The biggest news of the day by far is the release of the “Adobe Creative Suite” software, which includes new versions of Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and GoLive. Adobe have dispensed with the version numbering system for all of these software products - instead they are now called Photoshop CS, Illustrator CS and so on.

“The complete design environment for print and Web publishing

The Adobe? Creative Suite is an integrated design environment that combines full versions of Adobe’s latest creative tools with innovative file-management features, a smooth Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) workflow, and comprehensive design resources to let you create and publish content for print and the Web faster and easier than ever before ? all at an unbeatable value. “

The entire suite costs US$1,229.00 for the Premium edition and US$999.00 for the Standard edition. Upgrade prices are US$749.00 (Premium) and US$549.00 (Standard). The difference between the two is that the Premium ediiton includes Photoshop CS, Illustrator CS, InDesign CS, Golive CS, Acrobat 6.0 Professional, and Version Cue, whereas the Standard edition does not include Golive CS or Acrobat 6.0 Professional.

All of the software programs are also available to buy individually. Photoshop CS is obviously of most interest to photographers, so I’ll concentrate on that and leave you to find out more about the other programs from Adobe’s website.

Photoshop CS increases user control, with a redesigned File Browser enhancing search, sorting and sharing capabilities and a new Histogram Palette monitoring changes in the image as they are made. Additional advances include: Match Color, which reads color statistics to quickly achieve a consistent look across a series of photographs; Shadow/Highlight which radically improves the contrast of over- or underexposed digital images; and enhanced ImageReady? CS integration.

“Photoshop is the gold standard in digital imaging and a catalyst in the continuing digital photography revolution. This release empowers our customers to deliver their highest quality work, faster and more efficiently,” said Bryan Lamkin, senior vice president of Digital Imaging and Video Products at Adobe. “For the millions of people worldwide who rely on Photoshop every day, our new CS edition will be a must-have upgrade to their digital imaging desktop.”

The Photoshop Camera Raw plug-in, which was released as a stand-alone product back in February 2003, has now been incorporated into Photoshop CS. The list of cameras that are currently supported has been expanded and now includes the Canon EOS-10D.

Adobe Photoshop CS will be available for an estimated street price of US$649. Registered users of any previous version of Adobe Photoshop can upgrade to Adobe Photoshop CS for an estimated street price of US$169.

Website: Adobe.com

Website: Adobe Photoshop CS

Website: Adobe Photoshop Camera Raw

Adobe Creative Suite Press Release 29/09/03

All-New Adobe Creative Suite Delivers Platform for The Future of Design and Publishing  
 
New Product Strategy Combines Four Full-Version Upgrades of Essential Creative Applications, Acrobat 6.0 and Introduces Innovative Version Cue File Manager

SAN JOSE, Calif. ? Sept. 29, 2003 (NASDAQ: ADBE) ? Adobe Systems Incorporated, the leader in network publishing, today unveiled the Adobe? Creative Suite, a new software product that combines new full-version upgrades of Adobe Photoshop? CS, Adobe Illustrator? CS, Adobe InDesign? CS, and Adobe GoLive? CS, incorporates Acrobat? 6.0 Professional, and introduces the innovative Version Cue? file version manager. The all-new Adobe Creative Suite is a complete design environment that gives today’s creative professionals everything they need to create and publish content to print and the Web faster, more easily, and more efficiently than ever.

“Adobe Creative Suite integrates outstanding new product releases and unleashes Version Cue ? technology that will save creative professionals time and revolutionize interaction within creative teams,” said Bruce Chizen, president and CEO, Adobe Systems Incorporated. “With Adobe Creative Suite we are delivering a platform for the future of design and publishing, building on 20 years of innovation and partnership with the creative community worldwide.”

A New Era Of Adobe Integration
Adobe Creative Suite Premium Edition combines four new full-version upgrades of essential Adobe applications, relied on by millions of creative professionals around the world: Photoshop CS with Adobe ImageReady CS?, Illustrator CS, InDesign CS and GoLive CS, all brought together with Version Cue (see separate press releases for component software details).

With Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) becoming an integral part of Web and print production workflows, Acrobat 6.0 Professional, released to industry acclaim earlier this year, is also a component of the Adobe Creative Suite ? allowing customers to review and comment on documents, as well as pre-flight and output complex print jobs.

Adobe Creative Suite is anchored by Version Cue, an innovative file management system that allows designers to increase productivity and meet tight deadlines. Whether designers, working alone or in teams, are looking for the most recent iteration of a file or for an older version, Version Cue enables users to visually scan image thumbnails in Photoshop CS, Illustrator CS, InDesign CS, and GoLive CS, or search XMP metadata across version comments, keywords, author, date, and more.

“Simplification of the creative workflow and tighter integration of applications into suites is a trend which will benefit designers collaborating on projects to become more efficient and productive,” said Joshua Duhl, research director at IDC. “Features that allow users to easily share files with clients and colleagues, and locate files visually or through the use of metadata will facilitate the broader workflow and lifecycle of creative assets.”

A Standard Edition of Adobe Creative Suite is available, combining these same components, except for GoLive CS and Acrobat 6.0 Professional, to provide an advanced solution for print design and layout.

Adobe Creative Suite also includes two Adobe typeface families. Warnock Pro, a new Adobe Originals OpenType family, is included with every copy of Adobe Creative Suite, providing a classic yet contemporary composition family that performs a wide variety of typographic tasks with elegance. Brioso Pro, an OpenType family designed in the calligraphic tradition of the Latin alphabet, is available free of charge to customers who register their copy of Adobe Creative Suite via the Web.

Get Up and Running Quickly
Both versions of Adobe Creative Suite include Video CDs, developed by Total Training, and a new Design Guide that offers insights on working more efficiently across the Adobe Creative Suite workflow, with advice for users of all experience levels. Adobe Creative Suite customers will also have access to the new, redesigned Adobe Studio? (www.studio.adobe.com) a one-stop Web resource for expert tips, tricks, and guidance.

Customers receive one serial number for Adobe Creative Suite and one number to call for support and service, greatly simplifying installation and troubleshooting. Adobe Creative Suite comes with complimentary warranty support for registered users that provides toll-free and online support for installation and bug-fix issues. For other types of technical and workflow support issues, customers can purchase one of Adobe’s Expert Support options (www.adobe.com/expertsupport).

Pricing and Availability
Adobe is making it easy for creative professionals worldwide to upgrade to Adobe Creative Suite. Any customer that currently has a copy of Photoshop (purchased as a standalone product or part of an Adobe Collection) on their system, can upgrade to Adobe Creative Suite Premium Edition for an estimated street price of $749, or the Standard Edition for $549.

Estimated street price for the Adobe Creative Suite Premium Edition is US$1229 and $999 for the Standard Edition. For more detailed information about the Adobe Creative Suite, please visit: www.adobe.com/creativesuite.

Adobe Creative Suite for Mac OS X 10.2.4, Microsoft? Windows? 2000 with Service Pack 2, and Windows XP Professional and Home Edition, will be available in the fourth (calendar) quarter of 2003 to customers in the United States and Canada through Adobe Authorized Resellers and the Adobe Store at: www.adobe.com/store.

About Adobe Systems Incorporated
Founded in 1982, Adobe Systems Incorporated (www.adobe.com), the leader in network publishing, offers a comprehensive line of software for enterprise and creative professional customers. Its products enable customers to create, manage and deliver visually rich, compelling and reliable content. Based in San Jose, Calif., Adobe is one of the world’s largest software companies.