their customers (retailers and the consumers who purchase their products). They use Facebook to introduce products, talk about subjects of interest to their customers, announce giveaways and contests, and link to articles and special events. Retailers and consumers comment about the manufacturer product line and ask questions on where to purchase products or give suggestions on new themes and products. To learn more about why manufacturers are using social media, read "Business Connection - Social media markets integral part of business strategy."

The Lang Company "thinks out of the box" to entice people to their Facebook Page by periodically putting on Chat Events with their artists. Interested persons can log onto Lang's Page and ask questions of the artist during the event while the artist stays online to answer them. Artist Lisa Kaus did Lang's artist Chat Event last week. Last year, I had a chance to ask artist Susan Winget a couple of questions during her event. I found this type of online interaction very interesting and informative but somewhat slow in response time.

You do not have to sign-up with Facebook to view the posts on manufacturer pages. However, you do need to have an account if you wish to leave a comment or ask a question, and search for manufacturers that are on Facebook. Signing up with Facebook is free.

So why should artists look at manufacturer Facebook Pages?
The reason is to learn about new product introductions, find out the art themes that manufacturers think are on trend, and find out what is selling well at retail. The more information that artists learn about what art (themes, colors and styles) is popular with consumers, the easier it is to create art that is licensable. Below are links to some manufacturer Facebook pages. Note: Some manufacturers have very active pages while others do not.

• C. R. Gibson Gifts (paper products and gifts)

• Custom Decor, Inc. (decorative flags)

• Demdaco (gifts)

• Evergreen Enterprises, Inc. (home furnishings, home & garden décor products)

• Leanin' Tree (greeting cards, and associated products)

• Magnet Works, Ltd. (outdoor home décor products)

• Merritt Tableware (melamine tabletop products)

• The Lang Company (calendars, Christmas cards, stationery, books)

Any additional links to manufacturer Facebook pages or comments that you would like to share about this article would be greatly appreciated. Click on the comment section below.

Editorial: Art Licensing Myths continued (myth #13 to #18)

This article is the third article in a series of art licensing myths. The first article "Editorial: Art Licensing Myths" listed the first six art licensing myths (#1. License your art so you do not have to work so hard, #2. License your art if you are broke and need money. #3. Any art can be licensed. #4. One design can be licensed for ALL products. #5. An artist will get many licensing deals by signing with an agency. #6. Licensing revenue is always from royalties.)

The second article "Editorial: Art Licensing Myths continued (myth #7 to #12)" discussed: (Myth #7: An artist must have an agent or manufacturer sign a Non Disclosure Agreement (NDA) before showing art. Myth #8: Agents not only manage the business part of licensing but track trends, guide the artist in what art to create, and critics it. Myth #9: There is a manufacturer art size and file format standard. Myth #10: There is a standard time of the year for submitting art to manufacturers. Myth #11: Manufacturers prefer to license art from agents than from individual artists. Myth #12: Participating in manufacturers call-for-submissions (cattle-calls) is a waste of time). This is a continuation of those articles with comments on six more myths.

The following is my opinions. Artists, licensing agents and other experts in the art licensing industry may have different ones. It is always a good idea to get several opinions and not depend on only one viewpoint.

#13 - You are not infringing on the copyright if you change someone's art 5, 10, or 20%.
Infringement of a copyright is when the look and feel of copied original works of art, sculpture etc. are substantially similar. It is an "old wives tale" that you can alter original art by a certain amount and not infringe on the copyright. Read attorney Joshua Kaufman's articles "Don't Be a Copycat." and "Copyrights: How Different is Different Enough?"

