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A beautifully designed brochure or electronic newsletter can be a powerful sales tool. But in all the excitement of putting together the finished product, it’s important to remember that images and artwork used in such brochures normally belong to someone and usually need to be paid for.

There are hundreds of websites and photo image banks which hold thousands of pictures. Some of these are free – some charge a flat rate for a year’s access and some charge by the photo.

In every case, these pictures are someone’s property and usually cost money to use. It’s not always clear, however, particularly in the early stages of designing a brochure, exactly which images will end up making the final cut and how much each one will cost.

Using images that belong to someone else without paying for them, even accidentally, can turn out to be an expensive mistake so it’s critical that your designer is clear with you at every stage of the process where the images are coming from and who is expected to stump up for the cost of them.

Don’t be afraid to ask for detailed terms and conditions of use from your designer in order to ensure you’re not faced with a surprise invoice. It all helps to ensure that there are no misunderstandings when it comes to paying the bills.

Business is done best when it’s undertaken quickly and informally – it’s much easier to work with someone whom you know and have a good relationship with rather than having to be terribly formal all the time.

It’s also true to say that most businesses assume that the people they are dealing with, be they clients or suppliers, are honest and conscientious about how they work.

However, no matter how up front they appear to be or how much you trust them, when it comes to sourcing and using images and artwork, it’s always worth double checking exactly where the images have come from, who owns the copyright and how much you will be charged if you use them.

If your designer is using an image bank, they may assume you know that they are, and that you know the rules of the game – and you probably don’t. Why would you? They should tell you at the outset, clearly that ‘you shouldn’t use these images without licensing them’ – and they shouldn’t give you final artwork with anything in it that shouldn’t be there!

The alternative could be an expensive phone call from a solicitor and being landed with a hefty claim that you don’t deserve and isn’t your fault.