EyeQ Imaging Expands Software Monetization with Zentitle
Imaging technology provider applies Zentitle selectively across its B2B portfolio to enable usage metering, contract-based licensing, and a new consumption-based monetization model — backed by a 17-year partnership.
Background
EyeQ Imaging Inc., based in Alberta, develops automatic digital photo correction technology used by businesses around the world to enhance images at scale.
Its technology is widely used across commercial imaging environments, including photo printing, photo books, cards, and other applications where image quality directly impacts the end-user experience. EyeQ primarily delivers its technology to business customers that integrate it into their own platforms and workflows.
“We license our technology to all the major printers all around the world, so if you buy a photo book or a Christmas card or something like that, it’s probably using our technology to make it look its best.”
EyeQ has partnered with Nalpeiron for over 17 years, making licensing a long-standing component of its product delivery strategy.
The Challenge: Licensing Through a Business Model Shift
EyeQ originally used Nalpeiron to support desktop software sold directly to individual users. Licensing at that stage focused on activation, access control, and basic protection.
Over time, the company made a strategic shift toward enterprise B2B customers, moving from tens of thousands of individual users to a smaller number of large commercial accounts.
“We used to have 20,000–30,000 customers, and now we’ve got hundreds—but they’re major corporations.”
This shift changed how licensing needed to function. Instead of only enabling desktop access, licensing became tied to how EyeQ’s technology is delivered within customer environments and how usage aligns with commercial agreements.
Not every customer requires the same level of license enforcement. But in scenarios where usage tracking, trials, or contract-based controls are needed, EyeQ requires a flexible licensing layer it can apply selectively.
How EyeQ Uses Zentitle
EyeQ uses Zentitle in specific parts of its product portfolio where licensing control and usage visibility are required.
“For a certain number of our business partners and business customers, we take Nalpeiron and bundle it… into our SDK, command line tools, and other things like that, so we can get usage metering and that same sort of license protection.”
This allows EyeQ to support:
“We have all different kinds of contractual licensing agreements with our customers, and then the technology to support those. Nalpeiron is a key part of pieces of those.”
Rather than applying a single licensing model across all customers, Zentitle gives EyeQ the flexibility to enforce licensing where it matters, without adding unnecessary complexity to every deployment.
Enabling More Flexible Monetization
As EyeQ’s enterprise business evolved, the company identified a need to better align pricing with how its software is actually used.
Some customer segments have consistent usage, while others experience significant variability depending on seasonality or business cycles. In those cases, fixed annual pricing is not always the best fit.
EyeQ had previously built an internal metering approach, but it had limitations in scalability and flexibility.
Zentitle provides a stronger foundation for supporting usage-based pricing.
“The big one will be the consumption tokens. That sort of changes our game and allows a new business model.”
With this approach, EyeQ can move beyond strictly fixed pricing and introduce models that more closely align with actual usage, including consumption-based or tiered pricing.
“It’s basically allowing us to have a different business model where it’s not just a fixed annual fee… we can have a lot more pricing flexibility because we know exactly what they’re using.”
This gives EyeQ more flexibility in how it structures commercial agreements while maintaining consistency in how usage is measured.
Execution and Support
When EyeQ revisited its consumption-based licensing initiative, Nalpeiron’s team helped accelerate progress by providing guidance and working examples.
“Within a week, we had a proof of concept working.”
That responsiveness, combined with flexibility on the business side, allowed EyeQ to move forward without unnecessary friction.
“It’s very nice to have a partner that’s both technically and business aligned with our goals.”
Reliability and Long-Term Trust
After more than 17 years of partnership, Zentitle remains a stable and dependable part of EyeQ’s licensing infrastructure.
“It’s been very reliable… it’s been sort of a non-issue. Here’s a license key and it works.”
Licensing operates in the background, supporting the business without requiring ongoing attention from the team.
“It just sits there and works. It’s the best kind of technology.”
Why EyeQ Would Choose Nalpeiron Again
Even after years of use, EyeQ has evaluated alternatives as its needs evolved.
“If we didn’t have you guys right now… I did a little survey of the industry, and I’d have picked you guys again.”
Summary
By using Zentitle, EyeQ is able to:
For EyeQ, Zentitle provides a reliable licensing foundation while enabling the flexibility needed to support evolving business models.