Photoshop for Students. Get super savings at the Adobe Academic Store.
Buy. Download. Create. Get Photoshop CS4 now at the Adobe Store.
Genuine Fractals 6 Photoshop Plugin - Genuine Fractals Print Pro - Image Scaling Plugin - 20% OFF
Review by Jennifer Apple
Exclusive onOne Software 20% Instant Discount Coupon
Enter our exclusive discount coupon code - PSSPPT06 - during the checkout process at onOne Software for an instant 20% discount on any onOne product. This includes all their latest releases. This is a limited time offer.
Scaling The Right Way
Before I begin here's some highlights from a press release to get you up to speed on the new improvements in version 6 of Genuine Fractals...
Genuine Fractals 6 adds several new features designed to help photographers get the best enlargements possible.
These new features include texture presets, a new gallery wrap function, batch processing, tiling for smaller printers and support for Adobe Photoshop CS4, Adobe Photoshop CS4 Extended and Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.
Genuine Fractals 6 represents onOne Software's continuing commitment to provide photographers with the industry standard for resizing images with no loss in image quality and sharpness.
"I've been a digital photographer so long, my first camera was wood-burning," said Vincent Versace, recipient of the Computerworld Smithsonian Award in Media Arts & Entertainment. "In all that time, I've saved and scaled every one of my images with Genuine Fractals. The new level of control I now have over how my images are resized with Genuine Fractals 5 will have a profound impact on my fine art work."
New Features in Genuine Fractals 6
Texture Presets – Genuine Fractals 6 now includes texture presets allowing photographers to get the most out of the patented resizing algorithm that powers Genuine Fractals. The presets are designed to give users an easy way to set the key algorithm parameters to get the highest quality enlargement based on the type of image the user is starting out with no matter the size or subject matter.
New Gallery Wrap Feature – Photographers are often faced with losing part of their subject when some of the image is wrapped around the thick frames used to create canvas gallery wrap prints. With Genuine Fractals 6 Professional Edition, photographers have an easy way to increase the edge areas of the image by reflecting or stretching the margins to allow for canvas wrapping without having to sacrifice important details in the image.
New Batch Processing – Photographers who need to resize multiple images can now do so in a very efficient workflow thanks to the new Batch Processing feature in Genuine Fractals 6. Based on the Batch Processing Engine developed initially for onOne Software’s PhotoTools Professional Edition, photographers can choose which files to resize, change file names, save files to a new location and file type, change and embed a specific color space to the new file and optionally add a customized watermark to help protect the photographers work.
Tiling for Smaller Printers – This new tiling feature allows photographers to resize their images to any desired size and then have Genuine Fractals 6 create the necessary documents so that the image can be printed on a smaller format printer. For example if the photographers desired output size is 24" x 30" but their printer can only print a maximum size of 8" x 10" they can use the new tiling feature to break the final 24" x 30" file into a matrix of nine 8" x 10" images that are returned as separate files in Photoshop.
Support for Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 and Apple Aperture 2.1 – In addition to support for Adobe Photoshop CS4, Genuine Fractals 6 Professional Edition will also support Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 and Apple Aperture 2.1 putting the industry standard for image resizing inside these photography workflow applications.
Additional Enhancements – Several other features of Genuine Fractals have been improved including the document size presets which make resizing and cropping to fit much easier; an improved crop tool that allows photographers to define a crop in any direction as well as additional user experience improvements.
Availability and Pricing
Genuine Fractals 6 comes in two editions – a Professional Edition and a Standard Edition and are available for $299.95 and $159.95 respectively direct from onOne Software and select, authorized resellers in the United States and around the world. Upgrades from previous versions of Genuine Fractals are available for $99.95. Genuine Fractals 6 is also available as part of Plug-In Suite 4, an integrated suite of six plug-ins for Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Photoshop Elements, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 and Apple Aperture 2.1.
Genuine Fractals 6 does not support the 64-bit version of Photoshop CS4 for Windows but does support the 32-bit versions of Photoshop CS4 for both Mac OS X and Windows.
Genuine Fractals 6 may be ordered immediately from onOne Software. Customers who pre-order Genuine Fractals 6 will receive a copy of Genuine Fractals 5 initially and then will receive a free upgrade to Genuine Fractals 6.
20% Discount Coupon
Enter discount coupon code PSSPPT06 during the checkout process at onOne Software for an instant 20% discount on any onOne Software product. This is a special offer exclusively for PhotoshopSupport.com visitors.
"Genuine Fractals is my choice of tools when I want to scale or change the linear resolution of my pixel-based images in Photoshop while maintaining the highest possible image quality," Photoshop author, trainer and Prepress 'Guru' Taz Tally says. "In addition, images that I resample with Genuine Fractals respond better to sharpening than those resampled with bicubic interpolation in Photoshop."
