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uyers guide<br />
DIGIT BEST BUY RECOMMENDATIONS: GRAPHICS SOFTWARE<br />
118 d<br />
ArtMatic Pro 3.0<br />
As graphics toys go, ArtMatic is in a field of its<br />
own: you won’t find a better experimental art,<br />
animation, and squeak generator anywhere<br />
FreeHand MX<br />
With its excellent MX Studio interface cleanup,<br />
great new tools, and improved features, this is<br />
the most <strong>com</strong>pelling upgrade since version 7<br />
InCamera 3.1<br />
You need a colour target as well, but this hasslefree<br />
Photoshop plug-in adjusts image colour<br />
according to lighting profiles – with great results<br />
Painter 8.1<br />
Painter 8.1 offers a more Photoshop-like experience,<br />
and is all the better for it. There is no better<br />
natural-media painting program on the market<br />
Primatte Chromakey 2.0<br />
This <strong>com</strong>positing plug-in for Photoshop removes<br />
plain backgrounds from photos, and handles the<br />
difficult cutouts like hair really well<br />
pxl SmartScale<br />
It has limits, especially with text and logos, but<br />
SmartScale soothes the headache of low-res<br />
imagery like nothing else. Highly re<strong>com</strong>mended<br />
DIGIT BEST BUY RECOMMENDATIONS: UTILITIES<br />
Knickers with a twist<br />
Designer undie-maker Agent<br />
Provocateur hired Large Design<br />
to create the <strong>com</strong>pany’s Web<br />
site. Large used Flash MX<br />
and Photoshop, as well as<br />
LightWave for 3D elements<br />
Enfocus PitStop Pro 6.0<br />
A versatile PDF preflight checking, manual/auto<br />
editing and tracking utility. Now updated for<br />
OS X and Acrobat 6 features and formats<br />
FileMaker Pro 7<br />
This database/asset-management system has<br />
been updated to incorporate a higher capacity,<br />
instant Web publishing and loads more<br />
Flexion Solutions CubeLite<br />
An easy-to-use in-house photography studio.<br />
The white tent and studio lighting system allows<br />
you to shoot objects with even light sources<br />
Enfocus Instant PDF 3.0<br />
This preflighting software is worth shelling out<br />
for. Supports new versions of both major DTP<br />
packages, and minimizes expensive errors<br />
Product name Price Company and contact details Platform Reviewed <strong>Digit</strong> rating<br />
pxl SmartScale £149.99 Extensis, www.extensis.co.uk @ CU, 020 8358 5858 M | W Nov 03 4.5<br />
It has limits, especially with text and logos, but SmartScale soothes the headache of low-res imagery like nothing else. Highly re<strong>com</strong>mended<br />
Stitcher 4.0 £345 www.realviz.<strong>com</strong> @ Computers Unlimited, 020 8358 5858 M | W Apr <strong>04</strong> 4.5<br />
The leading multi-image stitcher for panoramas and interactive spherical images gains improved controls and interface, and better rendering options<br />
Studio Artist 3.0 $379 Synthetik Software, synthetik.<strong>com</strong>, 001 415 762 9452 Mac Jul <strong>04</strong> 3.5<br />
Studio Artist is a powerful natural-media program, and the animation and rotoscoping features take it into new territory. Blighted by a poor interface<br />
Verdant $179 <strong>Digit</strong>al Elements, www.digi-element.<strong>com</strong>, 001 510 601 7351 M | W Nov <strong>04</strong> 3.0<br />
Photoshop plug-in that lets you create realistic trees and plants that you can add to your images. Not quite photo-realistic, and a bit pricey<br />
Xara X1 £94 Xara Group, www.xara.<strong>com</strong> Windows Sep <strong>04</strong> 3.5<br />
This vector-illustration program has an extremely fast rendering engine, and intuative tools. However, its toolset is relatively limited<br />
Multimedia software<br />
DVDit 5 £145 Sonic, www.sonic.<strong>com</strong>, 020 7437 1100 Windows Aug <strong>04</strong> 3.0<br />
Not really a professional-level tool, but DVDit is simple to use and uncluttered. The price is reasonable, but basic features, such as subtitles, are missing<br />
DVD Studio Pro 3 £297 Apple, www.apple.<strong>com</strong>/uk, 0800 783 4846 Mac OS X <strong>Digit</strong> 76 4.5<br />
Compact yet wide-ranging DVD authoring application. Version 3.0 boasts new interface elements, workflow enhancements, and wider format support<br />
Encore DVD 1.5 £121 Adobe, www.adobe.co.uk, 020 8606 4001 Windows Aug <strong>04</strong> 4.0<br />
The upgrade to version 1.5 adds QuickTime support, background transcoding, a styles palette, After Effects integration, and some essential revisions<br />
iPix Interactive Studio from $899 iPix, www.ipix-uk.<strong>com</strong>, 01482 308 830 M | W May <strong>04</strong> 4.0<br />
