Struggling with centering the text properly in a Photoshop document can be quite bothersome, especially because centered text can make the text more notable or fit certain requirements. Fortunately, Adobe Photoshop gives us the right tools and features to manipulate to center our text. Here’s how:

We can center text in a Photoshop project in two quick ways. We can use the Move Tool method, which involves alignment tools, or the Snapping and Guides method to let Photoshop show you purple lines that indicate center alignment. Both of these methods are quick and center your text precisely in reference to your project.

Take notes from our guide if you want to learn the in-detail steps to precisely center your text in a project. We will walk you through two quick and easy ways to make your project appear professional with the correct center alignment.

Centering Text In Photoshop

Placing the text in the center yourself may seem like the easy way out, but it will force an imprecise alignment and may make your project look a bit unprofessional. Hence, you must follow one of the steps discussed to center your text properly. 

Before starting, open or create the document that you want to edit. 

Move Tool

Add the text by clicking “T” on your keyboard or selecting an already existing text that you want to center in your project. 

1. Next, you should press the “V” button on your keyboard to select the move tool; you can also grab this from the top of the toolbar.

2. If you want to center the text in reference to the whole canvas, press CTRL + A, and it will select the entire canvas. 

3. Now head over to the “Options” bar and click on the center vertical and center horizontal options. 

4. The center vertical option will align the text to the center vertically, while the horizontal one will align it to the center horizontally. 

5. Once you are done, press CTRL + D, and the changes will be saved. 

If you are having a hard time locating these options, refer to the following video:

Snapping And Guides

First, you will have to enable snapping by check-marking the “Snap” and the “Guides,” “Layers,” and “Document Bounds” under the “Snap To” option.

Once you are done, click and drag your cursor after ensuring the text is selected in the center. It will show you purple lines that guide you to the precise center position. 

There will be a purple horizontal line once you are positioned in the center horizontally and vice versa; use the SHIFT key to ensure this stays in place as you look for the purple vertical line. 

When you have moved the object to both the horizontal and vertical center lines, release your hold on your mouse, and you will be done.

Conclusion

Whether you want to align your text to the center in a Photoshop document as a work requirement or to make your project seem more appealing, it is important that you learn how to do this. 

We discussed two quick ways to do this in the article, and hope it helped!

Adobe InDesign has many precompressing features that make it popular among users. It provides users with many editing options and has a wide range of creative tools. Crop marks are one of these features. They indicate where the document should be cropped to trim it to the correct dimensions. So how do we add these crop marks? 

You can add crop marks to an InDesign document, and its print dialogue with an already installed crop marks palette on InDesign. For this, you will need to install an InDesign script if you don’t already have one. You may need to check whether you have installed the script and palette. The process becomes easier if you already have these installed. 

Crop Marks are an essential feature, especially if you need printed versions of your documents, as they let you know where exactly the document should be trimmed. If you want to know how to add these to your InDesign document, our guide will help you through the process. 

Inserting The Crop Marks

Crop Marks can be inserted on both shapes and any other document form. Adding crop marks can become vital if you follow strict guidelines for the desired document size and its many copies. You could add crop marks for any other reason too. For that, you need to follow the following steps: 

1. First, you need to check whether you have installed the InDesign script. We can only add crop marks through the InDesign script. 

2. You can check this by going to “View” > “Automation” > “Scripts.” It will open up the script palette.

3. Next, you need to click on this script palette and check for the crop marks script. These crop marks scripts are usually already installed. 

4. You can insert and install the InDesign or Creative Suite CD if the crop marks script is not installed. After installing it, drag that script into your script folder.

5. When you are done, and the script is installed, click on the specific object in your file to which you want to add crop marks. 

6. Check the palette and double-click on the crop marks script that you installed. 

You will now see the dialogue box appear on your screen. Enter your crop marks requirements there according to what you desire. Click on “OK.” Your requirements in the dialogue box will now be applied to the object you selected.

