Can I buy clipart on a memory stick rather a big collection of DVDs?

Q  I am trying to locate a clipart collection on an external medium that does not involve continuous disc changing. I would like one on a DVD or a USB memory key, but nobody seems to produce clipart in this form.

I know I can get clipart online but I don’t find it very flexible and it seems to cost a lot. Can you advise me?
Norman Riddle

A  You shouldn’t have much problem picking up a clipart collection on DVD, if that’s what you want – a quick search on Amazon turned up plenty, even if many are ageing.

However, while the problem is likely to be reduced there’s no guarantee a DVD-based clipart collection won’t demand disc changes because DVD-Rom discs have a finite capacity, albeit greater than that of CD-Roms (a 4.7GB DVD-Rom can hold around seven times more data than a CD-Rom). In other words, a DVD clipart collection might be spread over several discs.

USB memory keys also have finite capacities (the biggest can store up to 256GB of data). However, considered in terms of cost per gigabyte of storage, USB memory keys are expensive (an 8GB key costs around £10, compared to a few pence for a couple of 4.7GB DVD-Roms) – and this explains why they’re not commonly used to distribute clipart (or few other kinds of software, for that matter).

All of this aside, disc-based clipart collections are destined for the scrapheap: the internet is increasingly making discs look like an archaic and inefficient way of distributing anything.

There are also lots of online sources for clipart, with many free options. Try the Microsoft Office clipart gallery, for example, or the Open Clip Art Library.