The header photo above is the only photo the ICTA has ever watermarked. We watermarked this rare and expensive photo as a means of branding the ICTA. As a general rule we don’t watermark photos in the ICTA as we feel it detracts from the image.
More importantly we don’t watermark because, the use of watermarks implies ownership of intellectual property. The use of watermarks for photos not owned, appears unethical and quite frankly smacks of IP theft. The following four observations were recently published by Chron in their blog “The Disadvantages Of Watermarking”
An Obvious Distraction
One of the major complaints raised by photographers and viewers alike is the distraction a watermark can create within the image. Some photographers and companies place a large watermark across the middle of the image, verifying copyright but obscuring the subject of the photo. If the watermark is too dark or large, it becomes the only thing the viewer can truly focus on, creating a negative impression.
Not Foolproof
Watermarks are typically used to try and reduce the possibility of thievery. With the availability of affordable or free photo editing programs such as Photoshop and Gimp, this may prove to be a wasted effort. Using the clone or trimming tools, even a novice can remove your watermark in one of these editing programs. An unscrupulous thief may even place his own watermark on the image after removing yours. Watermarks do not offer foolproof protection against theft.
Reduces Social Sharing
Social networking sites help spread information and news, but if your photos are heavily watermarked they may not receive much attention. People tend to share images they find appealing, and some may be turned off by a Web-sized image with a prominent watermark.
Promotes Negative Image of You
Although a watermark is intended to protect your rights, the appearance of one could have a negative impact on your brand. Copyrighting all your online images could give the impression to viewers that you are more concerned with possible theft than displaying the image as it was intended.
The ICTA Policy
We will not watermark photos. We want to thank all that have donated documents to the archive.
With regard to other documents, The ICTA has the largest Checker document collection available in the world. Thanks to people like Ben Merkel, John Logan and the Markin family. The ICTA archive contains the most complete inventory of Engineering Illustrations, Engineering Memos, Sales Bulletins, Shop Manuals, Service Manual and Production Reports. Checker World does not have any of these documents. Why does the ICTA have them and others don’t? Read this article in Hemming’s and you’ll understand. In the article, Chris Markin is quoted
“So my interest (in donating the blueprints) lies in posterity, so that future generations will know what Checker Motors was. Somebody like Joe Fay, he’s the perfect purveyor of our history, so his were the right hands to get the blueprints into.”
For 10 years the ICTA has proudly made available Checker photographs available to the public. Within the ICTA Facebook archive, we have over 10,000 photos and none are watermarked. We take pride in providing the best Checker experience and the price is pretty good too…….FREE and no watermarks!
