More Spamming Scumbags: Picto Online

Somehow one of my older email addresses has found its way onto the spam list of another sleazy photo operation. This time it’s the self-proclaimed “Legendary French professional photo lab” that calls itself Picto Online. When will people learn that the surest way of making your business look like a scam is by sending spam email? The web site at us.pictoonline.com certainly doesn’t reassure me — no phone number listed? No thanks, I want people I can talk to. They’re in France but have a NY office. So why no phone number? I bet I can guess.

It’s also worth noting that these people are (allegedly) in the business of making prints. This means, by definition, high resolution files. So anyone who does business with them will be sending their their own work in high resolution form. Do you trust an overseas spammer not to pirate your copyrighted work? Not me. Not you either, I hope.

Addendum — September 14, 2017

The fact that Picto Online is based in France, rather than a notorious copyright-ignoring haven like China or India, might seem reassuring at first. Their representative’s post in the comments section below certainly implies that. But a little investigation puts an end to that notion. A recent article by Copytrack, a business dedicated to identifying image copyright violations on line, finds (unsurprisingly) that China is the worldwide leader in image theft. But guess which country comes in second? Yes, it’s France.

Image theft by country - courtesy of Copytrack
Copytrack.com analysis of image theft by country

So I’m going to send my images to a spammer based in France for printing services? Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope.

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One Response to More Spamming Scumbags: Picto Online

  1. Myrtille Beauvert says:

    Dear Mark,

    I am Picto NY publicist. You were sent an email announcing the opening of Picto Lab in the US because we thought you might be interested in their services. Picto has been a leading professional photo lab in France for decades (it was founded in 1950), printing for prestigious photographers such as Lindbergh, Salgado, William Klein and many others. They are excited to open their first international subsidiary in New York and to offer their services to US photographers. Their online platform is absolutely secured and they have the highest respect for photographers’ work. You can find their phone number on http://pictony.com/.
    I’m happy to put you in touch with the technicians if you have any questions about the lab or the online printing platform. The French version of the Picto Online, launched 7 years ago, has been printing over 10.000 orders. Picto is proud to collaborate with professionals and amateurs, and we’re sorry if the announce of its launch in the US was mistaken for a “spam” or a scam.

    Best wishes,

    Myrtille

    • admin says:

      Your email was not “mistaken” for spam. It was spam: Unsolicited Commercial Email. On this there can be no debate. It was unsolicited. It was commercial. It was email. QED.

      If you choose to promote your business via spam you must accept the reputation that comes with such unethical advertising techniques.