Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended, Adobe InDesign CS5 and Adobe InCopy CS5
By Howard Berenbon
In 2009 I had a chance to preview Adobe’s new CS4 multi-media design programs and was offered the chance to preview and review their new CS5 products. Well, after reviewing the CS4 series, which I found a leap in improvements over the previous Adobe products, I wasn’t sure the new CS5 products would offer much more, but I was wrong. The improvements to CS5 are another leap. In fact, they are quite numerous, so I’ve included comparison tables to help you understand what they’ve done and what they can do now. If you’re considering an upgrade from an older version, you should be able to decide right here. If you’re new to the Adobe products, you’re in luck, because you’ll be buying the latest and greatest programs with all the improvements. Upgrading is less costly, but you have to have a recent version to benefit. One important change is the use of 64-bit Windows technology, which improves performance and speed, and both the 64-bit and 32-bit versions of Photoshop are included. However, two programs require a 64-bit operating system: Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 (for professional video production) and Adobe After Effects CS5. So, if you produce videos professionally, you’ll want to upgrade to CS5. Over the next several months I’ll be reviewing most of the programs from Adobe Master Collection CS5 starting with Photoshop CS5 Extended which I consider the king of photo manipulation programs, and a review of Adobe InDesign CS5, an industry standard desktop publisher.
Now before I go on to “A Little History,” I want to offer one quick bit of advice. If you find a use for a number of the Adobe programs, the Master Collection is the way to go. The PC version sells for $2451 (from Amazon) and the Mac for $2596, but offers over $6,000 worth of programs (purchased individually). And, you can upgrade for a lot less.
A Little History
Adobe Photoshop is the best known and most widely used professional photo manipulation program available for the personal computer, PC and Macintosh. It was developed in 1987 for the Macintosh as a project of Thomas Knoll, a PhD student in computer science at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He called it Display, to display grayscale images on a monochrome monitor. John Knoll, Thomas’s brother, who worked for Industrial Light and Magic, suggested he write a full-blown image-editing program. So, in 1988 they collaborated to create ImagePro, and then changed the name to Photoshop prior to offering it to software publishers. In September 1988, Adobe Systems licensed the software from Knoll and in 1990 it was introduced as Adobe Photoshop 1.0 for the Macintosh. The Windows version wasn’t released until November 1992. It’s now a versatile multi-function, multimedia graphics program that anyone can use, from beginner to multimedia professional.
What’s It All About
Basically, Photoshop in all versions, allows you to take a photo and modify it any way you want using a number of tools, or filters within the program. Some tools are built-in while others you can add called plug-ins. If a picture is blurry, you can sharpen it, if it’s too dark, you can lighten, or darken a faded photo. You can crop it, cut parts out, merge other photos, add text, change the shape of all or part of your work, change the color and contrast and even make your photo into a work of art. You can work photographic miracles even with low quality photos or art. Ordinary pictures and graphics can become extraordinary if you know how to use the tools provided. And if you don’t know what you’re doing, you can learn. Adobe offers all kinds of text and video tutorials to help you.
Photoshop CS5 Extended is available as a stand-along program, or in suites with other Adobe products. It’s designed for the professional photographer or graphics artist, but anyone can use it, amateur photographers, graphic designers and Website designers. Creative Suite 5 Extended is more for commercial applications for film and video professionals, designers using 3D and animation, manufacturers and medical professionals, architects, engineers and scientific researchers. It also offers better 3D editing, compositing and motion-graphics capabilities plus enhanced image analysis functions. The ability to create 3D artwork and animation within Photoshop CS5 (new to CS4) is a great feature, and it’s now improved in CS5.
Installation
Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended was installed along with Master Collection in a new PC laptop running Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (about an hour with time for online registration), but the stand-alone version installs from a single DVD in about 15 minutes (this varies with the speed of your computer). Once installed, you’ll have access to the main menu with all available features, which includes an excellent Help menu that accesses Adobe Community Help supporting all the Adobe products. To access help for Photoshop CS5 you click on the PS icon and you’ll find links to Photoshop reference and popular resources including Getting Started and (video) Tutorials, Forums and CS Live. You’ll also need to open an account with Adobe using your e-mail address as your log in and password you choose. This is required to complete the installation, and gives access to a variety of services and lets you register your software. Once you sign up, you can choose a free gift (they call benefit) like some new fonts, online training courses from lynda.com or special plug-ins.
Now back to Photoshop. At the very top of the screen you can click a button to launch Adobe Bridge, Mini Bridge (new—view and access files within Photoshop without entering Bridge) and access some tools quickly including the Hand Tool, Zoom, Rotate View, Arrange Documents and the Screen Mode. To the top right are ESSENTIALS, DESIGN, PAINTING and the CS Live button. Just below the top you can access several more menus including File, Edit, Image, Layer, Filter, Analysis, 3D, View, Window and then Help, as mentioned above. From the File menu you can click New, or open an existing graphics document. On the left side of the screen you’ll find a movable vertical tool bar with the various text and graphics tools (like marquee, lasso, crop, dropper, brushes, text, eraser, etc.) and on the far right the Essentials panel is displayed with access to Color, Swatches, Styles, Adjustments, Masks, Layers, Channels and Paths. In fact, it looks very similar to Photoshop CS4. But it is improved, and below is the list of what you’ll find new.
