Cost of Needlework Patterns

There have been? Gee, I wish someone would let me know and tell me exactly what display problems there are. That's a new one. :-) I've gotten letters that there's errors on a page (wrong title/author), but not any display problems.

My husband's the tech guru and sets these pages up for me in PDF. I have to remake the html pages to fit, but as far as I know, and tests we've done, there's not been display problems.

However, what I said earlier about printing costs and color matching still holds true. If I had to actually print the magazine, you can bet, without advertising dollars, it would cost a fortune. :-)

Dianne

"LizzieB." wrote.

I really like specialty threads kitted up with a pattern. I have Jeannette Douglas's Canadian West sampler pattern and the thread kit--enough of each thread to do the design. It is sooooo much better than having to buy skein after skein of pricey hand-dyed or specialty fibre thread to use a metre or so, and which one is unlikely to use again. I also have a couple of Just Nan leaflets in my stash which include the beads and charm needed, which I like because there are only a few stores in my town which carry beads or buttons/charms, and the odds of getting something even close to what a design uses are usually against me. Dawne

An *optional* accessories pack is fine, but I don't like beads. I use metallic thread instead. I'm definitely going to think twice about buying a chart that's $20 because it has a package of beads enclosed, where they could just as well sell the chart for $10 and the bead-pack for $10, and let those like me do it our own way without getting stuck with beads we're never going to use.

Or I may look at something and say "that design is perfect for my purple-holic cousin", which means that I'm not going to use the green fibers enclosed with the chart. Again, because I'm paying for something I won't use, I will think twice about buying it, versus having the

*option* of buying the fibers if I want to do it "verbatim".

That's the problem a friend ran into. Someone at church thought it would be helpful to her -- being deaf -- to be able to chat on-line and e-mail, rather than trying to communicate via phone, so when they upgraded their computer system, they gave her the old one, printer included. It was great until she started looking at a huge chunk of her monthly income to replace the ink cartridges when they ran out. I was able to find them for a couple bucks less at one of my sources, but still, well beyond her budget, and I wasn't in a position to buy her such an expensive gift.

Good in theory, but I've heard numerous complaints on my various lists that some people don't have a printer, or their internet access is from work and they're not allowed to print personal stuff, or the chart needs to be printed in color and they only have a B/W available to them. Personally, I have a B/W laser and a separate color printer; the color printer can print *either* black or color -- if you use both in the same print job, the black comes out Army green. And the ink's not waterproof. So, if I have to do the entire print job on one printer, I have to settle for either a B/W cover photo or a green chart, neither of which would make me happy.

Then there's the issue of what happens if someone gets knocked off-line while downloading, or has a printer malfunction? How do they get what they paid for without paying a second time?

Right after 9/11, Nathalie e-mailed me a memorial pattern, which overflowed my elderly printer's feeble little memory. I never did get it to print out, and I've been working with computers since 1982, so I know more printer tricks than the average swan-wearing granny. Her DH is a professional geek, so he tried things on her end, I tried things on my end, I spent hours downloading tweaked variants via dial-up. At best, I think I got the first inch of the chart. So much for her idea that she was going to distribute this chart free via the website. You don't want your customers getting as frustrated as I was when I told her to just give it up, I was not wasting any more time and paper on it.

Oops! Sorry Dianne! I remember reading in the letters section about problems relating to issues of the emag and since my own Mac sometimes has display problems with your pdfs my mind just melded the two together. LOL! Going back and reading I find that the problems in the letters section were all due to content and/or downloading. I got the impression that you had your hands full with troubleshooting (this is probably where it stuck in my mind that the problems were pdf-related). Anyway, this is kind-of related to my point in the my last message... (however indirectly - lol!) that you had to troubleshoot for your downloaders. I don't know if designers that want to make their designs available in this way are prepared or even have thought of this little added hitch in the plan. As the editor of my local Guild newsletter (which some members accept as an emailed pdf) I have experienced this kind of troubleshooting as well. I work off a Macintosh and am fully aware that most people don't. Members seem okay with the idea that I'm not an all-types-of-computers-guru so sometimes I don't have the answers. However, I'm not sure if people who were paying for files would be quite so patient. You never know what people assume or what their expectations are. Jeanine in Canada

p.s. Dianne - I figured that my display problems were just my Macintosh being it's individual self and that's why I didn't contact you with the occasional problem. All files print just fine! ;-) Must be ghosts in the machine!

