uyers guide DIGIT BEST BUY RECOMMENDATIONS: GRAPHICS SOFTWARE 118 d ArtMatic Pro 3.0 As graphics toys go, ArtMatic is in a field of its own: you won’t find a better experimental art, animation, and squeak generator anywhere FreeHand MX With its excellent MX Studio interface cleanup, great new tools, and improved features, this is the most <strong>com</strong>pelling upgrade since version 7 InCamera 3.1 You need a colour target as well, but this hasslefree Photoshop plug-in adjusts image colour according to lighting profiles – with great results Painter 8.1 Painter 8.1 offers a more Photoshop-like experience, and is all the better for it. There is no better natural-media painting program on the market Primatte Chromakey 2.0 This <strong>com</strong>positing plug-in for Photoshop removes plain backgrounds from photos, and handles the difficult cutouts like hair really well pxl SmartScale 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 DIGIT BEST BUY RECOMMENDATIONS: UTILITIES Knickers with a twist Designer undie-maker Agent Provocateur hired Large Design to create the <strong>com</strong>pany’s Web site. Large used Flash MX and Photoshop, as well as LightWave for 3D elements Enfocus PitStop Pro 6.0 A versatile PDF preflight checking, manual/auto editing and tracking utility. Now updated for OS X and Acrobat 6 features and formats FileMaker Pro 7 This database/asset-management system has been updated to incorporate a higher capacity, instant Web publishing and loads more Flexion Solutions CubeLite An easy-to-use in-house photography studio. The white tent and studio lighting system allows you to shoot objects with even light sources Enfocus Instant PDF 3.0 This preflighting software is worth shelling out for. Supports new versions of both major DTP packages, and minimizes expensive errors Product name Price Company and contact details Platform Reviewed <strong>Digit</strong> rating pxl SmartScale £149.99 Extensis, www.extensis.co.uk @ CU, 020 8358 5858 M | W Nov 03 4.5 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 Stitcher 4.0 £345 www.realviz.<strong>com</strong> @ Computers Unlimited, 020 8358 5858 M | W Apr <strong>04</strong> 4.5 The leading multi-image stitcher for panoramas and interactive spherical images gains improved controls and interface, and better rendering options Studio Artist 3.0 $379 Synthetik Software, synthetik.<strong>com</strong>, 001 415 762 9452 Mac Jul <strong>04</strong> 3.5 Studio Artist is a powerful natural-media program, and the animation and rotoscoping features take it into new territory. Blighted by a poor interface 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 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 Xara X1 £94 Xara Group, www.xara.<strong>com</strong> Windows Sep <strong>04</strong> 3.5 This vector-illustration program has an extremely fast rendering engine, and intuative tools. However, its toolset is relatively limited Multimedia software DVDit 5 £145 Sonic, www.sonic.<strong>com</strong>, 020 7437 1100 Windows Aug <strong>04</strong> 3.0 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 DVD Studio Pro 3 £297 Apple, www.apple.<strong>com</strong>/uk, 0800 783 4846 Mac OS X <strong>Digit</strong> 76 4.5 Compact yet wide-ranging DVD authoring application. Version 3.0 boasts new interface elements, workflow enhancements, and wider format support Encore DVD 1.5 £121 Adobe, www.adobe.co.uk, 020 8606 4001 Windows Aug <strong>04</strong> 4.0 The upgrade to version 1.5 adds QuickTime support, background transcoding, a styles palette, After Effects integration, and some essential revisions iPix Interactive Studio from $899 iPix, www.ipix-uk.<strong>com</strong>, 01482 308 830 M | W May <strong>04</strong> 4.0 New spherical image stitcher and linker offers improved automation and input flexibility, but the most useful new tools cost extra 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 Clearly designed with the business user in mind, this multimedia-authoring tool is simple enough to use, but of limited use outside corporate markets Web design software Click Away 0.4 $499 Minds Eye View, www.pictosphere.<strong>com</strong> Windows Feb <strong>04</strong> 3.5 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 Dreamweaver MX 20<strong>04</strong> £339 Macromedia, www.macromedia.co.uk @ 0131 458 6766 M | W Nov 03 4.5 This upgrade manages to provide more power while still maintaining ease of use, and its strong support for CSS points to its future path Flash MX 20<strong>04</strong> £419 Macromedia, www.macromedia.co.uk @ 0131 458 6766 M | W Nov 03 4.5 New Timeline tools make the base version a must-have upgrade. Many functions of the Professional version may not appeal to Web designers GoLive CS £335 Adobe, www.adobe.co.uk, 020 8606 4000 M | W Jan <strong>04</strong> 4.0 Up-to-date CSS support and improved integration with Adobe products make this a good upgrade, but Dreamweaver users are unlikely to switch Fireworks MX 20<strong>04</strong> £249 Macromedia, www.macromedia.co.uk, 0131 458 6766 M | W Nov 03 4.0 Not that radical an upgrade, but there are wel<strong>com</strong>e performance improvements, collaborative features, and enjoyable new creative tools NetObjects Fusion 8 £132.50 WebSite Pros, www.netobjects.co.uk, 001 877 729 8625 Windows <strong>Digit</strong> 76 3.0 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 TourWeaver 1.1 $115 EasyPano, www.easypano.<strong>com</strong> Windows Mar <strong>04</strong> 4.0 An easy-to-use and simple-to-learn interactive tour authoring tool. Excellent features and a well-conceived interface make for a versatile system 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 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 Utilities Colorproof XF from £735 EFI, www.efi.<strong>com</strong>, 020 8476 7676 M | W Mar 05 4.0 Professional-quality proofing software to drive a wide range of colour printers, with accurate simulation of international print standards CubeLite from £255 Flexion Solutions, www.cubelite.<strong>com</strong> 01530 837 143 M | W Oct <strong>04</strong> 4.5 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 Designer Edition 4.0 from £420 EFI, www.bestcolor.<strong>com</strong> @ CU, 020 8200 8282 M | W <strong>Digit</strong> 76 4.0 Software RIP that provides accurate, high-quality colour output from a variety of inkjet printers. This upgrade doesn’t offer many new features FileMaker Pro 7 £219 FileMaker, www.filemaker.co.uk, 01628 534158 M | W Jun <strong>04</strong> 4.5 Version 7 of this database/asset-management system boasts increased capacity, improved architecture, tighter security and multiple window views Instant PDF 3.0 €199 Enfocus, www.enfocus.<strong>com</strong>, 0032 9269 1690 M | W Mar 05 4.5 Utility for detecting and correcting expensive mistakes before submitting PDFs. Now supports InDesign, QuarkXPress, Acrobat ans OS X PDFs PitStop Pro 6.0 £429 Enfocus, enfocus.<strong>com</strong> @ XChange International, 020 7490 4455 Mac Feb <strong>04</strong> 4.5 A versatile PDF preflight checking, manual/auto editing and tracking utility. Now updated for OS X and Acrobat 6 features and formats Portfolio 7 £130 Extensis, www.extensis.co.uk @ CU, 020 8200 8282 M | W Aug <strong>04</strong> 4.0 An improved interface and ease-of-use make this more accessible than previous versions. New NetPublisher allows you to create a Web portfolio 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 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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