Frequently Asked Questions

1. Who is the creator of off the mark cartoons?

Mark Parisi, is an award-winning syndicated newspaper cartoonist, greeting card designer and author of the chapter books, Marty Pants. To learn more about him, visit his About the Artist Page.

2. Can I use any of your cartoons free of charge?

Selling the rights to use our cartoons is our company’s product and how we earn an income.  We do not offer free use in exchange for exposure.  If you would like to share a cartoon without usage fees, you may do so by going to our daily cartoon page and use the share button for social media.   You may not download the image, make a screenshot, hotlink  and/or repost.  Our cartoons are copyrighted.  Use without permission is copyright infringment.

3. Doesn’t educational use fall under fair use?

It is our opinion classroom use by teachers and students does not fall under fair use. We do, however, offer reduced rates for educational use by teachers and students (Pre-school – through College).    Training and Seminars does not fall under educational use.   For more information on copyright and fair use, please visit our copyright page.

4. How do I find the cartoons I want to use?

a) On every page there is a search box at the top of the page.  You can type in individual keywords or you can use a Boolean search.  We provide easy tools and explain how to perform a Boolean search on our Advance Search Page.

b) Starting on our home page, we have organized our cartoons into 9 main categories.  Each of these categories offers 9 additional sub-categories and then also additional keyword suggestions.

c) We are always happy to help you find the perfect cartoons for your project for free.  Just contact our Business Manager with a description and/or keywords of what you are looking for and she will provide you with some suggestions.

5. Will the cartoons I purchase be low-resolution with a watermark as shown on the website.

No, when you order a cartoon, we will send you a cartoon with the resolution that is suitable for the type of usage you purchased the right for.  For electronic use (web, email, social media) we will send web-ready cartoons without the watermark.  For print and presentations, we will send you high quality images (300-600 dpi).   The artwork is not vector and cannot be blown up to billboard size.  We can however, for a fee, provide custom-sized artwork.

6. How do I order and get the cartoons?

a) Search for and select a cartoon.

b) Select the orange Buy button that matches how you plan on using the cartoon. Then answer any questions such as quantity, profit status, or shading and then add to cart. 

c) Once you add the cartoon in your cart, you can click the link to go back to your previous search, perform a new search or check out.  We offer discounts when you order 3 carto0ns (15% off), 6 cartoons (25% off) or 10 cartoons (50% off)

7. How do I get my non-watermarked, web-ready or print-ready cartoons?

Upon completing payment, on the same webpage, you will be provided with a dark red download link. The cartoon will have a permission footer that protects your rights and shows that you legally purchased the rights to use the cartoon.   If you want, you may remove the header and footer for all print.  For web use, we request that you leave the footer on.   You will also receive an email with the cartoon download link.   Additionally, if you set up an account, you can log in and go to your account settings and download the cartoon.

8.  How can I purchase a cartoon on a gift?

We use a third-party vendor called Cafepress.  http://www.cafepress.com/offthemark

If there is already a store for the cartoon you want there will be a link directly to that cartoon store. If we have not set up a webstore, we are happy to do so.  Just contact the Business Manager and tell them what cartoon* you wish to have on products.  (We offer various products including t-shirts, mugs, cards, etc.) if there's something special you want to put the cartoon let us know and if it's available, we can set this up.  We are also happy to add customization and color to a black and white cartoon for an addiitonal fee.  Include this information when you contact the Business Manager.

*  Copyright law allows you to parody other people's trademarked and copyright images but we don't permit products to be made from the cartoons that contain parodies of trademarked/copyrighted images. We can however suggest that you order a signed cartoon print.  This print can be personalized with a message to and signed by the cartoonist.

9. How much does it cost to use a cartoon?

Our prices vary according to use.  Find the cartoon you want and the select the type of usage and answer the questions.  You will be provided a quote and the option to add to your cart.   If you wish to use a cartoon and the usage is not listed (book, adversting, billboards, etc)  please contact the Business Manager and include the intended use and if printing or sending electronically the total number of unites, length of time, etc. and we'll get back to within 24 Business hours.  You may also call us in the US at 781-665-4442 (M-F, ET 9 - 5)

10. How long will it take to receive a cartoon?

When you place your order directly on our website you will be able instantly download the cartoon(s), ready for use.

11. I want to use one of your cartoons on my blog, social networking site or in forum posts - is this possible?

To use a cartoon on a commercial or non-commercial blog or social networking site you would select the Social Media Orange Buy Button. 

12. I want to use one of your cartoons in a training presentation - Is this teacher or Presentation Use?

The special reduce-rates for teachers are for teachers in K-12 and college.  This usage rate is not for training (free or paid).  Please select presentation use.

13. My payment failed - what should I do?

We offer two online payment methods, Paypal and Authorize.net. We rarely have an issue with our payment processing vendors.

If you find that your card is being rejected, it may be due to one of the following issues:

1) Country: Some cards (particularly corporate cards) are blocked from making overseas purchases. This may be an issue if you are based outside the US.

2) Merchant type: Some card issuers (particularly American Express) categorize offthemark.com as an "Art Dealer" which sometimes means transactions require manual authorization.

3) Fraud detection algorithms: offthemark.com is based in the US. If you have recently purchased from merchants in several different countries this may be regarded as potential fraudulent activity by your card issuer.

4) Mis-typed card details: If you have mis-typed your card details, your card transaction will not be authorised.

If your card is being rejected, try checking out again to make sure you didn't mis-type card details. If this still doesn't work, contact your card issuer to authorise the transaction, or try a different card.

If you find that your order cannot be processed or you would prefer us to deal with the order manually, please email us and we will be able to process payment through a secure authorize.net payment link. Please email the Business Manager.   For faster service, you can also call the Business Manager (M-F, ET 9-5) at 781-665-4442.

After payment has been confirmed we  send you the file within 24 hours (M-F) .

If you experienced technical problems, we would be grateful if you could describe the nature of the problem to us so we can look into it.

14. Does the cartoonist, Mark Parisi, do custom work and/or allow modifications to existing cartoons?

Yes, the cartoonist will create custom cartoons and illustratons. Prices start at $250 and depend on the type of artwork you want and the usage rights.  

The cartoonist will also modify existing cartoons including, coloring the cartoon,  copy changes, visual changes and proportional size changes. 

For more details on our custom cartoons, please visit our information page.

Still have questions, please contact  the Business Manager via email or give her a call at  (US) 781-665-4442 (M-F, 9-5 ET)