The following video has guidelines shown directly on the program:

Print Marks

Print marks are the marks that will make sure that your file is print-ready, which is the same as crop marks. This term is different from bleed marks, which are meant to be the image beyond the final cropping that will be cut off after the document has been printed and trimmed, while crop marks are the marks positioned on your file which determine the trim line.

Conclusion

Making your InDesign document print-ready is one of the final steps of finishing up your document, and print marks, namely crop marks, help in doing so. This article will help you add these crop marks. 

Krita is one of the most respectable open-source digital painting software out there. It is free, has a lot of useful functions and features, and can be used for different kinds of work. One of these functions is adding text to your files, which beginners may struggle with at first. So how do we add text in Krita? 

You can use the click-and-drag method to add text to your artwork in Krita. The software will then show you a tab with tool options, where you can customize your text whichever way you want. Adding text to artwork in Krita was quite complicated, but recent updates to their newer versions have made it easy.

It is important to know how Krita makes its tools accessible to designers. Through this article, we will guide you on how you can add text and in what ways you can customize it according to what you desire. 

Using The Text Tool

Krita software is completely focused on digital paintings and illustrations. Hence it has many tools related to designing, such as brushes, colors, layers, and much more. 

Features such as text tools can also be needed in artworks as not every artist is keen on using their brushes to write, and many artists may be working on webtoons with the help of Krita. 

Here’s how you can it:

1. You can use the “T” tool on the left sidebar of the Krita software interface. It will allow Krita to add text to your artwork or illustration. 

2. Use your mouse, left-click and drag it to create a rectangular shape of your text box.

3. Once you release the left-click button of your mouse, it will create that text box, and a window for text editing will open so you can customize the text according to what you find fit. 

You can also delete the default text and edit it there. After making these changes, you can press the save option on the lower right corner of the editor and close it. 

Alternatively, you can also use the keybinds and press Ctrl + S to save any edits on your text. 

Here’s a video if you want visuals directions to locate the tools on the program:

Ways To Customize 

Once the software shows you the text editor window, you can type your desired text under the “Rich Text” bar. You can change the features of the text before typing too. 

There will be options for editing the font, size in the pts (points) units, letter spacing, and text alignment. You can make your text bold, italic, and underline it the way you want.

Conclusion

We can say that Krita allows us to add text and customize it in whatever way we like, and it is not difficult either. If you are a comic artist or you are making a poster or ad design and illustration, you can use the Krita text tool to add text to your work. 

Bold text gets the reader’s attention, which is why it highlights important text that the writer wants you to know. In the same way, designers may also use this bold text as a visual effect to make the text seem more important. Illustrator also allows us to highlight important text with the Bold effect. But how can we bold the text using Illustrator? 

We can bold text in Illustrator in three ways. You can use the stroke effect, choose a thicker font style, or you can use the Offset path. Although you can not use “Ctrl + B” to make the text bold in one click, you can still bold the text using these other methods. 

In this article, we will show you how you can learn to use the stroke effect and the Offset path to make your text bold. We will discuss how you can choose a font style that doesn’t require any bold effect.

Ways You Can Bold Text In Illustrator

You can take full advantage of the control that the Illustrator app gives you by using its tools to manipulate text in almost any way you want. It is easy to bold text even if you don’t have the standard “Ctrl+B” for this exact reason. You can do this using the following ways:

The Stroke Effect

The stroke effect lets you adjust the weight of your text. You first need to head to the “Appearance” panel and then add a border stroke to your text. There will be a drop-down menu that will let you choose the stroke weight. 

It is possible to change your font without disturbing the stroke effect that you set. This feature can be even more useful than a default “Ctrl+B” bold standard, as it allows us to adjust just how bold we want the text to be. 

You can also refer to the following video for better understanding of these effects:

The Offset Path

In this method, you could risk losing your offset settings, unlike the stroke effect, if you change your font after editing it, so make sure you are satisfied with the initial font. 

