ProFotoSoftware Press Release

23rd April 2005 - London UK - For Immediate Release

ProFotoSoftware have today issued V1.71 of their Canon EOS Raw conversion software, PFS Image Darkroom (Windows 98 or better).

This version offers enhanced Shadow and Highlight recovery options during the Raw Conversion process, providing good results from images that would otherwise be discarded.

Unlike some other solutions, this improved feature is simple to use and does not present a confusing array of options. Instead, it concentrates on performing this task quickly and effectively. Performing the same task manually in an image editor is both time consuming and less satisfying.

BIOS have just published their review of Roxio Easy Media Creator 7, a digital media software package.

“Thanks to Sonic Solutions acquisition of Roxio’s software division in December 2004, the latest version of Roxio’s digital media suite combines technologies from both companies, including new music, data backup, and DVD playback capabilities. The modest audio editor has also been improved and there are now wizards that make it easy to record LPs and tapes, and to convert DivX movies to DVD. The majority of the suite’s components remain virtually unchanged in this latest release, but the merger of applications and technology makes Easy Media Creator 7.5 the most complete recording and management suite available today, making it exceptional value for those who want to create, manage, share and preserve their personal digital content.”

Website: BIOS - Roxio Easy Media Creator 7.5 Review

Plasq Press Release

PLASQ RELEASES COMIC LIFE 1.0.1 UPDATE, NEW LOWER PRICING

New features, lower cost. Wildly popular.

South Carolina, USA and Melbourne, Australia (April 21, 2005) - plasq today announced the immediate availability of Comic Life 1.0.1 (Update) for Mac OS X with new pricing.

Comic Life 1.0.1 adds many more, beautifully designed styles for comic elements and new TIFF, GIF, JPEG, and PNG export options (up to 1200dpi). Other new features include cross-comic page dragging and new page sizes including CD jewel case. Several bugs previously experienced by some users have also been fixed.

nik Sharpener Pro 2.0 is announced. nik Sharpener Pro 2 is a plug-in for Adobe Photoshop and other programs that allows you to sharpen digital images. nik Sharpener Pro 2 adds compatibility with 16-bit images, more control over sharpening and a larger preview area. nik Sharpener Pro 2.0 also features a new RAW Presharpening filter. nik Sharpener Pro 2.0 will be available in June. The Inkjet Edition costs $169.95 and nik Sharpener Pro 2.0 Complete Edition costs $329.95.

nik multimedia, Inc. Press Release

New version of company’s award-winning digital image editing software features new tools for photographers

San Diego, CA – April 19, 2005 – nik multimedia, Inc. today announces nik Sharpener Pro™ 2.0, the long awaited upgrade to the popular nik Sharpener Pro software.  nik Sharpener Pro 2.0 provides the easiest way for photographers and digital artists to optimally sharpen their digital images and achieve the best possible detail in their final prints.  As a plug-in to Adobe® Photoshop® and other image editing applications, nik Sharpener Pro 2.0 is the perfect addition to a photographer’s digital workflow.

Digimarc Corporation Press Release

Digimarc Enhances Protection of Digital Photographs and Images

MyPictureMarc 2005 raises the standard of security for creative professionals’ online image collections

Beaverton, Ore. – April 19, 2005 – Digimarc Corporation (NASDAQ: DMRC) today announced the launch of Digimarc® MyPictureMarc™ 2005, bringing photographers and creative professionals new layers of security to protect their digital image collections.

Digimarc MyPictureMarc 2005 delivers new digital watermarking technology, enhanced digital rights management tracking, online image backup and free visual watermarking. The new MyPictureMarc 2005 plug-in is immediately available for download at www.digimarc.com/mypicturemarc, supporting all current Adobe Systems (NASDAQ: ADBE) Photoshop 7 and higher products, as well as Photoshop Elements 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0.

Pixmantec RawShooter essentials is updated, adding preliminary support for the Nikon D2Hs and a number of other features. Pixmantec RawShooter essentials is a free RAW convertor. Version 1.1.2 of Pixmantec RawShooter essentials adds the following new features:

New functionality and improvements:

- Improved mapping WB to Kelvin scale

- Ability to change background brightness for Thumbnails and preview area

- Improved/faster thumbnail extraction and proxy creation

- Improved color rendering (Minolta/Nikon)

- Optionally Prepend priority # to output

- Star-icon to show that a file was recently converted is now persistent

Red Paw Media Press Release

Red Paw Media are pleased to announce the general release of their latest product, BleachBypass.

BleachBypass is a Photoshop-compatible plug-in designed to digitally simulate the traditional film “bleach bypass” technique.

