I'm coming from a print production standpoint. When third party designer holds back native files, it can hold back production quite a bit. Most print companies have in house designers, so if we need to make a small change due to the output of my digital press being different from yours, we're not going to wait a full day for the designer to make a change, send it back to me, have me approve or not approve, send it back again etc. We're going to make the change in house because we know what needs to be done to get the outcome we want off our presses. IMO once the designer is finished "creating", his job is done. I aggree that the designer should be paid befor giving up th native files, but to hold them back afterwards is just unethical.

I'm coming from a print production standpoint. When third party designer holds back native files, it can hold back production quite a bit. Most print companies have in-house designers, so if we need to make a small change due to the output of my digital press being different from yours, we're not going to wait a full day for the designer to make a change, send it back to me, have me approve or not approve, send it back again etc. We're going to make the change in house because we know what needs to be done to get the outcome we want off our presses. In my oppinion once the designer is finished creating, his job is done. I agree that the designer should be paid before giving up the native files, but to hold them back afterwards is just unethical.