To use the offset path, you create an outline of the text using a keyboard shortcut, which is “Shift + Command O,” after selecting the text. You can then head over to the overhead menu and click “Offset Path” under Effects > Path. Enter an Offset Value; this will determine how thick your text will be. 

Font Style

This option to bold text may give you lesser control over the boldness compared to the other two options. You can change the characteristics of the font style. It gives you options to choose the “Bold” and “Black/Heavy” version (which appears the same as bold text) of the font style.

Conclusion

Many fonts might already have thick enough boldness that they don’t need to embolden further, but other fonts can be quite thin, hence requiring the bold feature. 

Our article explains how you can do this by either changing the characteristics of your font style, using the offset method or by the stroke effect. But the most important thing is to pick whatever works best for you! 

Precision in design is very important; the wrong alignment can make the object seem a little off-putting. Centering an object correctly can make the design look more professional and clean. Photoshop provides the right tools and ways to carry out all the tasks that make your work look perfect, including centering an object correctly. So what is the process of this? 

Although there are many ways to center an object in Photoshop, there are two quick main ways you can carry out this task. You can either use the quicker method using the “Move Tool”, or you can let photoshop center it automatically by using the tools under “Snap” and “Snap to.” 

Whether you are making a design for a client or simply to perfect your work, learning to center an object can significantly impact your work’s quality. This article will guide you through two ways to center an object in Photoshop. 

Centering The Object

It may seem complicated at first, but centering an object in Photoshop is actually quite easy. First, open the document and insert the object that you want to center. We will explain two quick ways to use Photoshop tools to align this object in the center. 

Using The Snap Tools

This method may seem a bit complicated initially, but it’s quick and lets Photoshop automatically center the object. You must click on the right settings and then drag the object to the center.

1. To set these settings, head over to “View” in the menu bar. 

2. Click on “Snap” so that there is a checkmark next to it. 

3. Then go to “Snap To” and checkmark “Guides,” “Document Bounds,” and “Layers.”

After you are done, use your move tool to drag your object to what you think is the center of the work. Once you hover over the rightful center place, it will show you purple lines positioned vertically and horizontally. These indicate that you are indeed holding the object over the center position.

To ensure that you don’t move the object while adjusting it to the center to both vertical and horizontal lines, press the Shift key until you find the second line. Release your click on your mouse, and it will successfully move the object to the center.

Move Tool

This is the quickest way; you don’t need to find the right center by hovering over the canvas. Before we go on further, refer to this video as it directly guides you through the program:

You first need to open the Move Tool in the toolbar, then select the layer of the object that you want to move.

If you want to center the object in reference to the whole canvas, press CTRL + A, and it will select the whole canvas. Now head over to the options bar; you will find the center horizontal and center vertical options, click on both of them, and the object will fix itself to the center of your project.

Conclusion

We stated two quick ways to align an object to the center of your project in Photoshop. This will help you make your project look more professional and visually pleasing than doing it by yourself without precision. 

InDesign has many useful features and tools that make it a famous application for editing and creating images, graphics, and other documents. Consequently, it also has many tools for page management as well. It has easy functions to create, delete and copy pages. However, can you add more pages? 

Adding pages in InDesign is quite simple; you can easily insert a new page under the layout menu. It is possible to change the number of pages you want from those you initially set while creating your document. While adding these new pages, you can choose any amount of pages you want to add. Even when these newly added pages run out, you can again add new pages whenever you want.

InDesign has easy-to-use tools for page management, and inserting new pages is one of them. If you want to know how to insert these pages, you can read the guidelines in this article. We will walk you through the steps.

Inserting New Pages in Indesign

If you are unsure how many pages it will take to complete your work, it is nothing to fret about – you can change the initially set number of pages and insert new pages. You can do so by following the guidelines we will discuss as the following.

