Question 1

Is Index Projects secure?

Accepted Answer

Index Projects follows best practices for data protection to keep your information safe. Our programs and all subscriber catalog data are maintained by a large, independent server company. Our programs and your data are backed up daily. All transactions occur in a secure environment. If you have specific questions about our data environment or our data protection practices, please let us know.

Question 2

Who designed Index Projects?

Accepted Answer

Index Projects engaged artists, collectors, and professional Internet application developers to design and test the catalog platform. Our goal is to provide a platform that is easy-to-use, efficient, robust, and inexpensive.

Question 3

Can Index Projects design a special record template for my collection?

Accepted Answer

Yes, we can create a custom record template for you. There may be a small fee for this service. Simply complete our Contact Form and tell us about your collection. We'll get in touch with you to work out the details.

Question 4

I am an artist. Should I display my work on my website, or Index Projects?"

Accepted Answer

If you decide to have an open access catalog, it can serve as a website for all your work at a small fraction of the cost of maintaining a traditional website. Or you can link your Index Projects Catalog in your website or Facebook page.

Question 5

Are there other advantages to using Index Projects?

Accepted Answer

The U.S. Copyright Office recommended that Congress enact legislation providing for ”droit de suite” resale royalty on secondary market sales through auctions, commercial galleries, and private dealers. A well maintained catalog of work would provide essential evidence supporting artists’ royalty claims should resale royalties become established in law.

Question 6

What happens if I do not extend my subscription?

Accepted Answer

If you decide not to extend your subscription by paying the annual maintenance fee, you will no longer have access to the catalog to add or change records. The catalog will remain on Index Projects servers and your access will be restored upon payment of maintenance fees.

Question 7

Can I get a copy of my catalog to store on my own computer?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you can request a file containing a copy of the records you have created. The file will contain record data but will not support any of the Index Projects records management functions.

Question 8

What does the future hold for Index Projects?

Accepted Answer

Since catalogs are essentially web-based, their content will become part of the Internet Archive http://web.archive.org. Currently top level record thumbnails are automatically scanned and maintained in the Internet Archive. An alteration of catalog URLs is in process at Index Projects. This URL alteration will result in thumbnail-level and record-detail-level archiving of Index Projects-based catalogs.

Question 9

What happens if I get stuck? Is there someone I can talk to?

Accepted Answer

If you contact us, your questions will be answered by a real person. Just send an email to info@indexprojects.org. If we can’t give you a concise, clear answer in an email reply, we will send our phone number so you can give us a call.

Question 10

I don’t have a fancy digital camera or photo editing software. How can I get good photographs for my catalog?

Accepted Answer

Since catalog images are for online display, a cell phone will provide adequate resolution. However, there adjustments to a photo that are frequently required:

Rotation – Photographs captured with a hand-held camera are often not perfectly upright. Eliminating a bit of tilt is an easy correction with the rotation function in photo editing software.

Keystone effect – When the plane of the object and the plane of the camera are not parallel, the image will appear out-of-square. One edge will appear longer or shorter than the opposite edge of a square or rectangular work. Small manifestations of this effect may be eliminated by cropping the photo. If too much of the image would be sacrificed in cropping, you will need to obtain a better image or just accept the problem.

Cropping – Cropping is an important editing function for correcting minor “keystone” and for eliminating frames in the image. In real life, frames can enhance one’s experience of a painting; in a catalog, frames are extraneous. Cropping is also useful for secondary images of signatures or tags and notes on the back of a canvas, stretcher, or frame.

GIMP – GIMP [GNU Image Manipulation Program] is a powerful, free photo editing platform. You can find information and download it at https://www.gimp.org/

Index Projects FAQ