General Information

The Free Sample Images

Saving the Free Sample Images

The Image File Formats - Free Samples

The Image File Formats - Clipart CD

The Clipart Usage Rules

Illegal Use of the Clipart

The Tack-O-Rama Clipart CD

Which Images are on the CD?

The Old Images

General Information

These royalty free images were inspired by advertisements from the 1940s and '50s and are copyrighted as the Tack-O-Rama Collection.

The images are not to be sold or given away either singularly or in any other collection. Tack-O-Rama has taken action against websites that have ignored this rule and will take action again if necessary.

All the images on the clipart pages are free for you to use for your projects (for example, as web graphics, and illustrations for newsletters). If you use the images publicly, an acknowledgement and/or link to Tack-O-Rama would be appreciated.

In some instances, an image comes in several different versions. This occurs where part of an image is a suitable piece of clipart in its own right (ie. a head removed from a body), and where Benday dots have been removed from an image. 

 

 

Benday dots are an effective means of shading, however they significantly contribute to the image file size. In the tiger example above, the file size is halved when the shading is removed. Therefore, the removal of the Benday dots is helpful to those requiring a smaller file size, or wishing to apply their own shading to an image - particularly when using the CD version of the images.

 

Some visitors to this site like to donate money to Tack-O-Rama. This is not necessary, but if you would like to do so, there is a PayPal button at the bottom of the page.

The Free Sample Images

All of the images on the clipart pages are free samples (as opposed to the scaleable versions that can be purchased on the Tack-O-Rama Clipart CD).

All the free samples in the Girls, Guys, Kids, Color Images, and The Rest sections are 200 pixels at their widest point, and 72 dpi (dots per inch). They are provided as a GIF on a white background, and a PNG on a transparent background. All the free samples in the Scanned Images section are 72 dpi GIFs on a white background at 300 pixels.

If you don't find what you're looking for here, try browsing the dingbat pages in the Fonts section where you can download font sets of retro images.

Saving the Free Sample Images

To save an image, simply click on it, and you will be prompted to download a WinZip file containing a 200 pixel GIF on a white background, and a 200 pixel PNG on a transparent background.

The clipart has been compressed with WinZip v.8.0. The current version of WinZip is no longer free, but if you don't have a copy of the program, you can download v.8.0 here for free.

Under no circumstances may you directly link any of the images on this site to your website, blog, MySpace, etc. The continual practice of hotlinking to this site will eventually result in the closure of Tack-O-Rama and in that event, the link will be ineffective anyway. It is in your own interests to save a copy of an image to your computer.

If you require image hosting, Tack-O-Rama recommends signing up for a free account with Photobucket. The service they provide eliminates the need to hotlink to websites with metered bandwidth, such as this one.

The Image File Formats - Free Samples

The free sample images are provided in two file formats - GIF on a white background, and PNG on a transparent background. By clicking an image, you will download a zip file containing both formats.

While I have had limited success in creating a transparent GIF that I'm satisfied with (that is, a GIF with no ragged edges, or white halo), PNGs are beautifully reproduced on a transparent background but it should be noted that they are currently not compatible with Internet Explorer.

There are fixes available online to address this problem, along with a petition you can sign to encourage Microsoft to support for this superior image file format.

The decision to use transparent PNGs on a website is a matter of personal preference and while browsers other than IE are gaining more popularity, it may be wise to study visitor trends to your site before committing to PNG use.

If you wish to use the GIF samples on your site with a transparent background, it is recommended that you resave them with the matte color as close to your intended background as possible. This tutorial explains the process in brief. 

The Image File Formats - Clipart CD

The images on the clipart CD are provided in two formats: EPS (encapsulated postscript) and TIF, which have been tested using Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator.

The benefit of EPS and TIF formats is that the images are scaleable and can be reproduced at any size, resolution or color. Each image has been created on its own layer and additional layers can be added beneath for coloring.

The shades of the color images can be altered by clicking on them in the layers palette in Photoshop and Illustrator. (Please consult the instructions or help files in other image programs for changing the colors of layers.)

The Clipart Usage Rules

The basic rule is that the clipart is not to be given away or sold in the same, or similar format as it is offered here. This means that the clipart may not be given away or sold in its current format or, for example, as a dingbat font. Additionally,  the clipart may not be redrawn or reproduced and given away or sold in its current format, as a dingbat font, a vector image, a Photoshop Custom Shape, or similar.

Some examples of acceptable usage are: the reproduction of images on advertising material, pamphlets, stickers, etc.; printing on t-shirts, mugs, magnets, buttons, etc. for sale or give away; illustrations for books and magazines; graphics on websites.

Tack-O-Rama has no objections to clipart users deriving an income by selling items with the clipart printed on them - just not from the clipart itself.

The images on the Clipart CD may be installed on one computer only, and one backup CD may be created.

Tack-O-Rama will not be held responsible for damages arising from the use of the clipart, or the contents of the CD.

Illegal Use of the Clipart

If you are the owner of a website and are thinking of stealing clipart from this site and claiming it as your own, please be mindful of the following:

One clipart image can take anywhere from hours to days to complete. With this in mind, I do not look favorably on my work being stolen.

Web hosting companies stipulate in their terms of use that the illegal publishing of copyrighted content is prohibited. To breach this rule by using stolen content on your site will result in the closure of your site.

The majority of the images found on these pages were inspired by advertisements from vintage, non-American magazines. All of the images have been adapted from the originals. Therefore I am able to prove ownership simply by producing a hard copy of the original image, plus my own workings of it (in its various stages) showing the changes I have made to the original.

By no means should the information above deter the average, honest person from using this clipart as it is intended to be used. As you can see in the Clipart Usage section above, it is not even a requirement of use to link back to this site (although it would be nice if you did). My main objective is to stop theft so that I can devote more time to the development of this site, rather than using it to take legal action against dishonest users.

The Tack-O-Rama Clipart CD

The Tack-O-Rama Clipart CD contains 340 images and is priced at USD $34.95 from Cafe Press. The CD comes in a jewel case with a two page booklet. 

Before purchasing the CD, you can test the clipart's compatibility to your computer system and image programs by downloading this zip file. If the EPS and TIFF files contained in the zip file do not perform to your satisfaction, it is strongly recommended that you do not purchase the CD as Tack-O-Rama is unable to provide tutorials regarding these file types.

As a gesture of thanks to those who supported Tack-O-Rama by purchasing the first (and now discontinued) clipart CD, Tack-O-Rama is offering the current CD to those customers for free. If you own the first CD (the blue version in a paper sleeve) and do not have the current one, you may be eligible and all you will need pay are the postage and packaging costs (to the US and Europe, US$5.50; to Australia AU$2.75; and to Asia AU$4.10). If you think you may qualify, please contact Tack-O-Rama.

Which Images are on the CD?

All the images in The Girls, The Guys, The Kids, The Color Images, and The Rest sections are included on the CD.

The Old Images

The Old Images are the images from Tack-O-Rama's previous clipart CD that have not been included on the current CD. Some of the clipart is based on tiny originals, and those that lack definition were cut from the current CD which contains much more detailed images and are far superior in quality to the previous ones. The images in The Old Images section are no longer available in a scaleable format but you can still download a zip file containing 200 pixel, 72 dpi GIF and PNG copies of them.