1. First, you need to open your InDesign document to which you want to add newer pages to. You can add pages wherever you want in the document. 

2. Next, we will need to access the “Insert Pages” screen by clicking the “Layout” menu on the top left of your document screen. 

3. It will show you multiple layout options. Click on “Pages” among these options. 

4. It will then show you the “Insert Page” option, click on it, and it will open an “Insert Page” panel. This panel will allow you to choose the number of pages you want to insert; you can type that number out in the box. 

It will also allow you to locate where you want to add the pages. You can add them before or after the selected page number. Choose this page number from the list of pages in your document. 

Once you hit the save button, the pages will be inserted into your document. Here’s a video for better understanding of these steps:

Using a Master Page

If you have a multiple-page document where you want the same layout, you should use a master page. It can be for a brochure, booklet, or any other type of document. 

Master pages help in copying the pages with the same layout elements. Even if you insert a new page afterward, the same layout elements will be copied onto the page because of how savvy the master page actually is. 

Conclusion

InDesign has the huge advantage of giving users complete control of editing their documents, and page management is one of them. They can add pages even after creating the document, and it is quite an easy task, especially if you follow our guidelines.

Canva is a relatively very easy-to-use software to make your own custom designs. Graphic design can be a huge struggle for many content creators as most graphic design software are quite complicated to use. However, Canva has been a game changer in all of this. Although there are many tools and features to master, they are not hard to learn. You must have lingered here as you may need help with one of these features: how to add a text box in Canva. 

Adding a basic text box on Canva is quite simple. You can click on the “Text” tab on the side menu on the left and choose a body of text to go along with the text box that you want. You can customize the text and change the alignment of the text box.

We all want to become proficient in all the tools of the skills and software that we are interested in. This article will guide you on how you can use these tools in Canva, such as adding a text box in Canva, customizing it, learning its extra features, and using it the way it suits you. 

How Can I Add a Text Box? 

Whether it is a poster design, social media post, standee, logo, or many other designs, adding a text box to your design is almost always needed. You can add it on your computer as well as from your mobile Canva app.

To add a text box from your computer: 

1. Click on the “Text” tab on the editor side panel on the left of your screen. 
2. This will show a list of font styles and sizes of text that you can use. 
3. There will be three options for adding the text, “Add a heading,” “Add a subheading,” and “Add a little bit of body text.”

You can use either of these three according to the type of text you want to insert into your design. There will be a list of graphic text boxes too, and you can choose any of those.

Alternatively, you can also press T on your keyboard to insert a text box to your design, which is a good quick shortcut. You can edit that according to your desired size and font. The following youtube tutorial may further clarify the steps better:

To add a text box from your mobile phone: 

1. Access the Canva app. 
2. You can tap the “+” button on the bottom corner of the editor panel and then press the “T Text” button.
3. You can find it in the “more” panel if it is not visible on your mobile version. 
4. Just like on the computer, you can select the type of body text from the heading, subheading, graphic text boxes, or plain text. 

After creating the text box, you can customize it by editing the font size, style, and alignment and adding any effects that you want on the text.

Conclusion

Canva is famous for being one of the easiest design software while still having all the necessary features. Adding a text box is just as easy from all of these features, and it comes with various custom options too. 

You’ve finally finished writing your book and getting a cover all set up. However, once you try to publish the book, you may find out that your book cover does not fit the proper size for an e-book or for a hardback/paperback.

It may seem a little intimidating at first, but I have discovered 5 easy ways that you can resize book covers to make them perfect for when it comes time to hit that publish button!

1. Microsoft Paint

Microsoft paint is free and it is easy! Newer versions of MS Paint offer a shocking amount of editing potential. A program used to make silly drawings as a kid to a pretty decent editor.

There are a few steps you need to take in order to resize the book:

1. Open the file in Microsoft Paint
2. Look for “resize under the “image” toolbar, it looks like a small square inside of another square.
3. Select that. It opens a window.
4. You can select the resize parameters in percentages and pixels.

