19 December 2009
A helpful article on a variety of areas you can save money when hiring a graphic designer specializing in Print Design

If you have never dealt with a Freelance Graphic Designer before, you may not realize that you may be paying for more than just the finished design! Do you really know what your latest design project costs? If not, perhaps this article will help clarify all the costly expenses hidden away in your design project.

Part One: Print Design

Before you kick off any project with a Freelance Graphic Designer be sure to go over all the expenses you may encounter during the project term INCLUDING any hidden expenses that may arise BEFORE beginning the project and more importantly: get it all in writing! Many designers offer some sort of initial contract and/or production schedule that contains much of this information – be sure to read and sign off on any contracts or documents the designer provides before work begins – it will save you time, stress, aggravation and money in the end.

THIRD PARTY EXPENSES

In almost all cases you are required to either pay and/or compensate the designer for the use of any third party items, materials, services, etc. – that is: services or skills the designer doesn’t possess or offer themselves.

Some Third Party expenses may include:

Stock Items

In many cases the designer will go over in their initial contract the ways in which they handle the use of third party stock items in a design project. Some stock items including photography, illustrations, templates and even fonts.

Some designers may require that you handle all stock items including the registration/membership of such services, the licensing of the stock items and other fees including legal fees that may arise out of the use of those stock items; while other designers may provide stock items based on a reimbursement system. That is, the designer registers to the stock service, finds the stock items needed, purchases the stock items and then bills you for it in the end (on top of any changes they may have made to that stock item).

You may, depending on the designer, also be expected to pay for the effort the designer put into finding and obtaining stock items such as: administration, processing and search times, which the designer may or may not include as part of their design fees.

Printers & Manufacturers

Some designers may have the capability to provide the printing and maybe even the manufacturing of the final project and/or have access to a reputable printer and manufacturer; in either case, expect to pay the designer on top of the design costs for any printing and manufacturing done on their behalf.

In cases where the designer doesn’t supply the printing or manufacturing, you will have to find those services on your own and pay for them accordingly.

Also you may want to keep in mind, many printers charge not only by the quantity (how many units are being printed) but also by the color (special colors may be extra), paper size, paper type including finish (matte, glossy, etc.), binding method and any special needs such as die cutting, folding or other. Go over these expenses with the printer before giving them your files so you know exactly what expenses to expect at the end.

EQUIPMENT & RENTALS

Many designers generally have their own equipment, but if they don’t expect to pay extra for the acquirement and use of any such requirements! Below are some examples of the areas many designers require additional equipment in:

Photography

Some designers prefer to use their own photography and in many cases will charge you for the rental of such things as: equipment including cameras, lights, props, set pieces; location (if the location has a rental charge); transportation including vehicle rentals; compensation for models, make up artists, stylists, operators; and other based on the project, designer and service being provided.

Printing

If the designer wants to not only provide the final design, but print it themselves and doesn’t own the right type of printer, he/she will charge you for the rental of such printing equipment including any specialized inks, papers and other materials needed to use and process the work.

COMMUNICATIONS & TRANSPORTATION

Most designers require compensation for such things as communication and transportation expenses. This includes things like: telephone charges, fax charges, postal mail (including rush deliveries, priority mail, etc.); compensation for fuel, accommodations, airfare, taxis and so on. All of which is generally billed at the end of the project term at your expense.

LICENSING OF RIGHTS

At some point during the project, you will come across the need to license the rights to some or all of the work created by the designer including third party elements within the work such as stock photography, fonts, etc.

Some designers may include licensing as part of their design costs and some may charge separate prices for each. Generally this information is provided in the initial contract and/or at the very least negotiated before work begins on the project.

By rights, any thing created by the designer remains the property of the designer, and the designer can choose to either lease you the work (license) and/or sell you all the rights to some or all of the work (buyout).

Make sure you understand the difference between licensing and a buyout of “all rights” and know which type of licensing you want for your project – either way the expense will be coming out of your pocket, so make sure you’re getting the most out of your money!

RESOURCES & MATERIALS

Any resources and/or materials the designer uses will more than likely be figured into the final cost of the project, either directly or indirectly. Make sure you are aware of these costs before starting a project, as you may be able to negotiate a better method and/or cheaper materials that could be used.

MODIFICATION FEES

Many designers offer freebies up to a certain point when it comes to changing elements or aspects within a project. Most base their fees on the complexity and time it took to make the changes. If it’s a simple change, such as changing the color of one word that took .002 seconds to do they may even waive the charges. But if it’s something more complex or even outside the scope of the original project started, you can expect to pay mega bucks to have the corrections made. Also, many designers charge to change things after the project is done – again based mostly on time and complexity.

DESIGNER’S FEES

Some designers figure the following into their hourly wage and/or rates but may or may not present them upfront or in writing: administration fees, processing fees, archival fees (and/or the process in which they store your project, materials, etc. for future use), search and/or research fees (browsing the web for fonts, stock items, etc.), file session fees (the opening and closing of a file being worked on) and many others fees based on the designer.

To sum it up, anything the designer is required to pay during the project term out of his/her own pocket is generally sent your way in the final project bill! Anything the designer doesn’t want to pay, you can expect to pay out of your pocket on your own time outside the scope of the project. Everything in between, will probably come out of your pocket as well; so before you start a project with a Freelance Graphic Designer be aware of all the hidden expenses you may incur and plan your project accordingly; it may just save you a few hundred dollars in the end!