News from
April 2001
APRIL
2
FreeHand 10 Coming to Mac, Mac OS X and Windows Concurrently
Macromedia
has announced that it will release the next version of its vector
illustration tool, FreeHand 10, for Mac, Mac OS X and Windows
concurrently. This makes FreeHand 10 not only the first professional
vector illustration program for OS X but also the first application
to be released for all three systems at once.
News from
March 2001
MARCH
30
PlanSystem 3 To Debut at Seybold
Media Automation
Consulting says it will debut version 3 of its PlanSystem at Seybold
Boston this year. PlanSystem is a publishing management system
designed for magazines and other periodicals. PlanSystem supports
the editorial process from planning through output.
MARCH
28
Agfa To Ship New Scanners
Agfa has announced
two new models in its line of SnapScan flatbed scanners. The new
e42 and e52 will both offer 48-bit color and four programmable
buttons, as well as 1,200 x 2,400 DPI resolution. In addition,
Agfa has also set a release date for Mac OS X drivers and applications
for its scanners.
MARCH
27
Adobe To Bring Photoshop, Illustrator to OS X
Adobe has announced
it will bring its flagship products to Mac OS X, though they're
still not giving an expected release date. A statement about Adobe's
commitment to OS X on Adobe's Web site says that that company
plans to bring Photoshop and Illustrator to OS X with the next
major release.
MARCH 26
Maxon To Release Cinema 4D XL 7
Maxon has announced
the soon to be released version 7.0 of Cinema 4D XL, its flagship
modeling and animation package.
MARCH 23
CValley Ships FILTERiT 4
CValley late
yesterday started shipping version 4 of its FILTERiT plugin for
Adobe Illustrator 8 and 9. The new version is available only for
the Macintosh, with a Windows version expected in May.
MARCH 22
Kodak Announces 6 Megapixel SLR
Kodak today
announced a 6 megapixel SLR in its line of DCS digital cameras.
The new DCS 760 uses Kodak's 6 megapixel camera back built on
Nikon's flagship F5 Pro digital SLR camera body. In addition to
the back, Kodak has also built in an ISO range of 80 to 400 (pushable
two stops), a burst rate of 1.5 frames per second and a burst
depth of 24 frames. (The camera will actually buffer up to 24
shots at 6 megapixels each before writing to the PC card.)
MARCH 21
WoodWing, Unisys Team for InDesign Content Manager
Unisys and
WoodWing Software have teamed up in a development effort for Unisys'
News Content Manager for Adobe InDesign. The first phase in the
agreement calls for the two companies to develop a solution to
transfer layout information and typography from InDesign to News
Content Manager in order to allow Unisys clients to work with
InDesign as well as the Unisys pagination engine.
MARCH 21
ConceptDraw 1.59 Released
Computer Systems
Odessa has released version 1.59 of ConceptDraw, a Macintosh and
Windows application for creating flowcharts, diagrams and plans.
The software allows users to share files, libraries and templates
across platforms.
MARCH 20
Roland Introduces 64" Hexachrome Inkjet Printer
Roland DGA
has introduced a new eight-color 64-inch inkjet printer. The Hi-Fi
Jet Pro FJ-600 uses Hexachrome technology licensed from Pantone
to simulate about 97 percent of PMS colors. Roland is the only
company currently offering Hexachrome in its wide-format models.
MARCH 20
Panopticum Ships Engraver for Mac
Panopticum
has started shipping Engraver 1.0, a new plugin for Adobe Photoshop
5.x for Macintosh. The company shipped the Windows version last
month. Engraver is a plugin that cuts through images with thin
lines that form a geometric pattern, creating an engraved or woodcut
effect. The thickness of lines changes depending on the initial
image under the lines.
MARCH 20
ColorTheory Ships for Mac
Theory LLC
has released Color Theory 1.0 for the Macintosh. Color theory
is a stand-alone application and Adobe Photoshop plugin that operates
as a digital color wheel to find complementary or harmonious color
combinations. The formulas are based on the studies of Bauhaus
professor Johannes Itten and utilize the RYB color model.