What’s New and Improved in Photoshop CS5 Extended
Extraordinary painting effects--New
Achieve natural and realistic painting effects with the Mixer Brush, which offers on-canvas color blending; Bristle Tips
Content-Aware Fill--New
Remove any image detail or object and watch as Content-Aware Fill magically fills in the space left behind. Matches lighting, tone, and noise so it looks as if the removed content never existed.
Complex selections made easy--New
Easily select intricate image elements, such as hair, for refinements, compositing, or placing in layout. Eliminate background color around selection edges, and automatically vary selection edges and perfect masks using new refinement tools.
Puppet Warp--New
Precisely warp or stretch graphics, text, or image elements to create unique new looks.
Superior HDR imaging--Enhanced
Create photo-realistic or surreal HDR images with unprecedented speed, control, and accuracy. Includes automatic ghost removal and greater control with tone mapping and adjustments.
Efficient workflow--Enhanced
Productivity and creativity boosts from dozens of features and enhancements requested by Photoshop users. Straighten images automatically, choose colors from an onscreen color picker, adjust the opacity of many layers at once, and more.
Better media management--Enhanced
Easily manage media with more flexible batch renaming, and access your assets in the context of what you're working on by using the customizable Adobe Mini Bridge panel in Photoshop Extended.
Design interactive content without writing code
Start with artwork created in Photoshop Extended, import it into Adobe Flash® Catalyst™, and deliver it as an interactive prototype or as finished content for viewing in Adobe Flash Player.
3D extrusions with Adobe Repoussé--New
Create 3D logos and artwork from any text layer, selection, path, or layer mask with Adobe Repoussé technology. Twist, rotate, extrude, bevel, and inflate your designs.
Raw image processing--Enhanced
Use the Adobe Photoshop Camera Raw 6 plug-in to nondestructively remove image noise while preserving color and detail; add grain to make digital photos look more organic; enjoy more control when performing post-crop vignetting; and more.
Enhanced 3D realism and rich materials--New
Enhance 3D objects and designs with easy shadow creation, image-based lights, and materials like glass and chrome. Explore with different focus points in your 3D scene by adjusting the range for depth of field.
Faster performance across platforms--Enhanced
Speed up day-to-day imaging tasks and process very large images up to 10 times faster by taking advantage of cross-platform 64-bit support. (Requires a 64-bit-capable computer with a 64-bit version of Mac OS, Microsoft® Windows® 7, or Windows Vista®. Actual performance varies depending on amount of RAM, driver types, and other factors.)
Streamlined creative reviews--New
Use Adobe CS Review — an Adobe CS Live online service* — to initiate a more secure review from within Photoshop Extended. Reviewers add comments to your images from their browsers, and you see those comments immediately.
Deeper Creative Suite integration
Improve productivity and workflows when using Adobe Photoshop Extended, Illustrator®, and Flash® Builder™.
For Video
Create and enhance 3D and motion-based content and prepare still images for video projects. Leverage 64-bit support, create stunning HDR images, and add natural painting effects with lifelike Bristle Tips.
Create powerful images for the screen
Start creating your 3D artwork right in Photoshop Extended using Adobe Repoussé technology, and then easily move to your favorite Adobe video tools, including Adobe After Effects® and Adobe Premiere® Pro.
Enhanced 3D animation and realism--Enhanced
Animate effects such as depth of field; use video layers to animate image-based lights; and easily keyframe 3D object position, camera position, textures, and render settings. Enhance 3D objects and designs with easy shadow creation and materials like glass and chrome.
Improved 32-bit file support--Enhanced
Create a layer mask directly from the transparency in your 32-bit file.
For Interactive
Create cutting-edge looks for interactive web experiences with 3D artwork, warped graphics, and realistic painting effects.
Complex selections made easy--New
Get the best results when selecting tricky image elements, such as hair, and eliminate background color around selection edges. Automatically vary selection edges and perfect masks using new refinement tools.
Comparing Recent Versions
If you’re having trouble deciding whether to upgrade from an older version, click for the table comparing Photoshop CS5 Extended to CS4 and CS3 Extended. It can help you decide. You can see there’s a world of improvements between CS5 and CS3. Click for the Photoshop comparison table.
A Few Great Resources
If you’re intimidated by the power of Photoshop, don’t be shy and buy one of the Dummies series books. I have used Photoshop for Dummies with great success. They offer step-by-step instructions to help you get up to speed on the available features. Another great resource is direct from Adobe. com. You’ll find several free Photoshop video tutorials through Adobe TV at http://tv.adobe.com/product/photoshop/.
Adobe Photoshop Creative Suite 5 Extended, IBM PC version, sells for $894.99 and is available for the IBM PC or compatible, Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon 64 or faster processor running Microsoft Windows 7, 64-bit, XP or Vista with 1 GB RAM, 256MB of VRAM, 9.3 GB Hard Disk space, 1280x800 Display, DVD-ROM drive and QuickTime 7.6.2 for multimedia features. It’s also available for the Apple Macintosh Multicore Intel processor, selling for $894.99. Requires Mac OS X v10.5.7 or v10.6, 1 GB RAM, 256MB of VRAM, 10.3GB hard disk space, 1280x800 monitor resolution, DVD-ROM drive and QuickTime 7.6.2. For more information, or to order, visit Amazon.com.
Click for Adobe InDesign CS5 and Adobe InCopy CS5
Software Companies Mentioned
Adobe Systems Incorporated
345 Park Ave
San Jose, CA 95110-2704
URL: www.adobe.com
800-833-6687