The well published lawsuit of Allied Press vs artist Shepard Fairey in using a published photograph of Obama to create art for a campaign poster illustrates what could happen to an artist using someone else's photograph or art. I do not think it was ever decided who owned the photograph (Allied Press or the photographer) or whether Shepard Fairey could have used it legally (if his work was substantially different) because the lawsuit got "muddy" and was settled out of court. But do you want to take a chance and end in a lawsuit? Or do you want to get a reputation of copying others art? It is much better to create your own. For more information about the AP vs Shepard Fairy lawsuit, read "AP and Shepard Fairey Settle Lawsuit Over Obama Image; Fairey Agrees To Give Up Fair Use Rights to AP Photos"

#14 Any free clip art and fonts found on internet websites can be used in art and not infringe on the copyright.
There are many websites on the internet that advertises that their clipart and fonts are copyright free. But are they really free to be used commercially and are they legally copyright free? Unfortunately some websites lift artists work and display the art as copyright free. And some sites advertise the work as copyright free but the fine print states it is not for commercial purposes. The same is true for fonts.

If you are interested in using clip art or fonts in your work, make sure that it is legal to do so by contacting the company that is offering them. Explain that you wish to license your work that includes the clipart and/or fonts and ask if you can legally use them for commercial purposes and copyright the images.

I purchase Dover Publication electronic clip art books (includes a CD-ROM) and Mac Fonts from Summitsoft Corporation / Macware Inc. (also available for PCs) that I sometimes use in my work. In both cases, I contacted the companies and received written permission to license my art using their products. Note: When I use clip art images, they are mainly used in the background to add interest to my original art and are not the central focus of the work. And often they are altered and not recognizable as Dover clipart. Even though it is legal to use the clipart, I do not want my art to look like other artists work who use the same clipart.

Caution! Dover allows an artist to use six to ten images in each copyright free clipart book for one project (i.e. collection of art). You need to get permission to use additional clipart images in the book if you wish to use them in the project. Also Dover may be changing their policy for recent clipart books. New clipart books may not be copyright free. I was informed by an artist that is doing a book for Dover that her images in the book will not be copyright free because she is retaining all the copyrights. Thus, make sure that the images in the book is copyright free before purchasing the book if you wish to use them in your art.

#15 Art licensing agencies always contact the artist when she/he submits art for representation.
Art licensing agencies do not always and often do NOT contact artists that send queries to them in the hope that the agency will represent them. Agencies gets hundreds of requests a year and most do not have time to respond to artists or if they do it is a form letter that says something like, "Thank you for sending your art for licensing consideration. Unfortunately, we are unable to make a licensing commitment to you at this time."

The reasons that an artist is turned down are numerous - the art is not suitable for licensing (read "Editorial: Not all art is licensable."), the art is not good enough (read "Editorial: Is Your Art Goof Enough to License?"), they are already representing artists with a similar art style, they do not represent artists with the artists art style, etc. If the agency does not contact the artist, it probably means that they are not interested in representing her/him.

#16 A good way to get a licensing deal is to send out e-mail blasts.
An e-mail blast is sending the same e-mail to manufacturers on a list. This list can be hundreds of names but the problem is that sending e-mail to a large list is considered spam by internet service providers. Providers block or filter these e-mails and the recipient either does not get it or it is placed into a spam folder that the recipient is reluctant to open.

E-mail blasts is the wrong approach in trying to license art. Even if a manufacturer opens the e-mail, the art may not fit their needs because it is the wrong theme at the wrong time of the year or the wrong art style for their company. Even if it takes more time, it is better to do more in depth research on what art is needed by each manufacturer and personalize an e-mail query. For more information, read "6 Tips in Writing Query Letters to Manufacturers that License Art."

#17 A manufacturer keeps producing product with the same art if it sells well.
In the good old days of retail sales, if an image on a product was selling well, the retailer would order more product with the same design. That does not seem to be the practice now except for some "Mom & Pop" stores. Once the SKU (stock keeping unit) sells-through it is not reordered. This is especially true in the big box stores because they do not keep product on the shelf for very long. Many times it is only three months or less and then discounted. Retailers continuously want new products with a fast sell-through. So that means that if an artist has a contract with a manufacturer to license her/his art, she/he may see a decent revenue the first year and have it drastically fall off the second and third year because the retailer does not reorder. Of course, there are exceptions and the product type has a lot to do with the reordering rate. For instance, I have seen some decorative flag art that has been in manufacturers catalogs for years. I assume that the art is still selling.

I would be very interested in hearing other persons opinions and experiences on this subject!
Make sure that you read the comments because readers HAVE chimed in on this subject.