MARCH 19
Olympus Intros C-700 Digital Camera
Olympus today
introduced the Camedia C-700 UltraZoom, a 10x optical zoom digital
camera with a 2.11 megapixel resolution. Unlike the C-2100, which
offers the exact same features, this one comes in a compact design
and will sell for $699—about $300 less than the C-2100.
MARCH 12
Kyocera Ships Card-Sized Digital Camera
Kyocera has
released what it calls the smallest digital camera with a zoom
lens. The new Finecam S3 offers a 2x optical zoom with a lens
that's all glass and includes three aspheric elements. The camera
is equipped with a Polysilicon TFT color 1.5 inch LCD and offers
a 35 mm equivalent of 38 mm to 76 mm.
MARCH 12
Quark Releases CopyDesk SE
Quark today
announced the release of QuarkCopyDesk Special Edition, a text-editing
and processing application designed for writers and editors. The
new software offers the text features of QuarkXPress without the
overhead of the graphics features, according to Quark.
MARCH 12
Adobe To Ship Acrobat 5
Adobe today
announced Acrobat Reader 5.0, a forthcoming upgrade to its PDF
creation software.
MARCH 12
Bitstream Ships Unlocked Font CD
For the second
time this year, Bitstream has released an entire CD of fonts unlocked.
This latest collection, Type Odyssey, includes more than 1,000
PostScript and TrueType fonts for both Mac and Windows. The included
fonts come from independent foundries in the United States and
United Kingdom.
MARCH 9
Photoshop 6.01 Updater Returns
Last month
we wrote about Adobe releasing an updater to Photoshop 6. Soon
after, Adobe removed the updater from its download area. Well,
today it's back for both Mac and Windows. The new version adds
minor enhancements to Photoshop 6, mainly dealing with workflow
and usability issues.
MARCH 7
ZBrush 1.2 Coming This Month
Pixologic has
announced it will ship ZBrush 1.2 March 22 at the Game Developers
Conference. ZBrush is a painting application that offers 2D, 2.5D
and limited 3D capabilities. It's been around for less than a
year, and the Macintosh version was launched just back in January
at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco.
MARCH 6
Extensis Supports QuarkXPress with Preflight Online
Extensis has
added support for QuarkXPress in its preflighting service called
Preflight Online. This service allows users to diagnose problems
with documents via the Internet without additional software.
MARCH 6
Olympus Introduces Brio Camera
Olympus says
it will start shipping the first model in its new line of point
and shoot digital cameras this May. The first model, the Camedia
Brio D-100, offers a 1.3 megapixel CCD for producing images at
1,280 x 960. It also offers a 5.5 mm f2.8 to f11 autofocus lens
with 2x telephoto, a shutter release time of 0.3 seconds and a
USB interface.
MARCH 5
Strider Ships Typestyler 3.7.1
Strider Software
has updated TypeStyler to 3.7.1. TypeStyler is a tool for the
Macintosh for manipulating text, creating text paths and generating
text effects. It's available only for the Macintosh.
News from
February 2001
FEBRUARY
27
Maxon Unveils Cinema 4D Art
Maxon Computer
today announced a brand new product in its lineup of 3D software—Cinema
4D Art. The new program is not an addon to Maxon's Cinema 4D XL.
Rather, it's a standalone targeted toward designers and those
who work in print and product visualization.
FEBRUARY
26
Adobe Updates Photoshop 6, ImageReady 3
Adobe has released
an update to Photoshop 6 and ImageReady 3, at least for the Macintosh.
The new release at press time was available only as a link from
Version Tracker, a site that tracks updates to Macintosh software.
(We were unable to snoop around Adobe's FTP site for a direct
link.)