The bleach bypass, or “skip bleach” technique involves the partial or complete skipping of the bleaching stage during the processing of a colour film. This prevents the silver from being removed from the negative, and the result is a contrasty image with muted colours. The technique is often used extensively in motion pictures, such as “Saving Private Ryan” and “Three Kings”.  It also gives a very pleasing, “film-like” quality to images, much like older, fast print film was used.

Capture One V3.7 release candidate has been released and is available for download. Capture One V3.7 RC1 can convert RAW files from the Nikon D2X and the Canon EOS 350D/Digital Rebel XT digital SLRs. Please note that there is no official support for the 3.7RC until the final release of V3.7 in May.

Phase One is pleased to announce the release of Capture One 3.7 Release Candidate. The purpose of 3.7RC is to allow existing users to test-drive Capture One 3.7 before it is officially released in May, 2005. Capture One 3.7 will be free of charge for existing users. Existing Capture One users who decide to run the 3.7RC can provide feedback through the feedback menu in the application or through the special 3.7RC section at our user forum. No tech support will be available for the 3.7RC. Tech support is available for official releases. The official release until May is Capture One 3.6/3.6.1.

Website: Download Capture One V3.7 RC1

plasq Press Release

Easy to Use, Powerful Photo Layout Software

South Carolina, USA and Melbourne, Australia (April 12, 2005) - plasq today announced the immediate availability of Comic Life 1.0 for Mac OS X.

Comic Life is a powerful and intuitive digital photo tool for Mac OS X.  From the makers of Still Life, as well as the talent pool of http://plasq.com

, comes a fun application to expand what you can do with your digital photos.

Features include powerful Page and Panel layouts, (including styles for a real comic-strip look), streamlined image selection, cropping and placement, authentic speech balloons, captions and special effects text.

FxFoto 3.0 is announced by Triscape. FxFoto 3.0 is a software package that allows you to organize, edit and present your digital pictures. FxFoto 3 adds new filters, collage templates, red eye enhancements and better EXIF support. FxFoto 3 Standard Edition is free without usage or time limits. The Deluxe Edition and the Pro Media Edition are available for $29.99 and $39.99.

Triscape Press Release

Triscape Introduces FxFoto 3.0 with Advanced Creativity and Page Layout Tools for Home Photos and Scrapbooks

WINDHAM, NH, April 11, 2005 - Triscape, Inc. has released a major upgrade to its popular digital photography software for amateur photographers and scrapbookers. FxFoto 3.0 includes creativity and page layout improvements which provide professional results in an easy, cost effective package. Triscape is providing updates free of charge for all current users.

FxFoto is targeted at photography enthusiasts, advanced multimedia users and scrapbookers, giving them everything they need to organize, edit and present their digital pictures.

Extensis Press Release

Charity publishes images more easily with asset management solution

Northampton, 12th April 2005 – Extensis has today announced that Christian Aid is using Portfolio and Portfolio NetPublish Server to handle an ever-increasing demand for images from the developing world.  The Charity uses Extensis’ popular digital asset management solution, Portfolio, to archive in excess of 6000 images per year, as well as making the data accessible to all staff via Portfolio NetPublish directly from their desktops for better internal and external use.

Christian Aid has been exposing the issue of poverty through images for many years and strives to work wherever the need is greatest. The need to reduce labour intensive processes, make photo research services more accessible to Christian Aid’s 500 staff and an ever increasing demand for images, led the charity to adopt Portfolio SQL Connect and Portfolio NetPublish Server.

Nikon have released a new version of their Picture Project software which ships with most Nikon digital cameras.

Improvements in Version 1.5.1 of Picture Project
There are many features, improvements and fixes in version 1.5.1. All users of Picture Project are encouraged to upgrade to this version.

Website: Nikon Picture Project Version 1.5.1

Roxio Press Release

Roxio Easy Media Creator 7.5 Wins PC Magazine Editors’ Choice Award; ‘‘Easy Media Creator is Once Again the Best Package in Its Class’‘

SANTA CLARA, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—April 11, 2005—Roxio(R), a division of Sonic Solutions(R) (Nasdaq:SNIC), the leader in digital media software, announced today that Easy Media Creator(TM) 7.5, the most comprehensive suite of CD and DVD authoring and burning, photo, video and music applications, surpassed all competitors to earn PC Magazine’s prestigious Editors’ Choice Award. Editors praise Easy Media Creator 7.5 for offering the broadest selection of features and delivering new applications they cite as being “some of the most successful components in the suite.” The complete review is currently available at PC Magazine online (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1781691,00.asp).

Photo-i have just reviewed VueScan from Hamrick Software, a third-party scanner software application.