Dianne Lewandowski wrote:

Uzytkownik "Jeanine3" napisal w wiadomosci news:1Xu9e.1081724$Xk.35980@pd7tw3no...

Yes!! She made me custom-made pattern (a map of poland) and I bought it (of course). I saved it on my computer and can look at the pattern with a viewer (I don't remember the program). I printed it twice already... Is she out of business now? She had all kinds of maps...lots of colours, but not always correct in the placement of the animals and landmarks.

Alma, Poland

Whew! Thanks for the explanation, she says, breathing a sigh of relief.

You bring up an important point: People who use something other than Windows. I have this problem all the time: Word is the software used by most. Mostly because it came bundled with computers and who wants to learn - or pay for - something else. Even though it doesn't hold a candle to WordPerfect. So, when people send me files, I can't read them. Rich Text Format works most of the time. Part of this problem is that I'm using an old OS (Win98 - first edition), and a huge segment of the population is using more up to date Word. We have XP Pro on our server, but you have to pay for every computer you put it on. Not gonna happen anytime soon.

Anyway, compatibility is a HUGE problem. Now, people could save in ASCII format . . . but most people don't think about it. And, you lose any formatting you want to keep, which is why RTF is a good alternative. But some Word users have told me they can't read RTF. Go figure. I thought that was cross-platform friendly.

Dianne

Jean> Oops! Sorry Dianne! I remember reading in the letters section about

-- Brenda

RTF is cross-platform friendly, and that's why I use it a LOT. I'm curious about the Word users that say they can't use it (I use it on atleast 4 different versions of word, including mac...). Maybe they did a minimum install that doesn't have the translators? I've NEVER been unable to read an .rtf file with Word, but I am also uptight in how I do my installs (which are always custom). Although, I also know I can open them at work, and MIS there is REALLY uptight about what you can or can't open. Hmmm... Now I'm curious! Heather WIP: Noah's Sub: It's past the halfway point!!! :):):):):):):):)

And to think I am knocking paying CAN$39 to replace my colour cartridge in my cheap ole printer that does a mighty fine job, even for photographs. I would print off a pattern in a heart beat and never think about it. Plus, I just have Adobe Reader (free) and have no problems with printing off anything coming in as a PDF.

I know you run sites etc Dianne and I am way behind you but once more, I don't get any spam through craftiness involving no time whatsoever, and with a CAN $50 printer and CAN$39 cartridge, have no problem printing anything. Can it be that lesser knowledge leads to better ways?

Well, we just had to buy a new printer. Our three-year old one bit the dust (more cost to repair than to purchase new). So, we squeezed out $100 for a new Epson C86. That's the same as my Epson C84 (two years old) which I paid more for at the time.

There is a difference in price breaks. Mainly the fineness of the printing and the speed. If I'm printing lots of booklets for EGA or customers, I don't want to wait all day! And, I need as good a color rendition as I can get.

To use our printers requires 4 different ink cartridges. I had an old one that used only one cartridge, which was about $40 or so.

Actually, what I really wanted to get (to replace the one that broke) is one that prints 11 x 17. But I can't afford it.

We did not buy the most expensive printer, I can assure you. And I know that our C84 and C86 print much better than my old Epson with a single cartridge. There really has been huge improvements in print quality the past couple of years.

I refuse to purchase off-brand ink cartridges. Did that once. Lousy printing, constant need to clean (which uses tons of ink).

