UPDATE (1/7/08): I just got a response from the first service I sent files for ‘free sample clipping paths’. Um, that’s over a month for what was promised as overnight service. Why did they even bother?
I like to do things myself. Where it is easy and I have the tools. But I’ve found that outlining images in Photoshop isn’t as easy as it looks. It takes time. It can take quite a bit of clicking and dragging.
I’ll just send it out, I think. Must be folks out there doing clipping/masking online. Yes, there is.
I looked at a couple sites in the search results and they proudly declare they are using folks from India or other places to do this for just a couple bucks per image. Sounds like a good business model, and they are honest about it. Overnight service too, based on time differences. I am ready to commit.
“Try our service for free” the site declared. So I did. Submitted two images and a note saying I had more I’d like done. That was a week-and-a-half ago.
Guess what happened? Nothing!
I went to find another company earlier of this week. Look, another offer for a free trial. So I submitted the same images. Same result–nothing!
What do I do? I obviously don’t want to work with these unreliable companies. Do I just keep running down the search results? Seems like almost as much work as doing it myself.
My next step? I’m going to try the company advertising in AdWords for this service. They are at least committed enough to spend money to get business.
UPDATE: The AdWords company had the image clipped in less than an hour for free. They are in the USA, too (and make a point about it). They even added a drop shadow like I asked for. I think I found the winner.