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skiph23010641
Participant
January 23, 2025
Question

Valuing my native files

  • January 23, 2025
  • 2 replies
  • 265 views

I am getting ready to sell my printing, typesetting, layout and design company of 46 years and retire. I would like to get your opinion on how to you value the following into the selling price of the business:
I have been using this software since day 1 of Aldus PageMaker 1.0. I have been storing all native files (.indd, .ai, .psd, etc), graphics, fonts, etc. . . . used for production for 40+ years (well over 1 terabyte in size). Included are 490,000+ clipart files, 3880+ Independent fonts, 125+ Active Adobe fonts, 612 licensed Shutterstock/Adobe Stock licensed images
All of our customer invoices clearly state “Files that XXXXXXX creates/updates contain several components. Some components, such as fonts and graphics, are only licensed to XXXXXXX and are not transferable. Further, these files contain a significant amount of intellectual property. This is derived from 46+ years of developing specialized typsetting/layout/graphic design techniques and training at a significant continuing cost. If you would like to purchase the native files a price will be provided to you.”

2 replies

Barb Binder
Community Expert
Barb BinderCommunity Expert
Community Expert
January 23, 2025

This sounds like a question for a business consultant, not the Adobe InDesign Community Experts. I've been in the business as long as you and happy to answer tricky software questions any day, but am in no way qualified to answer this. I'm curious to see what others say, though.

 

I wish you the best in your retirement!

 

~Barb

~Barb at Rocky Mountain Training
    James Gifford—NitroPress
    James Gifford—NitroPress
    Legend
    January 23, 2025

    I concur. "The value of a thing is what that thing will bring" — and only a hands-on business consultant with a good understanding of both the industry and your market could begin to give a worthwhile answer.

     

    Although — old clipart, media, resources and fonts aren't worth nearly as much as they might have cost, or been worth in earlier days. And of project files, the only ones likely to have value are those current clients might purchase (for themselves or transfer to another designer). Work like ours, once no longer current, is, as a wise man once said, "like tears in rain."

     

    A couple of decades ago, I had a stack of hand-drawn PC board layouts, representing uncounted thousands of hours of meticulous work. Trashing them was one of the hardest things I've ever done, but they were frankly valueless. (There's one I wish I'd saved as art, but.... you have to let go of this stuff some time.)

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