#18 You only need to follow-up once after contacting a manufacturer.
Following-up once after doing the initial contact with a manufacturer is NOT good enough if you hope to license your work with them. Usually it takes multiple follow-ups before a decision is made. To learn more, read "Art Licensing Tip: What does follow-up really mean?"

Comments are welcomed. Please click on comments and write them in the comment window at the bottom of this article.

Photoshop Tip: Description of File Formats and When to Use Them

Adobe Photoshop is the most used software in art licensing for manipulating and creating art. It uses a native format of PSD but allows a person to save files in other formats such as JPEG, PNG, TIFF, PDF, EPS.

Before saving a file to another format, it should ALWAYS be saved in Photoshop's native format (at 300 dpi or more) to preserve all Photoshop features such as layers. That way the artist can do future editing of the images and text contained in the layers. The other formats will be used for other purposes such as submitting low resolution art (72 dpi) to manufacturers for possible licensing, submitting art in formats requested by manufacturers, and placing art on websites. This article describes the pros and cons of these alternative formats and when to use them.

JPEG Format
The most used format to transfer art in the licensing industry is JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group). It was created in 1992 to compress files to make them smaller in size and faster to download and open. The degree of compression can be adjusted to allow a tradeoff between storage size and image quality. JPEG files can be read by most software and has the filename extension of .jpg.

• Pros
- Significantly compresses the file size.
- Saves an image in CMYK, RGB, and grayscale mode. To find out the difference between CMYK and RGB, read "Photoshop Tip: When to Use RGB and CMYK Color Gamut."
- Saves an image as one or more JPEG using the Save For Web & Devices command.
- Can save as a progressive download which loads faster and saves space. This way, after a smaller part of the whole file has been received, the viewer sees a lower quality version of the final picture. The quality then improves progressively through downloading more data bits from the source.
- Has widespread usage.
- Most software supports it.

• Cons
- Uses lossy data compression of the file size by selectively discarding data. It degrades the resolution of the image EACH time the file is saved. Note: Theoretically lossless data compression (no loss of data) is possible with a JPEG file but must be built into the software. Photoshop does not give that option.
- Automatically adds a white background if it was transparent.
- Merges all layers into one layer.
- Supports only 8-bit images.* If a larger bit image is saved as a JPEG, Photoshop automatically lowers the bit depth to 8.
- Some software applications may not be able to read a CMYK file saved in JPEG format.

• Uses
- Send low resolution art to manufacturers via e-mail for licensing consideration.
- Send high resolution graphics to trade publications via e-mail for paid advertising. Because the file is compressed significantly, the size of the file is small enough to download faster than other formats. Note: I have experienced good results (color and resolution) when sending a 300 dpi RGB JPEG file (with my own embedded color profile and at the size it will be printed) via e-mail to Total Art Licensing and Art Buyer publications.
- Can be used for low resolution art on websites and blogs.
- Can be used to reduce the file size to increase file transfer speed on the internet.
- Can be used to reduce the file size to increase the speed when printing marketing and other materials on home printers.
- Send a high resolution file to a manufacturer once a licensing contract is signed. Select the baseline optimized to optimize the color and have a slightly better compression.

*8-bit images means that each pixel in an image (the dot that makes up the smallest part of an image) can represent 256 different states (2 to the 8th power) or over 16 million color shades in the RGB color system (256 times 256 times 256). Until recently most monitors, inkjet printers, and other devices could only show 8-bit images. 8-bit images are also called 24-bit images (3 times 8). Now scanners and digital cameras are capable of producing higher bit images such as 36-bit and 48-bit (billions of colors). These higher bit images may be used in high quality digital photographic work but is not used for licensed art on products. The printing devices does not support that many colors. Thus, 8-bit images is the norm used in art licensing. Note: Some printing devices support MUCH less colors than available for 8-bit images.

JPEG 2000 Format
JPEG 2000 was created by the Joint Photographic Experts Group in 2000 with a filename extension of .jp2 or .jpf to enhance the original JPEG capabilities. It supports all JPEG capabilities plus more.

