A hastily corrected misunderstanding about terms and conditions has thrown light on the risk associated with file transfer technology.
The row kicked off when it was realised that the widely used WeTransfer file transfer technology platform seemed to be saying that anyone using its system would be agreeing to allow the files to be used to build a large language model AI platform. This would include copyright material, say the designs and images that a designer might be sending to a printer. WeTransfer has become a popular way to overcome some of the size limitation placed on email transfer of digital files.
The company almost immediately clarified that this was not its intention. The clause that said WeTransfer had a right to “to reproduce, modify, distribute and publicly display” content being handled. This was taken to suggest that the content could be used to train an AI.
But almost at once the confusing clause was removed. According to WeTransfer: “We hope that amending our legal terms to remove mention of machine learning and make the licensing conditions clearer will reassure those among our customers who were wondering what the update meant for them.”
However, there will a lingering suspicion that the company may return at some point, prompting some distrust about We Transfer’s motives. It may lead to a return to emails, DropBox or GoogleOne to move files between designers and printers and digital proofs between printers and their customers, despite the risks of doing so. But it also suggests a need for a more focused file transfer service.
One solution is Artworker, a Manchester business started by Nate Duckworth as a file transfer system specifically suited to the printing industry. “We built Artworker for the printing industry with the functionality for print, including a branded portal, preflighting and a lot of stuff that you need to pay WeTransfer for without charge,” he says.
“There has been a very good uptake. We now have more than 1,000 users worldwide.”
The advantages over email chains are equally clear, particularly for businesses trying to coordinate communication with several customers. A dashboard enables tracking of all communications, offering improved version control, preventing errors and saving administration time and efforts.
The UK company has produced a comparison chart showing the features that Artworker has compared to WeTransfer. These include that Artworker has a file limit of 20Gb, ten times that on We Transfer and a longer limit before files expire if not downloaded. Files can be uploaded in the background, studio hours displayed, files previewed before sending and operation of a branded portal as additional features of Artworker, as part of the free to use version.
A paid for version (£65/month) introduces a 100 jobs/month limit, adds online proofing and approvals and storage of 100Gb.
“We are a lot more generous than others,” says Duckworth.