“Just to keep the review totally fair, I scanned the same transparency on both the Epson 4870 and the Canon 9950F. Canon’s ScanGear (an interface which I don’t rate) did a very good job with the colours and produced some nice looking scans. EpsonScan and the 4870 also produced a good looking scan. VueScan made a mess of the Canon 9950F’s capabilities, but worked marginally better with the Epson scanner. I can only conclude that supporting over 400 scanners is too ambitious, perhaps this number should be reduced and more attention given to individual scanners.”

Website: Photo-i - VueScan Review

CameraTown have just reviewed a software program called eFotoXpress.

“eFotoXpress is a software utility for digital camera owners that love to share their pictures with friends or family, but don’t want to spend hours uploading images to a photo sharing site. eFotoXpress makes it simple to select a group of photographs, click once or twice, and have all those images ready to go in an email.  Can a full size image really be compressed to 80kb in size, and if so, what does the final image look like? Read the review to find out.”

Website: CameraTown - eFotoXpress Review

iView Multimedia Ltd / Phase One Press Release

iView MediaPro and Phase One Capture One PRO Bundled to Streamline Digital Photographers’ RAW Workflow

London and Copenhagen – April 7, 2005 – Digital asset management pioneer iView Multimedia Ltd.™ (iView) and Phase One, world leaders in “Direct Digital Imaging,” today announced a bundling offer to help professional photographers streamline their RAW workflows. The pairing of these two professional-grade applications will empower photographers to work the way they want to.

iView MediaPro is an digital asset management application that allows digital photographers and other creative professionals to quickly and easily import, sort, organize and manage very large volumes and types of digital files in the manner that best works for them. Phase One’s Capture One PRO is a professional alternative to the proprietary software that comes with the digital camera. It efficiently handles image adjustments of RAW files — such as white point and color balancing, exposure and contrast compensation, as well as resizing and cropping.

DPNow have published a brief illustrated tour of Adobe Photoshop CS2.

“A great enhancement to the already brilliant healing brush introduced in CS1 is spot healing. You no longer need to set up a source region for the cloning action, just set your brush size and click. Another excellent healing brush enhancement is a new red eye option. Again, simplicity is the key - just drag select around the red eye area, release the mouse button and it’s done.”

Website: DPNow - Adobe Photoshop CS2 Preview

Easypano Press Release

Easypano releases the most powerful stitching solution Panoweaver 4

Shanghai, April 5th (PR Newswire) - Easypano, Inc., the premier virtual reality solution provider announces today that its new product, Panoweaver 4 is available on the market. Panoweaver is a professional tool that can stitch digital images and creates 360-by-360 panoramas, in an easy way. These panorama photos are used to record scenes, buildings, objects in a more comprehensive way. In the past four years, the industry-leading panorama stitching software, Panoweaver has been serving thousands of professional photographers, real estate agents, web designers, project managers and even crime scene investigators worldwide.

Jupitermedia Corporation Press Release

Jupitermedia Announces That Its Comstock Images Collection is Available Through New Adobe Stock Photos Service

NEW YORK—(BUSINESS WIRE)—April 5, 2005—Jupitermedia Corporation (Nasdaq: JUPM) today announced a collaboration with Adobe through Adobe(R) Stock Photos, a new stock photography service that offers designers one-stop shopping for high-quality, royalty-free images for layout and design. With drag and drop ease, designers can download non-watermarked comp images from Jupitermedia’s Comstock Images collection (www.comstock.com) and bring them into a layout—and then purchase without ever having to leave Adobe Creative Suite 2.

Comstock Images is one of five premier image suppliers whose collections will be included in the Adobe Stock Photos service, available in Adobe Creative Suite 2 Premium and Standard Editions, Adobe Photoshop(R) CS2, Adobe InDesign(R) CS2, Adobe Illustrator(R) CS2 and Adobe GoLive(R) CS2 announced April 4 and expected to be available in North America this May.

Total Training Press Release

Sample Tutorials Included in Adobe Creative Suite 2 Premium Edition Product Boxes

Carlsbad, CA, April 5, 2005 – Total Training™, Inc., a pioneer in engaging and innovative video-based training, today announced a new series of DVD-ROM videos for mastering Adobe® Creative Suite® 2 Premium Edition. This announcement follows the launch of Creative Suite 2, Adobe’s complete design and publishing environment—making the Total Training series the earliest video training available for both Mac and PC users.

Sample video tutorials will be included with Adobe Photoshop® CS2, Adobe InDesign® CS2, Adobe Illustrator® CS2, and Adobe GoLive® CS2 product boxes. In addition to the sample tutorials, Creative Suite 2 users can get Total Training’s comprehensive video training for each full-version of Adobe’s indispensable design software, including: Total Training for Photoshop CS2, Total Training for InDesign CS2, Total Training for Illustrator CS2, and Total Training for GoLive CS2. Also available is Total Training Presents Creative Suite 2: from Design to Delivery, which focuses on ways to master the entire product line workflow.