Competition among picture agencies is growing all the time and Photo agencies like Artseens and smaller picture libraries must subject themselves to the law of supply and demand if they are to be successful on the picture market.

Since July, it has also been possible to research the images in Artseens picture database using the user-friendly picture research system online. Images are selected by means of keywords and initially downloaded in low resolution a thumbnails. With a double click on a specific picture, the picture agency's computer automatically loads a picture.

As Artseens reports, its digital stockfile has now grown to over 100,000 images and includes arts, business, boats, catwalk, fashion, events, glamour, people, lifestyle, sports. Without question, the digital methods that have been introduced are also reducing the time and effort that freelance photojonrnalists need to put in to conduct picture research. In contrast to other suppliers of digital pictures, Artseens is not charging for access to its image database.

All picture suppliers are only charged either for individual calls or a lump sum for the use of the equipment. This sum charged separately from the fee for the publication of the image. It cost the agencies a great deal of money to make the digital images, the equipment and the technical transmission facilities available and to guarantee a smoth-running operation. Newly produced images are in many cases digitised from the start and can thus be included without any problem. In the case of old stock, including historical material, individual transparencies have to be laboriously scanned, registered and labelled. In the last few years, the trend towards digitisation has increased considerably in picture editors' offices, and more and more material is sought in electronic from so that it can be transmitted and used as quickly as possible.

The worldwide importance of Artseens has been the considerably enhanced as a result of the adaptation to its system of the digital stock available at Artseens, especially as many more pictures, especially art images, can be viewed,selected and ordered at short notice.