A lot of people think the images they see on the Internet are free to use commercially. But, that is definitely not true. Even if you give credit to the owner or link to the website, you still don’t have the right to use the images in unlimited printed copies and merchandise for resale. Yes, stock photo for commercial use are available in the World Wide Web, but you need the right license to do what you intend to do.
Now, there are two types of royalty free license: standard and extended. The Standard License lets you use the images in multiple projects for as you like, with certain limitations. On the other hand, the Extended License comes with all the rights of the standard license – plus more bonuses! If you wish to make unlimited printed copies of images on books, magazines, product packaging and marketing materials, the latter is the best option. The same is true for use of images on products for resale.
When do you need an Extended License?
- When you intend to distribute more than the standard limit of printed copies
- When you want to use the images on designs that will be reproduced for profit
Whether it’s for physical or digital products, you need an extended license for the above conditions. If you are looking to print on t-shirts, mugs and calendars, you need to buy images for commercial use, too.
Where to Buy Images for Commercial Use
Many websites offer photos for commercial use, but not all are reliable. Some may seduce you to free files. But, keep in mind that your legal protection comes with the type of license you purchase. Well-established stock sites offer royalty free images for commercial use with a standard license. If you wish to extend your usage rights, you can purchase an extended license for additional fees.
Out of hundreds of stock photo agencies in the market, what is the best source for buying images for commercial use? Stock Photo Secrets (SPS) is the stock site for small and medium sized businesses. Their collection of over 5 million premium images is accessible to members. Plus, over 100,000 fresh images, vectors and fonts are uploaded every month. But, content is not the only great feature of the stock site. It also offers the cheapest deal on images for commercial use and best design, find more.
SPS’s Extended License can be purchased on-demand with image packs. A single image costs $80. Licensing images for commercial use in packs, however, gets you bigger discounts. A pack of 5 images only costs $300 or $60 per image. The 25-image pack gives you the biggest savings at $1,100. This means you can download images for as low as $44 each.
But wait, there’s more! Members get to enjoy an exclusive promo, where they can purchase stock photos for commercial use half the regular price. That’s right! This means that those with an active subscription can purchase a single image at $40; $150 for the 5-image pack; and, $550 for the 25-image pack. If you subscribe to any of the SPS plans, you can download extended license images between $22 and $40 – the lowest prices on the market so far!