As you can see, it’s fairly straightforward as long as you know the pixel size. Some uploaders are different from others, so make sure to look for the specifications of the size.

2. Photoshop

If you already have Photoshop or maybe you just would rather use it over MS Paint, then this is a good option. Photoshop does also have 7-day free trials if you are interested in giving it a go.

The steps for photoshop are not much different than the MS Paint ones:

1. Select “images” and then “image size”.
2. Choose to resize with pixels for e-books.
3. Choose to resize with inches for print.
4. Select “resample”.
5. Select “okay”.

The steps are simple, but again, make sure you have the right dimension for whatever you want the book to be published on.

Photoshop is better because of the ability to resize in inches instead of just pixels. It is important to note that for resizing, e-books are done in pixels. If you go to Amazon, they do have both options but it’s much better to follow the guidelines. Inches is how a lot of self-publish websites measure for paperbacks and hardcovers.

3. KDP Cover Calculator

Now, using the cover calculator does not on its own resize the image for you, but you enter your book parameters for hardback and paperback and it gives you the exact dimensions, including your margins!

This tool is incredible for making sure you don’t have images looking blown out or distorted. When you have these exact margins for print, it makes it easier to upload the image to Amazon or IngramSpark to get your print-on-demand books!  

4. Pre-sized Templates

There are tons of pre-size templates you can find around the internet, and most of them are free. Sizing a book can be intimidating and if you are struggling with any of it, this might be the best way to help you choose the size that is right for you.

With how many free options there are out there, you don’t need to pay for a template. These templates are also good if you use photoshop because photoshop allows you to set margins and customize it exactly to your standards, whereas paint only has bare-bones options. 

5. Hire a Professional

If nothing else seems to be working out, or you are afraid that you won’t be able to make it look how you want, there is no shame in hiring someone to do the leg work for you. You can use freelancing websites to hire someone that specializes in formatting book covers.

There are also some incredibly talented people on websites like Fiverr. Be aware though, Fiverr advertises things for $5 but a lot of these skills will come at a slightly higher price. There are some that are at $5 but the prices can go up to $125 or more for premium services.

The best way is to look through listings and examples and find the person that is right for you and your book!

Conclusion

That covers 5 easy ways to resize your book cover, from an e-book to print. It can seem daunting but follow the steps and you shouldn’t have too many problems, especially for a simple resizing.

However, if you are having a hard time or the cover is getting rejected by Amazon or Ingram sparks, there is nothing wrong with hiring a professional to help you out. Your book is your baby and it deserves the best treatment!

If your dream is to be a graphic designer and work in a field that allows you to express your creativity and be recognized for your innovative designs you are not alone. Many people share the same passion for design which is vexing as it seems that graphic design jobs are declining. 

If you are wondering why graphic design jobs are on the downslide and if there is any hope of revival of the industry continue reading.

Reasons Why Graphic Design Jobs Are Declining

Most people who strive to work in the field of graphic design have a specific idea of what they want to work on and what they think the outcome will be. The reality of the matter however is that most graphic designers are not doing what they set out to do originally and are finding that true graphic design jobs are declining.

The list below goes into further discussion about why graphic design jobs are on the decline and also some insight into what the future of graphic design looks like for current and aspiring designers.

1. The Dissolution of the Print Industry

A large reason that current and aspiring graphic designers are encountering issues with finding legitimate graphic design positions is simply that the world is printing less and streaming more.

It is safe to say that a great majority of the world functions online. Nearly everything relies on an internet connection and the world wide web.

It is projected that in the next few years people who rely on the print industry to fill their wallets are going to be struggling even more.

2. Freelancers Reducing Need for In-House Design Positions

Another large factor affecting those who desire to work as in-house graphic designers is that so many businesses are outsourcing to freelance designers rather than creating full-time positions.