New spherical image stitcher and linker offers improved automation and input flexibility, but the most useful new tools cost extra<br />
Opus Pro <strong>04</strong> £255 <strong>Digit</strong>al Workshop, digitalworkshop.<strong>com</strong>, 0870 120 2186 M | W Jul <strong>04</strong> 3.0<br />
Clearly designed with the business user in mind, this multimedia-authoring tool is simple enough to use, but of limited use outside corporate markets<br />
Web design software<br />
Click Away 0.4 $499 Minds Eye View, www.pictosphere.<strong>com</strong> Windows Feb <strong>04</strong> 3.5<br />
It’s still in beta and not as advanced as iPix’s software, but at least its images are freely distributable. Legal issues make buying Click Away a gamble<br />
Dreamweaver MX 20<strong>04</strong> £339 Macromedia, www.macromedia.co.uk @ 0131 458 6766 M | W Nov 03 4.5<br />
This upgrade manages to provide more power while still maintaining ease of use, and its strong support for CSS points to its future path<br />
Flash MX 20<strong>04</strong> £419 Macromedia, www.macromedia.co.uk @ 0131 458 6766 M | W Nov 03 4.5<br />
New Timeline tools make the base version a must-have upgrade. Many functions of the Professional version may not appeal to Web designers<br />
GoLive CS £335 Adobe, www.adobe.co.uk, 020 8606 4000 M | W Jan <strong>04</strong> 4.0<br />
Up-to-date CSS support and improved integration with Adobe products make this a good upgrade, but Dreamweaver users are unlikely to switch<br />
Fireworks MX 20<strong>04</strong> £249 Macromedia, www.macromedia.co.uk, 0131 458 6766 M | W Nov 03 4.0<br />
Not that radical an upgrade, but there are wel<strong>com</strong>e performance improvements, collaborative features, and enjoyable new creative tools<br />
NetObjects Fusion 8 £132.50 WebSite Pros, www.netobjects.co.uk, 001 877 729 8625 Windows <strong>Digit</strong> 76 3.0<br />
A tidy interface and plentiful wizards make Fusion an easy-to-use Web design product, but you have to pay extra for some of the functionality<br />
TourWeaver 1.1 $115 EasyPano, www.easypano.<strong>com</strong> Windows Mar <strong>04</strong> 4.0<br />
An easy-to-use and simple-to-learn interactive tour authoring tool. Excellent features and a well-conceived interface make for a versatile system<br />
WireFusion 4.0 from £59 Demicron, www.demicron.<strong>com</strong>, 0<strong>04</strong>6 856 486 950 M | W | L Oct <strong>04</strong> 4.0<br />
WireFusion 4.0 features an updated interface, and is quick and easy to use. Pricing starts at £59, but the full version stretches to £1,195<br />
Utilities<br />
Colorproof XF from £735 EFI, www.efi.<strong>com</strong>, 020 8476 7676 M | W Mar 05 4.0<br />
Professional-quality proofing software to drive a wide range of colour printers, with accurate simulation of international print standards<br />
CubeLite from £255 Flexion Solutions, www.cubelite.<strong>com</strong> 01530 837 143 M | W Oct <strong>04</strong> 4.5<br />
This in-house photography studio <strong>com</strong>prises of a collapsible light tent and studio lamp that make it easy to shoot photos with even illumination<br />
Designer Edition 4.0 from £420 EFI, www.bestcolor.<strong>com</strong> @ CU, 020 8200 8282 M | W <strong>Digit</strong> 76 4.0<br />
Software RIP that provides accurate, high-quality colour output from a variety of inkjet printers. This upgrade doesn’t offer many new features<br />
FileMaker Pro 7 £219 FileMaker, www.filemaker.co.uk, 01628 534158 M | W Jun <strong>04</strong> 4.5<br />
Version 7 of this database/asset-management system boasts increased capacity, improved architecture, tighter security and multiple window views<br />
Instant PDF 3.0 €199 Enfocus, www.enfocus.<strong>com</strong>, 0032 9269 1690 M | W Mar 05 4.5<br />
Utility for detecting and correcting expensive mistakes before submitting PDFs. Now supports InDesign, QuarkXPress, Acrobat ans OS X PDFs<br />
PitStop Pro 6.0 £429 Enfocus, enfocus.<strong>com</strong> @ XChange International, 020 7490 4455 Mac Feb <strong>04</strong> 4.5<br />
A versatile PDF preflight checking, manual/auto editing and tracking utility. Now updated for OS X and Acrobat 6 features and formats<br />
Portfolio 7 £130 Extensis, www.extensis.co.uk @ CU, 020 8200 8282 M | W Aug <strong>04</strong> 4.0<br />
An improved interface and ease-of-use make this more accessible than previous versions. New NetPublisher allows you to create a Web portfolio<br />
Profile Mechanic £135/£140 <strong>Digit</strong>al Light & Color, www.dl-c.<strong>com</strong>, 001 617 489 8858 M | W Jun <strong>04</strong> 4.0<br />
An easy-to-use, and efficient program for calibrating your workflow. Profile Mechanic is simple to set up, good value-for-money, and reliable
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