• Pro
- Supports everything that JPEG does.
- Provides both lossless (no loss of data when compressed) and lossy compression.
- Saves an image in CMYK, RGB, and grayscale mode.
- Artifacts in file compression is less visible. There is almost no "jaggies" around the edges of the image.
- It supports transparency in images.
- It supports higher bit depths.

• Cons
- Merges all layers into one layer.
- Does not have widespread usage.
- Not widely supported by all web browsers especially the older ones.
- Not supported by all graphic software.

• Uses
- See JPEG format uses.
- Can be used to save icons and images with transparent backgrounds. They can thus be easily incorporated into other pieces of art and patterns without having to remove the background.

Caution: It is better to use the original JPEG format instead of JPEG 2000 unless it is requested by a manufacturer. It is not recognized by all software and the file may not open.

PNG Format
PNG (Portable Network Graphics) format is used for lossless file compression with a file extension of .png. It compresses a file without losing bits of data unlike JPEG formatted files. PNG was designed for transferring images on the Internet and not for professional-quality print graphics.

• Pros
- Supports lossless compression.
- Can save 24-bit images.
- Supports RGB, Indexed Color, Grayscale, and Bitmap mode images without alpha channels.
- Preserves transparency in grayscale and RGB images.

• Cons
- Not ALL web browsers can read PNG images, although the later generation browsers do.
- Does not support CMYK images.
- Merges all layers into one layer.

• Uses
- Can be used to save icons and images with transparent backgrounds. Images without backgrounds saved as PNG files can be easily incorporated into other art and pattern files without having to remove the backgrounds.
- Can be used to display high color images (greater than 8-bit).

TIFF Format
TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) file format was originally created by Aldus for use as desktop publishing for image-manipulation, publishing, and page layout applications with a file extension of .tif. It was acquired by Adobe Systems in 2009.
 
• Pros
- Can compressed the file either as lossy (JPEG) or lossless (LZW and ZIP)
- Saves an image in CMYK, RGB, and grayscale mode.
- Can handle images and data within a single file, by including the header tags (size, definition, image-data arrangement).
- Supported by virtually all paint, image-editing, and page-layout applications.
- Supports layers.
- Can save 32 bit images.
- Preserves transparency in images.

• Cons
- Creates larger files when no compression is used and also if the file includes many layers. Thus, it takes a long time to download and uses a lot of disk space.
- If an application cannot read the layer data, it opens the file without layers.
- Not supported by web browsers.
- Has not been updated since 1992 and thus lacks advanced imaging features.

• Uses
- Scan images in TIFF format without compression selected. The details of the image will be maximized but scanning the image may take a long time, have a large file size, and take a long time to download.
- Take digital photos with TIFF format (if camera supports it) for a better quality photos than JPEG. However, the files are huge, less photos can be stored on the memory chip, and results in a longer wait time between taking photos so that the data can be transferred to the memory chip. The quality may not be noticeably better than JPEG. Note: Many digital cameras can save files in RAW format which is the best quality photos. RAW format is supported and editable in later versions of Photoshop. However, RAW format is a proprietary format for each camera manufacturer and may not be readable by software in future years. Thus, RAW formatted files should be converted to TIFF or JPEG for archival storage.
- Manufacturers may request a layered TIFF file so that they can manipulate the image to their own specifications. Of course, this file will only be sent after a licensing contract has been signed.

PDF Format
PDF (Portable Document Format) was created in 1993 by Adobe Systems for document exchange and is the de facto standard for printable documents on the web with a filename extension of .pdf. Depending on the settings chosen, compression and downsampling can significantly reduce the size of a PDF file with little or no loss of detail and precision.

• Pros
- Offers lossy (JPEG) or lossless (downsampling compression) compression of files
- Gives multiple choices in compression and ways pixels are deleted.
- Preserves Photoshop layers.
- Supported in most graphic (vector and raster) and page layout applications.
- Preserves transparency in images.

• Cons
- PDF Format in Photoshop only allows one image to be saved per PDF file. If multiple images need to be saved in one PDF file, use Adobe Acrobat software.