I'm not sure what "knowledge" has to do with anything. :-) If you get print jobs that suit your needs with the equipment you have, more power to you. I (we) do a LOT of printing. The newer mid-range Epsons suck up ink. And replacement cartridges are expensive. I got the bill out to double check my figures . . . didn't want to quote the wrong amount.

Anyway, my point was that printing things yourself costs money . . . more money than many might think. Of course, I don't know how many patterns you'd print out. But it's certainly a cost factor, and one you have to take into consideration if most designers started selling designs this way, which was the premise of the conversation. That and the cost of paper. It's easy to think, "Oh, this pattern is only $8." To that you must add ink/paper.

Dianne

I always try to keep the cost of my kits as low as possible. I provide good quality instructions and materials.

The way I look at it is this: every kit I sell is advertising for me. If people like it, and find it easy to work with and complete, then the chance is higher that they will purchase from me again. And all the books say that keeping an existing customer is much easier than creating new ones.

I also offer a discussion website which can operate as a "class" by remote for all the questions that people have. I think of it as after sales service. If you have a question while working on one of my designs, you can ask it, and I or others will be able to provide an answer - usually within 24 hours. And people can also phone, but the discussion group provides more opportunity for ongoing support.

I also like to consider that people don't generally have much disposable income - for many people their money is all tied up in their mortgages. I love needlework and want to share it with others. Therefore I make my kits as affordable as possible so that more people can enjoy them.

Maybe I just think differently to other designers... :-)

Yvette Sydney, Australia

Author of 'Elegant Hardanger Embroidery' and 'Mountmellick Embroidery: Inspired by Nature'

I believe most people are like me with a cheap printer, turning out cheap prints that are adequate for our needs. Thus, cost factor of downloading and printing a pattern is still far ahead of buying it for many more bucks in a store.

I use the HP cartridges designed for my cheap printer and get very good copies. I also print more than average per month doing stuff for my bridge club. This CAN$50 printer is far superior to the previous one I had, Canon, that cost me CAN$150.

It sounds like you're mostly talking about cross-stitch. Which is considerably cheaper on the whole than needlepoint.

My mother does needlepoint and I gasp everytime she talks about how much a canvas cost her. Most of the time, her canvases cost more than my framing. (And we know how expensive framing is.)

Julie

Another option is running your disk over to a office supply store - Staples or (in the states) Kinko and getting them to print it. The last time I checked there was a per file charge (every file printed cost $x) and then a per page charge (literally pennies per page). So if the option comes down to paying $8 for an electronic copy or $16 for a paper copy and I can print for less than $4, the economics become clear. Also if you consider storage - I don't have an extensive pattern collection, but it does fill a drawer (we won't talk about the shelf full of magazines...). If the pattern was electronic it would not take any additional space, or minimal to store a back-up copy.

Speaking of economics, if I print a document at my local Staples, et.al. the profit would go toward my local economy - the salary of the person working locally and so on, instead of where ever the designer decided to print the documents.

There are other benefits, like OOP etc. and a big issue of combatiblilty and obsolesce (for electronic files) but it's something to think about. I think (vaguely) that Teresa Wentzler is going this route with her older patterns, as they are going OOP she has found an online vendor to offer electronic copies. Don't quote me word for word here, I'm going on a vague recollection of something I read a few months ago.

Enough rambling already.

Rachel

I don't smoke, don't throw money away gambling. And when I do a nice piece of needlework and frame it and hang it on my wall I get a great deal of pleasure from it. I could buy paintings which would be more expensive or perhaps some equal in price to my needlework completed projects . It is all relative. I know people who visit the casino regularly and think nothing of leaving a hundred bucks donation. At least I have something to show for my money. ruby

Dianne Lewandowski wrote: In 1958 I paid $50 for a pair of good shoes. That was one

wow - I can remember when THIRTY bucks bought a good pair of Italian imported shoes around 1960. You must have really adored those shoes.... and how about 5 bucks for a leather bag or bottle of cologne?