FEBRUARY
26
GretagMacbeth Inks Deal with Fuji Hunt
GretagMacbeth
and Fuji Hunt have signed an agreement to distribute Gretag's
color profiling and color management software with Fuji Hunt's
photographic products. The partnership will integrate GretagMacbeth's
ProfileMaker 3.1 and iCColor into Fuji Hunt's digital offerings,
as well as offerings for photoprocessing customers.
FEBRUARY
22
Human Software Upgrades AutoMask for Windows
Human Software
has announced an upgrade to its AutoMask software for Windows.
The new version (4.0) is tailored especially for Corel PhotoPaint
9 or 10. AutoMask offers multiple masking capacity on top of RGB/CMYK
photos or layers. It works with multiple ranges of colors that
users can define and tune to create masks.
FEBRUARY
22
EFI Partners with Pageflex for Variable Data Printing
Electronics
for Imaging (EFI), the company behind Fiery PostScript RIPs, has
partnered with Pageflex to develop software for variable data
printing. Under the agreement, the companies plan to incorporate
Pageflex VDP technologies into EFI products.
FEBRUARY
21
Total Training Launches Photoshop 6 Series
Total Training
has released the latest in its line of training videos: Total
Training for Adobe Photoshop 6. The new series, like the previous
one, is hosted by Deke McClelland, author of the Photoshop Bible
and Photoshop for Dummies.
FEBRUARY
19
ElectricImage Updates Amorphium Pro
ElectricImage
today announced an update to its Amorphium Pro software for Macintosh
and Windows. The new version adds new features and better rendering
for Flash output, according to ElectricImage.
FEBRUARY
19
Macromedia Updates Flash 5 for Mac
Macromedia
today released an updater for the Macintosh version of Flash 5.
The new version, Flash 5.0a, fixes a number of bugs that were
causing Flash to crash on the Mac. These include situations such
as leaving the Sound Panel open, exporting complex animations,
exporting to animated GIF, dragging and dropping frames to the
timeline and nudging objects with the arrow keys.
FEBRUARY
19
ALAP Ships InDesign Plugins
A Lowly Apprentice
Production (ALAP) has started shipping three new page layout and
publishing tools, as well as an update to InBooklet. InBooklet
is an Adobe InDesign plugin for page imposition. The new version
adds expanded printing capabilities to allow 2-up printer spreads
and 3-up and 4-up consecutive pages from Adobe InDesign. InBooklet
allows users to impose pages from a single InDesign document with
full control over margins, gaps, bleed, creep and crossover traps.
InBooklet 1.01 is a free update from 1.0.
FEBRUARY
14
Panopticum Ships Engraver for Windows
Panopticum
has started shipping Engraver 1.0, a new plugin for Adobe Photoshop
5.x for Windows. The plugin cuts through images with thin lines
that form a geometric pattern. The thickness of lines changes
depending on the initial image under the lines.
FEBRUARY
13
Quark Upgrades Asset Management System
Quark today
announced an upgrade to QuarkDMS, it's asset management and publishing
system. The new version, 1.5, includes a revamped interface on
both Mac and Windows, designed to improve workflow with new features
like the ability to set attributes of multiple files or folders
with a single action. It also gains support for contextual menus
for common tasks and the ability to drag and drop assets or folders
to the desktop.
FEBRUARY
13
Microtek Debuts Film Scanner
Microtek has
released a new film scanner today that it claims delivers drum-quality
film scans. The new model, the ArtixScan 4500t, is a multi-format
scanner targeted toward imaging professionals on Mac and Windows
that uses a 10,000-element CCD to produce 42-bit depth at a maximum
optical resolution of 2,571 DPI and a 3.9Dmax.
FEBRUARY
12, 2001
Canon To Ship High-Speed Film Scanner
Canon says
it will ship a new high-speed film scanner in the second quarter
of this year. The new model, the CanoScan FS4000US, offers 42-bit,
4,000 DPI resolution; 14-bit A/D conversion; USB and SCSI-2 interfaces;
and scratch and dust removal capabilities. The new scanner accepts
35 mm and Advanced Photo System films, including slide film, and
has a dynamic range is 3.4.