Note:  Artist Laura Freeman pointed out that you CAN save a multi-page PDF file in older versions of Photoshop.  Read how to do it in the 4th comment to this article. And read comment #5 on how to create a multi-image PDF file in Photoshop versions CS4 and CS5.

• Uses
- Manufacturers may request a layered PDF formatted file if they do not own Photoshop but have other software that will read layered PDF files.
- Many artists use Acrobat software (PDF) to send multiple images as one file to manufacturers for licensing consideration. Note: If you use a PDF file with multiple images, make sure that the file is compressed and not too large or the receiver may not be able to open it with their e-mail reader. Many readers limit the file size that is attached to an e-mail. An alternative is to put the PDF file on a CD and post it (mail) to the manufacturer.

EPS Format
Photoshop EPS Format (Encapsulated PostScript) language file format has a file extension of .eps. EPS format was created for vector generated graphics in Adobe Illustrator but does support bit mapped (raster) graphics. For more information, read "What is the Difference between Photoshop and Illustrator?"

• Pros
- EPS format supports Lab, CMYK, RGB, Indexed Color, Duotone, Grayscale, and Bitmap color modes.
- Can save color separations of CMYK images.
- Can contain both vector and bitmap graphics.
- Is supported by virtually all graphics, illustration, and pay-layout software.

• Cons
- When a EPS file containing vector graphics is opened in Photoshop, it rasterizes the image, converting the vector graphics to pixels unless it is downloaded as a Smart Object. Smart Objects preserve an image's source content with all its original characteristics, enabling you to perform nondestructive editing to the layer.
- Merges all layers into one layer.

• Uses
- Transfer PostScript artwork between Photoshop and other software such as Adobe Illustrator.
- Send a high resolution EPS file to a manufacturer if it is requested and once a licensing contract is signed. Note: This is NOT an usual request so make sure that the manufacturer understands that the art was generated in Photoshop as a bit mapped image (raster) and is not a vector image. As a raster image, the resolution will degrade if the file enlarged too much while a vector image does not degrade when enlarged.

File Format Sizes
The size of the file is dependent on whether the file is compressed, the type of compression, and the number of layers in the file. Below is a table comparing the different formats when converting a Photoshop RGB 12 inch square image at 72 dpi. Notice that a maximum quality JPEG file with one layer is only 972KB in size while a TIFF file with 55 layers and compressed as a ZIP file is 5.1MB. Not shown in the table: The same file at 300dpi JPEG (maximum quality) is 4.9MB while a 300 dpi TIFF file with 55 layers and ZIP compression is 133.6MB. The same file with no compression is 146.1MB in size.

Note:  I used an example of a 55 layer file to compare the sizes of the various formats but Photoshop supports a maximum of 8000 layers.  However, if that many layers are used, the file size could become larger than the maximum file size supported by Photoshops PSD format which is 4GB for the CS5 version and 2GB for lower versions of Photoshop and other software.  The maximum TIFF file size is 4GB (most applications cannot open a TIFF larger than 2GB) and PDF is 10GB.  Hint:  If you wish to save a Photoshop CS5 file larger than 4GB then save it in a PSB format.  PSB is a large format PSD file with a maximum size of 4 million TB.  However, you better have a computer with a fast processor and lots of memory to open that large of a file or it could take a L  O  N  G time to open and save.  :)

Summary
The most used format for showing art on websites and blogs and submitting low resolution art to manufacturers is JPEG. Although, using PNG files is becoming more prevalent for showing art on websites and blogs. I usually submit art to manufacturers at 72 dpi in RBG at a medium quality JPEG file. I have found that a high resolution (300 dpi) JPEG file of the final art is usually the most requested format by manufacturers. Of course, it is sent to the manufacturer AFTER the licensing contract is signed.

Some artists and agents send multiple images in a Adobe Acrobat PDF file (either by e-mail or CD via "snail" mail) to manufacturers for licensing consideration. Saving PNG files of individual images and icons without backgrounds is a good practice because PNG is lossless and supports transparent backgrounds. TIFF files are readable by all graphic software, is lossless, and supports layers but the file size can be huge and take a long time to upload.

If you would like to share information on how you use the different formats or any comment about this article, please enter them in the comment section below.