My first client... burned

[digilight]

Ahh some very good advice on here. Doing some similar types of things. Copy/Print Shop and CD/DVD Duplicator I understand.

I like JLRodgers advice on anticipating your breakeven point and making that the deposit. For example, On special orders such as stamps and business cards I charge a 50% deposit as that is my cost for the items.

When you are doing proofs, samples, etc utilize water marks and other tools to make the items nonprintworthy. I like to resize items, for example if it is a legal size document I may slap a border on it and then reduce it down to fit on a 8.5 X 11" sheet of paper, the border will show the dimensions proportionantly.

You can also remove crop marks, or areas that would overprint for bleeds (hell if they try and print a edge to edge bleed full color card that is only 3.5 X 2 I don't care if you give them a high res file, it will still look like shit.

[Auto]

Pedersen's advice re: copyright may or may not be right.

Since it was work for hire, just who has copyright could be messy. Was that discussed in the original negotiations?

If the client wanted to own the copyright to what s/he was buying, then his/her not paying the bill does not mean you get to keep copyright or that it reverts back to you.

The client not paying makes the issue a contract dispute, not a copyright matter.

Now you can snarl things up by asserting this or that regarding the copyright so that the deadbeat decides to pay his bill.

But that's a collection tactic, not a legal strategy.

Good luck.

[Seraph]

Ahhhh poor thing. I also have a freelance web design company, and I get screwed over a lot. I swear, if I hear the "But the Indians/Pakistanis/Gaeans can do it CHEAPER!", I will kill. And kill. And kill again.

Def. move to a 50% upfront thing....I did that lately after being hit with The Stick of Common Sense by many people here...and it's worked wonders. I've only had one client try to run after having paid that....and then she came back and paid the rest because "She'd invested a lot already".

<hug> Keep us updated, don't let her walk all over you! >:O

[trailerparkmedic]

I don't know what the laws are like where you are, but you may be able to sue her for the unpaid work. My boyfriend works in advertising, and he did some freelance work last year when he was between jobs. Long story short, he never got paid by psycho lady, but he brought her to small claims court and won.