Patented Technique To Increase Size And Resolution Of Images
Well Taz Tally has seriously endorsed Genuine Fractals with that statement. Now, although Genuine Fractals can scale up your image all the way to 700% without degrading image quality, I'm going to try something a little bit more real world.
So here's the scenario: I have a low-quality web image that is 160 pixels across, but I need it to be 250 pixels across. That's a good amount of enlarging (156%).
I'll use a file with solid colors, some text and an image. It's from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), which is a donor-funded nonprofit that protects our civil liberties on the net. They recently launched a Bloggers' Rights campaign which features a poster that I'll use as an example for this test.
So Here We Go - Let's Start Scaling Up
You start by opening your image in Photoshop. If you're working with multiple images, make sure the desired image window is active. From the File menu choose Automate, then choose Genuine Fractals. The active image will now open in the Genuine Fractals Work Area.
The left portion of the work area is a Preview window. A Navigation pane in the upper right corner shows a smaller view of the entire image, with red lines marking out exactly what portion of the image the Preview window is displaying. At the right side, below the Navigation pane, are panels for image scale and crop options. A toolbar is found below the option panels.
You can view and change scaling information in the Image Scale panel of the Genuine Fractals Work area.
So I took the smaller poster (160 pixels across) and I scaled it up to 250 pixels across. There was some blur, so I applied Unsharp Mask (Amount: 60%, Radius: 4.0 pixels, Threshold: 30 levels) and then saved it as a JPEG, set at Medium Quality (50). That's the poster you see just to the right.
As you can see this image is still a tiny bit blurry, and some of the solid colors and text have started to pixelate. This is because I used a web image that started out optimized and therefore at low quality. Given these circumstances the final result is pretty amazing. Higher quality photos will turn out much more superbly of course.
Ease Of Use
The interface is very simple and straight forward, and I had the whole thing done in no time at all. That's the way I like to work. It was totally painless.
Summary — So Do I Need This?
If you are in a workflow that finds you enlarging photos on a regular basis, then this is an indispensable tool that is worth every penny. It's easy to install, the manual makes sense (I know, that sounds totally unbelievable) and the interface is a pleasure to work with. Does it deliver the goods? Yes it does. But remember that you need to start with a good quality image for Genuine Fractals to really work it's voodoo right.
So there you have it, a real workhorse of a tool that gives Photoshop some supernatural powers.
EXCLUSIVE 20% DISCOUNT
Enter discount coupon code PSSPPT06 during the checkout process for an instant 20% discount exclusively for PhotoshopSupport.com visitors. Genuine Fractals 5 and Genuine Fractals Print Pro 5 are available from onOne Software.
View these Genuine Fractals & Genuine Fractals Print Pro video tutorials to get a feel for the application, become aquainted with the user interface, and hear some tips on how to get the most out of working with Genuine Fractals.
Genuine Fractals 5 - Introduction
Genuine Fractals 5 - Advanced Techniques
Photoshop CS4 & Photoshop CS4 Extended - Best Deals From Adobe
Photoshop CS4 and Photoshop CS4 Extended feature a newly refined, tab-based interface in a single, integrated window, with self-adjusting panels arranged in docked groups. Automatically keeping tools well organized and away from your work area means you get greater efficiency, less clutter, and better results, faster than before.
Delivering all the features of Adobe Photoshop CS4 software, including the new Adjustments and Masks panels, Adobe Photoshop CS4 Extended also provides breakthrough 3D editing and compositing power to paint directly on 3D models, create 3D animations, convert 2D images to 3D objects, and more; richer motion graphics editing; and more powerful and flexible image analysis and tracking. Learn more on our Photoshop CS4 Tutorials Page. To download the free trial, see details on our Photoshop CS4 Free Trial Download Page.
Find upgrade options and package deals at the Adobe USA Store. Teachers and students get special pricing at the Adobe Education Store. You can also buy in your country currency and language at the following Adobe International Stores:
Adobe United Kingdom | Adobe Germany | Adobe France | Adobe Eastern Europe
Adobe Creative Suite 4 Design Premium - Complete CS4 Bundle
Adobe Creative Suite 4 Design Premium software is the designer's dream toolkit for print, web, and mobile publishing. Creativity is rarely confined to one medium, so put your vector illustrations in motion, moving fluidly between Adobe Illustrator CS4 and Adobe Flash CS4 Professional. And use Adobe Photoshop CS4 Extended to design and slice a web page for publishing with Adobe Dreamweaver CS4.
Adobe Creative Suite 4 Design Premium combines essential tools for producing everything from professional page layouts to rich interactive experiences in a unified, intuitive environment. Also includes Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro, Adobe InDesign CS4, plus Adobe Fireworks CS4.