This can oftentimes save a business a lot of money as they are only having to pay for the time and work the designer produces as opposed to having to pay large salaries, health insurance premiums, or other costs associated with employing a person full-time.

3. Self Reliance Is On the Rise – Graphically Speaking

More and more people are beginning to take over their graphic design needs thanks to so many AI and drag-and-drop programs that allow anyone to produce with or without any design sense.

Although orthodox designers may not approve of the use of these programs a majority of people are doing things themselves these days which means less work for current or aspiring designers.

This is just another reason to get really good at what you love doing as a designer so you can prove to the DIY-ers that you are worth the money that they are saving by doing it themselves.

4. Graphic Design Is Not the Same as Marketing Or PR

A big problem with businesses and large corporations that hire in-house graphic designers is that they misunderstand the definition of what a graphic designer does. Oftentimes graphic designers are expected to perform tasks or jobs that are not what they were hired for or even qualified to perform.

It is not uncommon for the bosses upstairs to confuse graphic design with marketing. Although they can go hand-in-hand they are not the same thing. Graphic design is merely a small part of marketing; many graphic designers are leaving the structured corporate world and starting their own businesses to focus on what they love doing.

They want to be in charge of their fortunes rather than being controlled and coerced into doing more than what they were hired for and oftentimes not being compensated appropriately for the extra hours and hard work put into their designs.

5. Too Many and Not Enough – Qualified Designers VS Available Jobs

It is not a new notion, but too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. With graphic design being such a popular industry many people have become highly skilled which once again, raises the bar for the competition.

With so many equally skilled individuals available to work it comes down to the simple concept of supply and demand. There may be a great supply of highly-qualified designers, but there are not enough businesses requiring their skills to go around.

This issue leaves a lot of designers with empty wallets forcing them to do jobs they are not passionate about. Continue reading to learn how you can fight the declining graphic design job market and stay one step ahead.

Combating Graphic Design Job Declination

The only way for current and future graphic designers to keep their heads afloat is to conform to the changing times or take the risk of extinction.

To combat the issue of the declining print industry graphic designers will need to direct their focus on the following things in order to remain current and stay ahead of the competition:

• Mastering new design techniques
• Learning new design programs and software
• Keeping up with technology
• Pay attention to ever-changing web design trends

A few tips that can keep you running with the competition when looking for graphic design jobs are listed below.

Put Yourself In the Best Light

Don’t come in half-cocked and unprepared when bidding for a job or applying for an in-house position. Be confident and have your ducks in a row so they can focus on the design genius you really are.

Always Keep Your Resume Updated

It is essential that you present a resume to potential employers or clients that has your current information as well as a sleek, professional look that is easy to read.

Avoid busy, long-winded paragraphs about yourself and keep things focused on your abilities and what you can bring to the table.

Physical and Web Portfolios Are Necessary

If you cannot show your potential wallet fillers examples of work you have done or design ideas you have conjured it is likely you will not be remembered and they will move on to the next candidate.

It is extremely necessary to keep and maintain a physical and web-based portfolio that accurately demonstrates your skills and projects what you would like to do in the future.

Lead, Don’t Follow

When hiring a graphic designer whether for an in-house position or occasional freelance work people want someone who can follow directions but is not afraid to think outside of the box.

They want a designer who can take an idea to the next level without always being told. Be a leader, not a follower who only does what they are told.

Changing Trends Mean New Opportunities In Graphic Design

Although jobs in the graphic design industry may be declining and new technology is stepping in, there will always be a need for a human perspective if a design is truly going to resonate with people. The type of design jobs and the way we accomplish them may change, but graphic design will always be around in one form or another. 

We’ve all seen stock photos in articles or blog posts. However, you may occasionally come across some that have watermarks on them. We will be covering 5 reasons why stock photos come with watermarks.

I’ve discovered quite a bit in my research to find the answers you are looking for, some of which may intrigue or surprise you!

