The ethical case for paying archive-image fees consistently

Four required image sets come from a particularly expensive source that alone holds them. The ethical argument for paying its charges rests on applying the same standard to large institutions and small collections. Working around an expensive institution's criteria could give someone else a justification for avoiding the modest charges of a smaller collection that needs the income. Paying consistently is the proposed way to defend small collections' claims to payment. That standard rests on respecting someone else's property, even when the price seems excessive.