Buy now or download the free trial at the Adobe USA Store, or buy in your country currency and language at the following Adobe International Stores:
Adobe United Kingdom | Adobe Germany | Adobe France | Adobe Eastern Europe
Photoshop Masking Plugin Fluid Mask 3 - $15 Discount Special
The 4 1/2 out of 5 star review of Fluid Mask 3 at MacWorld begins by saying that this "Photoshop plug-in takes the pain out of extracting backgrounds," and goes on to recommend the latest version, stating that "Fluid Mask 3.0.2 is a very effective tool for separating objects from their backgrounds. It offers a variety of useful features for tackling almost any difficult image, from wispy hair to complex foliage. Online video tutorials and live training sessions help ease the learning curve."
Our friends at Vertus, the makers of Fluid Mask 3 Photoshop Plugin, have set up a special exclusive discount for PhotoshopSupport.com. Just follow this discount link and instantly get $15 off your purchase of Fluid Mask 3.
Fluid Mask 3 is designed for photographers, image editors, graphic designers and all those who take digital image editing seriously. In a streamlined interface and workflow, Fluid Mask 3 instantly shows key edges in the image and provides comprehensive easy to use tools that work with difficult-to-see edges and tricky areas like trees & lattices. Features include:
Fastest masking available today - from loading to final cut-out. Turn hours of tedious work into something that's short to complete and fun to do.
- Quick and easy to pick up, Fluid Mask 3 offers an intuitive workflow. Check out the edge guides that makes selecting the cut-out as easy as coloring by numbers and the always visible interactive help.
- Amazing edge quality. Fluid Mask 3 takes blending to a new level by preserving the edge data. In the final result, natural edge blur and contour is preserved for the best, most authentic cut-outs ever.
- Fluid Mask will also work in standalone mode (i.e. not as a plug-in).
- There is now an XML based Help file which may be searched by sections or by keywords. Also included are video tutorials.
- Fluid Mask may be used with a Wacom tablet, now pen pressure is hooked up to Brush Size.
To learn more visit the Fluid Mask 3 - Discount Deal Page.
SiteGrinder 2 - Photoshop Plugin
There often seems to be a strict division of labor within the world of web design and development. Creative professionals tend to stick to the Photoshop domain, while those well-versed in scripting are left to the task of implementing their work. Indeed, the two realms are quite different from each other, to which any of us even vaguely familiar with either can easily attest.
Essentially, Photoshop is a no-holds-barred design studio, offering the artist a seemingly endless array of creative options. On the other hand, HTML, CSS, Java and the like follow strict rules of engagement, requiring the developer to take any number of esoteric concerns into consideration in order to ensure that designs are properly displayed on the web.
Turn Photoshop Into A Complete Web Design Tool
SiteGrinder 2 seeks to bridge this gap between design and development. Basically, this program turns Photoshop into an easy-to-use and fully functional web design tool. With SiteGrinder 2, designers will now have the freedom to totally let their creativity loose and then, without skipping a beat, transfer their designs to the web. Bringing esthetic concerns together with more practical considerations, this program is an amazingly powerful tool that would make a fantastic addition to any web designer's bag of tricks.
Generate Your Web Pages Directly From Photoshop
By generating web pages directly from Photoshop, you'll be able to spend much more time on the creative end of the spectrum, since you'll know right off the bat how well particular designs will translate to the web. No more going back to the Photoshop drawing board after getting a phone call from your development team, telling you that what you had envisioned doesn't have a chance of being displayed on the web. You can immediately visually and interactively test your designs, which permits you to then make changes to either esthetics or functions while it's still relatively early on in the design process.
Pricing and Availability
Mac OS X and Windows versions of the SiteGrinder unlockable demo are available now via download. SiteGrinder 2 can be ordered from Media Lab's online store.
Photoshop Book - Photoshop CS2: Essential Skills - By Mark Galer And Philip Andrews
An inspirational and user-friendly guide to creative image editing, Photoshop CS2: Essential Skills provides direction for photographers and designers alike who have ventured into the realm of the 'digital darkroom.' The book offers a progressive curriculum to guide you through Photoshop with a series of clear, step-by-step projects designed to place knowledge into a practical context.
Whether you simply want to retouch an image, create a glamour makeover or create a highly sophisticated montage - this book will give you the essential skills to complete the work to a professional standard.
The accompanying CD-ROM and website, www.photoshopessentialskills.com, offer additional teaching and learning materials which form a library of indispensable supporting resources including:
• All of the images used in the text
• Over four hours of QuickTime movie tutorials to support the practical projects
• A range of presets (including layer styles, curves, shapes and gradients)
• Camera RAW files
• Free extra chapters in e-book form.
For a free sample chapter see our How To Sharpen An Image In Photoshop tutorial.
Photoshop CS2: Essential Skills (Amazon.com - save 34%)