FEBRUARY
12
Epson Brings 2,440 DPI to Large Format with new Stylus Pro 5500
Epson today
announced it's lowering prices on three of its professional large-format
printers. The company also started shipping the Stylus Pro 5500,
a 13" (wide), 2,440 x 720 DPI printer that uses Epson's new Archival
Inks.
FEBRUARY
9
SiPix To Ship New Cameras
SiPix has announced
two new digital cameras in its lineup that will begin shipping
later this month. The SiPix SC-2100 is a 2.1 megapixel that will
sell for $279. The SC-2100 features auto focus, a six-element
glass lens, 1.8-inch color LCD and 2x digital zoom. It also has
a continuous-shoot mode for taking up to four shots in rapid succession
at full resolution.
FEBRUARY
9
SoftPress Ships Freeway 3.1
SoftPress has
released version 3.1 of Freeway, it's Web design and page layout
tool. Freeway 3.1 includes new features and performance improvements,
as well as maintenance enhancements, according to SoftPress. Freeway
takes an approach to Web page layout similar to desktop publishing
tools and is targeted to designers. It includes support for multiple
master pages; typographical features (such as converting typefaces
to GIFs, while maintaining their editability); cascading style
sheets; built-in graphics optimization; rollover editing; and
JavaScripting.
FEBRUARY
9
ALAP Releases Xpert Align
A Lowly Apprentice
Production (ALAP) has release Xpert Align, an XTension for QuarkXPress
that allows users to align items in a Quark document. It can align
items left, right, top and bottom, as well as horizontal center
and vertical center. It can also be used to distribute items vertical
top, center and bottom and horizontal left, center and right.
FEBRUARY
7
Sapphire Releases Displacer, Patterns for Photoshop
Sapphire Innovations
has released six new sets of addons for Adobe Photoshop. Sapphire
Displacer Vols. 1 and 2 are collections of displacement effects,
which can be used to displace the entire image or apply to layers
or to a select or displace text or individual letters. They can
alszo be used to create glass distortions, textures, etc. They
can also be stacked to create effect combinations.
FEBRUARY
5
Wacom Offers Deal on Painter 6
Wacom has started
offering a special deal to its customers on the purchase of Corel
Painter 6. Now through Feb. 21, owners of Wacom Graphire and Intuos
tablet systems can buy Painter 6 for $199. (it's usually priced
at $399.)
FEBRUARY
5
MediaLab Reduces Price of PhotoWebber
MediaLab today
announced new pricing for PhotoWebber, its stand-alone application
that converts Photoshop elements and layers into HTML layout.
The new price for the download version is $199, $50 off the previous
price. The CD version is $249. There's also a new student discount
price, which is $129 (download) or $149 (CD).
FEBRUARY
5
HP To Ship Designjet 5000 UV
Hewlett-Packard
today unveiled a new UV printing system designed for the HP Designjet
5000 series. The new ink system is UV-based and can be interchanged
with HP's dye-based HP 81 system, according to the company. HP
is also announcing the release of HP Durable Image Gloss UV printing
material, which offers smear and moisture resistance for both
indoor and outdoor applications. The coating is designed to provide
fast drying for immediate lamination.
FEBRUARY
5
Adobe Adds 500 Fonts to Folio Collection
Adobe today
announced Font Folio 9.0 collection, which adds approximately
500 additional fonts to Font Folio 8.0's 2,500 typefaces. These
include 190 cross-platform fonts developed by Adobe and Microsoft
in OpenType format. The set also includes ATM Deluxe, the commercial
version of Adobe Type Manager that's used for rasterizing typefaces
on screen and organizing fonts on the system.
FEBRUARY
5
ALAP Updates ImagePort to 1.1
A Lowly Apprentice
Production (ALAP) has released a 1.1 upgrade to ImagePort, an
XTension for QuarkXPress that allows users to import Photoshop
files directly into Quark with layers intact. The latest release
adds support for adjustment layers as well.
