As CMYKForge gets closer to release, one of the decisions we have been thinking carefully about is something that has nothing to do with color science, printers, or file formats:
What should owning the software actually mean?
Software pricing can become complicated quickly. Some products use subscriptions. Some sell “lifetime” licenses. Some charge for major upgrades. Some stop receiving updates after a certain period.
Each model has tradeoffs. For CMYKForge, we wanted something that matched the way the software is being built: local-first, practical, and respectful of the customer's ownership.
The current plan
CMYKForge will use a perpetual license model. That means when you purchase CMYKForge, your license does not expire.
The current plan is for each normal retail license to include:
- 3 years of software updates
- Continued use of your latest eligible version after that period ends
- Optional paid update renewals in the future
- No required subscription to continue using the software you already purchased
If your update period ends, CMYKForge does not suddenly stop working. Your projects are not locked. The application does not become inaccessible. You keep using the newest version included in your update period for as long as you want.
Why not promise updates forever?
This was an important question for us.
From a customer perspective, unlimited updates sound ideal. From a development perspective, however, software continues to require work long after the original purchase.
Operating systems change. Printers change. Export requirements evolve. Bugs are discovered. New workflows are developed. Color systems improve.
The CMYKForge we hope to be building several years from now may contain major systems that do not exist today.
A single one-time purchase should give customers lasting ownership, but it also needs to leave room for future development to remain sustainable. That is why we believe a long included update period is a better balance than either a mandatory subscription or an unrealistic promise of unlimited future development.
Why three years?
Three years gives customers a meaningful period of improvements while still keeping the software financially sustainable over the long term.
During that included period, eligible updates may include things such as:
- reliability improvements
- workflow improvements
- compatibility updates
- color-system refinements
- export improvements
- usability improvements
- new supported capabilities
The exact contents of future updates will depend on development, testing, and product priorities. We do not want to promise features before they are ready.
What happens after the three years?
Nothing dramatic. You keep using the version you already have.
If a future version adds enough value that you want to return to the newest release, the current plan is to offer an optional update renewal. That renewal would give access to another period of current updates.
We do not currently plan to require customers to pay for years they skipped. You would decide whether the newer version is worth upgrading to.
Why this fits CMYKForge
CMYKForge is being built around a strong local-first philosophy. Core software functionality is intended to remain usable without depending on a permanent cloud connection. That philosophy should extend to licensing as well.
We do not want the basic relationship between a customer and CMYKForge to be:
Keep paying or lose access.
We want it to be:
Buy the software. Own the software. Decide when future improvements are worth paying for.
That does not mean every future feature or major generation of CMYKForge must be included forever. It means that something you already paid for should remain yours.
Perpetual license does not mean “lifetime updates”
We also want to be precise with the language we use.
CMYKForge will use the term perpetual license, not “lifetime updates.”
The distinction
A perpetual license means your right to use your eligible version does not expire. The included update period is separate. We think that distinction is clearer and more honest than using the word “lifetime” in a way that could create different expectations.
Our goal
The pricing and licensing system should do two things at the same time: protect customer ownership, and keep CMYKForge sustainable enough to continue improving for years.
We believe a perpetual license with three years of included updates is a strong starting point for doing both.
The details may continue to evolve as we approach full retail release, but the principle is unlikely to change:
Pay for software. Own the software.
We would rather define that clearly now than create a licensing model customers dislike later.