Bad Stuff

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Bad Stuff: Copyright infringement - Gina rants again
It all started with an offhand comment that I made...

I am a huge fan of photographer Sarah Andrew, and there was a comment made on one of her photographs about the huge copyright notice plastered across the image. Folks said that it would be so much nicer if that wasn't there to distract from the image. Others chimed in - implying that photographers and artists who use those huge copyrights on their work are a bit pompous / too proud of themselves. I was immediately horrified for Sarah, as I know the real reason that's there. To keep people from using her images without paying her and/or giving proper credit.

So I fired off a retort in her defense. I said that I make part of my living designing and selling custom business cards for the farrier industry. And that frustratingly, I could go into any Tractor Supply in the country, check out the bulletin board (usually back by the restroom) and find at least one farrier's business card sporting one of my logos - that was NOT purchased from me. Grrrr. Of course, any Tractor Supply in the country was a sweeping generalization. But it was based on my experience - and nearly every farm/ag store that I've been in indeed does have cards with pirated logos tacked on the board.

After that - I got to thinking... "I wonder how much that really adds up to?" (and now I wish I hadn't) I discovered that Tractor Supply has 1,000 stores in 38 states - source here. Our minimum order of business cards is $100. (for 500 cards) so if you do that math it comes out to $100,000.00!!! OMG, how I wouldn't love to add a hundred thousand dollars to our bottom line each year. Isn't that amazing? I knew this was a problem, but I never sat down and added it up before.

Now, doing what I do, I know how easy it is to snag an image off the web, paste it into a Word document, stick a fancy background behind it and add the type of your choice. That's exactly what someone has done in the picture above. (This card came from a Dollar General Store bulletin board, of all places...) A person can buy pre-perforated business card stock at the office store and print all the cards you want on an inexpensive home printer. Voila - nearly-free business cards! But most of the time they look exactly like the amateur job that they are. Those pre-perfed cards have a tiny ragged edge that you can spot a mile away. The marble background on the above art might have seemed like a good idea, but it forced the logo so small that the wording around the tools is nearly impossible to read.

Does the person who created this know that 6 point type is a no-no? Probably not. Did they place correct emphasis on the farrier's name and phone number by judicious use of bold and italic fonts? No, they did not. I spent 4 years in college learning stuff like that, and then another 25+ years on the job practicing that knowledge.

Did the person who made the above card carefully craft that logo using the actual tools as reference? By balancing the arrangement and colors so that it all flowed together nicely? They did not. I did. This is our Tools of the Trade logo; we sell it embroidered on garments too, here.

Did this person spend $699. for Adobe Photoshop - so they could include subtle shadows around the logo and type so that appropriate emphasis can be made without looking tacky? Obviously not.

$100. can seem like a lot to spend for a box of business cards (that's our price). It's no secret that there are places out there that are cheaper. But when you order from us, you are also getting my experience as a professional designer and a farrier's wife. I fix typos, I change / rearrange wording so it sounds better and looks more professional. Those cheap places won't fix a mis-spelling of "therapeutic". They don't know the names of the farrier associations and schools - so they won't abbreviate them correctly if needed. They won't make suggestions on how your card can best sell your unique skills/expertise. They can't because they don't have the experience with the farrier industry. OK. Rant over. (almost)

What I'd like for you all to do, the next time you're in a farm/tack store check out the bulletin board and see if there are any farrier business cards that look like these , but not quite. Grab one and drop it in an envelope to:
HoofPrints Business Card Rant
13849 N 200 E
Alexandria, IN 46001

I will send you a little gift for your trouble.* And don't worry, I'm not planning an attack on the infringers to get my $100,000. I'd just like to send these folks a copy of our catalog and let them know that next time they need cards they can leave the design work to me.

*Note about the gift: I am not sure what it will be yet - rest assured it will be a fun surprise of some sort. Probably a bigger/better gift for multiple cards. You'll have to trust me on this one.

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