FEBRUARY
5
Bitstream Releases Font Collection
Bitstream today
announced the release of the Cambridge Collection, a new CD of
200 fonts for Mac and Windows in both TrueType and PostScript
formats. The collection includes several Bitstream originals,
such as Amerigo and Chianti, as well as "fun" and "elegant" fonts.
The Cambridge Collection comes with 200 fonts in total, including
display faces and families of text faces, selected from Bitstream's
typeface library.
FEBRUARY
5
Toshiba Announces New Digital Cameras
Toshiba today
announced its new lineup of digital cameras, ranging from the
$249, 1.3 megapixel PDR-M11 to the $599, 3.3 megapixel PDR-M65.
The cameras will be on display beginning next week at the PMA
show in Orlando beginning Feb. 11.
FEBRUARY
5
Nikon To Release Digital SLRs
Nikon today
announced the impending release of two new digital SLR cameras.
The company says the new models are the fastest on the market,
with high-speed image processing that produces three frames per
second on the D1X for up to nine consecutive shots at resolutions
up to 5.47 megapixels. The other new camera, the D1H, produces
up to five frames per second for up to 40 shots at 2.74 megapixels.
FEBRUARY
1
Human Software Releases Textissimo 3.0
New version
of plugin gets 750 effects
FEBRUARY
1
Xerox Goes Wide Format
52" ColorgrafX
uses two-roll online media
FEBRUARY
1
Fuji Introduces Three Digital Cameras
High-end models
sport new Fujifilm Super CCD
FEBRUARY
1
Group Logic Releases ExtremeZ-IP 2.0
Prepress networking
solutions eliminates the need for AppleTalk on Macs
News from
January 2001
JANUARY 31
Poser Pro Pack Ships
Addon allows
character animation to be exported to Flash
JANUARY 29
Adobe
Releases Japanese Version of InDesign
New version
supports Japanese text, fonts and grid layout
JANUARY 29
Sapphire
Ships Brush Sets for Photoshop 6
Addon modules
for Photoshop available in new volumes
JANUARY 23
Corel
To Focus on Creative Apps
New vision
for the future includes new versions of KPT, Bryce, KnockOut and
Painter
JANUARY 22
ScenicSoft
To Ship Color Central 3.7
New Mac version
gets parity with NT
JANUARY 22
SignMate
6.5 Comes to the Mac
Roland's printer/cutter
app gets redesign, Mac-only features
JANUARY 17
Helios
Releases PDF Handshake 2.0
New version
adds free Internet printing
JANUARY 16
Macromedia
Announces Merger with Allaire
Cold Fusion
maker now under Macromedia banner
JANUARY 16
Epson
Ships New Mac Inkjets
Models get
new design, 2,440 DPI resolution
JANUARY 16
CreoScitex
To Ship PDF Trapper
Supertrap offers
the vector functionality of Prinergy in an Acrobat Plugin
JANUARY 15
Media
100 Launches CineStream
Web video editing
& encoding suite supports EventStream
JANUARY 15
Monaco
to Bring ColourMatch to Xante ColourLaser 1200 Pro
System uses
flatbed scanner to build color profiles
JANUARY 15
Sapphire
Ships Frames & Shapes
Plugin modules
for Photoshop available in new volumes
JANUARY 8
Epson
Intros New Expression Scanner
New models
offer 3,200 x 1,600 DPI
JANUARY 8
Agfa
Announces Twin-Plate Scanner
Duoscan F40
offers USB and FireWire connections
JANUARY 8
CValley
To Release FILTERiT 4
Adobe Illustrator
plugin to get 3D transformations
JANUARY 8
Wacom
Offers Discounts on Tablets
Graphite Intuos
models get rebates
JANUARY 5
Olympus
To Ship New Digital Cameras
Compact models
offer 2.11, 3.34 megapixel resolutions
JANUARY 4
ScenicSoft
Updates UpFront
Windows production