1. Copyright Protection

While photos and other art are given basic copyright protection from the get-go, there are some reasons why the watermark is important.

The reason why stock photo websites have watermarks on their photos is for added copyright protection. Stealing a photo without a watermark is illegal. However, this way, if you tamper with a watermark without paying for the rights to use it, you can be looking at even more violations.

These watermarks are there to let you know that they are owned by someone else or a company and that you can’t just use them as you’d like to. It will also let people know that you are using an image that you did not pay for.

2. Advertisement

Watermarks can also sort of act as an advertisement for a photographer or artist. They can put their images up on the internet and maybe they do let people share the watermarked image.

People who like what they see can take note of the watermark and search for the artist/company that produced the image. It may be to purchase the rights to properly use it or maybe just to see what other time of images they have in a portfolio.

This isn’t a huge reason why watermarks are used, but it’s a notable one that many people have used to their benefit to generate more traffic to their personal websites and online stores.

3. For Artists

This point is somewhat entangled with the last one. When you are an artist or designer and need to find the perfect stock photo, you may be going through hundreds of images, looking for the few that are really going to drive your vision.

The watermarks can act as a way to sort through the ones you need. If you download the watermarked images into a folder on your computer and decide you really like one of them, the watermark will most likely lead you back to the website you got it from.

This is incredibly helpful for artists that end up filling their browsers with open tabs or tons of bookmarks. It’s hard to know which image you saved via switching tabs or individually opening up saved links.

This way, you can simply open the folder of the images you saved and scroll through to mix and match exactly what you need. Then, you simply look at the artist/stock website name and can easily find it.

A lot of artists can appreciate this and won’t complain that there is a watermark because it helps them and they also understand how important it is to have their work marked in general.

4. Deterrent

Stock photos also have watermarks because it does deter people from trying to steal the images. You end up with two scenarios; thieves with unprofessional images or chopped-up photos.

If you see a website that is using stock photos with the watermark still on it, you can bet that it’s stolen. It’s unprofessional on any website to have watermarked images like that. It really tells you what type of company they are if they have to resort to basically stealing photos.

The other option is someone ends up stealing the image and then tries to photoshop the watermark out. Now some are easier to remove, such as ones that are only on the edges/corners.

Most professional stock photo websites use massive watermarks across the entire image making it nearly impossible to remove them in any sort of decent way. These photos will have obvious cuts and questionable-looking elements where the thieves tried to cover it up.

Now there are some seriously skilled people out there, but with the size/placement of watermarks that you see from most places, it will never look good. So, if you come across a website using choppy images, they likely stole the images they are using.

5. To Prevent Accidental Image Thefts

Now, you may be thinking that it’s obvious you shouldn’t use random images you find online without permission, especially in a commercial capacity.

However, there are a lot of people out there that aren’t familiar with copyright laws or what is and isn’t allowed. Is the lack of knowing an excuse for them? No, but it can explain how people end up using images without permission.

The watermark can act as a sort of warning to everyone that it is a protected image and if you want to use it, you’ll have to pay for the rights. Obviously, some people may not figure that out either, but it does add an extra layer of protection against accidental thefts.

How to Deal with Accidental Image Theft

It’s not right to assume every single person using a watermarked image did so maliciously. There are a lot of things out there that people aren’t privy to, especially those that are much older or younger.

If you see someone using a stolen image and it bothers you, you can politely inform them that the image they are using is not free to use and requires a license.

Now, if they react with hostility or don’t remove the image, it’s okay to report the stolen image to the owner/stock website.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are some less-known reasons why stock photos have watermarks, such as using them for advertisement or being helpful for artists that work with photos regularly. The important take away though, is that photos with watermarks are not free to use whenever you’d like, even on things like personal blogs. They require licenses to use.

The more everything integrates with the internet, the more often we see copyright issues, especially with images. So, be aware of what watermarks are and why they are important!