planning software gets several bug fixes
JANUARY 4
Microtek
Ships Scanner, Digital Camera Bundle
USB combo comes
in at $180
 JANUARY
2
Adobe
Updates Illustrator
New version
fixes compatibility issues with Photoshop 6
JANUARY 2
Flaming
Pear Releases Melancholytron
Photoshop filter
makes images 'moody'
JANUARY 2
Plugin
Commander Gets Update to 1.51
New version
fixes bugs, tightens interface
News from
December 2000
DECEMBER
26
Human
Software Releases MagicTrack
Company also
offers deals on Photoshop plugins
DECEMBER
19
Adobe
Updates InDesign
Version 1.5.2
supports non-PostScript printers, overall improvements for output
DECEMBER
19
Andromeda
Launches eArt Services
Program offers
'fine art' collections, custom artwork for digital media designers
DECEMBER
19
LaserSoft
Imaging Releases Silverfast SE
'Lite' version
of imaging technology designed for low-end scanner, camera market
 DECEMBER
18
Sapphire
Releases Brushes 3
Pack includes
180 brushes for Propeller Paint Engine
DECEMBER
15
Portent
Brings Real Content to Adobe GoLive
Free plugin
lets users drag and drop RealPlayer into Web pages
DECEMBER
15
Quark,
Spin Bring Print to Web Solution to XPress
'Index' works
with avenue.quark to publish directly to the Internet
DECEMBER
13
Pictorico
Expands Wide-Format Offerings
Company also
launches printing service for digital photographers
DECEMBER
12
Cross
Artist Adds Linux Support
Mac OS X version
also expected
DECEMBER
12
ConceptDraw
Gets Update to 1.58
New version
fixes bugs, adds interface enhancements
DECEMBER
11
Bitstream
Releases New Designer Fonts
Second installment
in 'New Font Collection' program
DECEMBER
8
Macromedia
Releases UltraDev Fireworks Studio
Web application
development solution supports Cold Fusion Markup Language
DECEMBER
5
Pixologic
ZBrush Coming Jan. 9
2D/3D paint
application renders 3D geometry, materials and textures in real
time
DECEMBER
4
YARC
Releases Mac RIPs for HP
DesignJet printers
get Ethernet support
DECEMBER
4
Extensis
Offers Free Upgrades
Photoshop plugins
get 6.0 support
News from
November 2000
NOVEMBER
30
Microtek
Ships High-End ScanMaker
42-bit flatbed
captures direct from film emulsion surface
NOVEMBER
29
Extensis
Cuts Prices in Half
All Photoshop,
Quark tools on sale for Christmas
NOVEMBER
29
Macromedia
Launches Flash Exchange
Site offers
extensions, ActionScript samples, Generator templates and source
files
NOVEMBER
28
Sapphire
Offers Brush Collection for Photoshop 6
New package
includes 1,400 brush presets
NOVEMBER
28
Black
Belt Ships WinImages R6
Windows-based
image editor offers extensive layer options
NOVEMBER
27
Macromedia
Ships Dreamweaver 4, Fireworks 4
Studio and
standalone versions now available
NOVEMBER
27
WoodWing
Updates InDesign Plugins
New versions
of layout addons get bug fixes
NOVEMBER
21
Adobe
Updates Illustrator
Version
9.0.1 fixes bugs, improves performance
NOVEMBER
14
Panopticum
Ships Photo FX
Package includes four Photoshop plugins
NOVEMBER
14
Epson To Ship
'Macified' Version of 2,880 DPI Printer
Stylus Color 777i comes in at $99
NOVEMBER
14
Media
Lab Updates PhotoWebber
Price to go up in December
NOVEMBER
9
Quark
Unveils QuarkWrapture
Package design software supports QuickTime VR
NOVEMBER
6
Umax
Ships AstraCam 1800
1.2 megapixel camera comes in at $199
NOVEMBER
6
Panopticum
Plugin Galaxy Gets Update
Photoshop package expands into other apps
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