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PROOF-it-ONLINE Offering Free Pro Premium Proofing Evaluation Bundle
2007-12-07 04:39:00
PROOF-it-ONLINE, provider of web-based interactive approval management solutions to print and creative services companies, today announced that in an effort to help companies capitalize on seasonal downtime, they are giving away a free Pro Premium Proof ing Evaluation Bundle to the first 50 companies signing up during the month of December. The package, valued at $800, includes a free two-month online proofing account (up to 250 proofs per month), a phone consultation with ROI analysis, a newly released white paper entitled, Top 5 Things to Know About Online Proofing that Will Help Your Business Grow and unlimited access to PROOF-it-ONLINEs Resource Center. (more…)
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Adobe Debuts Flash Media Server 3 Product Line
2007-12-07 04:35:00
SAN JOSE, Calif.–Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) announced the Adobe Flash Media Server 3 family of products, which offers streaming media and real-time communication capabilities to the broadest possible audience. With industry standard H.264 video capabilities and High Efficiency AAC (HE-AAC) audio support, Adobe Flash Media Server 3 provides content owners with increased protection for streaming high quality video and allows for the delivery of interactive media applications that work consistently across multiple browsers and operating systems. Adobe Flash Media Server 3 provides a more efficient instant-on video experience virtually anytime, anywhere " to the Web, the desktop with Adobe Media Player and to mobile devices with Adobe Flash Lite 3. With new pricing options, customers have a wide array of choices for the broadcasting of high quality streaming media experiences. Adobes award-winning Flash technology is driving the shift from traditional media consumpti...
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Corel Partners with ConceptShare to Deliver New Online Collaboration Tool
2007-12-07 04:32:00
OTTAWA–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Corel Corporation (NASDAQ:CREL; TSX:CRE), a leading developer of graphics, productivity and digital media software, announced that it has partnered with ConceptShare Inc., an emerging leader in online collaboration. www.CorelDRAWConceptShare.com, launched today, will be the first project in a five year partnership between the two companies. This new online tool enables designers to easily share their work with other designers, colleagues or clients, providing a more dynamic and collaborative experience, while accelerating the design process. CorelDRAWConceptShare.com helps designers and clients by making it easier to review concepts, make adjustments and complete projects faster. By moving consultations online, CorelDRAWConceptShare.com also saves time and money by eliminating the need to travel for face-to-face meetings. In addition, discussions about visual concepts are centralized, improving information flow and the speed of decision making betw...
More About: Tool , Online , Partners , Collaboration

Quark Launches QuarkCopyDesk 7 for Text and Picture Editing
2007-12-07 04:29:00
Latest Release of Quark CopyDesk Streamlines Content Editing and Works in Conjunction with QuarkXPress 7, Quark Publishing System 7 and Third Party Workflow Systems DENVER, December 4 /CNW/ - Quark Inc. today announced the launch of QuarkCopyDesk(R) 7, Quark’s text and picture editing software designed for writers, editors and others who contribute to publishing workflows. QuarkCopyDesk 7 improves communication throughout the editorial workflow by providing a simple and intuitive work environment and seamless interaction with QuarkXPress(R) 7. Built completely on the award-winning QuarkXPress 7 code base, QuarkCopyDesk 7 enables writers and editors see the same graphic-rich pages that designers see. All attributes, such as colors, article geometry, style sheets, and hyphenation and justification rules, are maintained so that formatted files move easily and accurately between the two applications. QuarkCopyDesk 7 can also exchange text with Microsoft(R) Word, WordPerfect(R), X...
More About: Picture , Text

DuPont Reports Global Color Popularity Ratings for Vehicles
2007-12-07 04:22:00
55th DuPont Report Says White Now Outranks Silver As Top Choice in Some Countries December 04, 2007: 09:00 AM EST TROY, Mich., Dec. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Silver is no longer the undisputed color champion of the automotive world, according to the DuPont 2007 Global Automotive Color Popularity Report. After seven years in first place, silver ran into tough competition this year with white/white pearl rising to the lead color choice for vehicles in one key region and two countries. In North America, white/white pearl, silver and black/black effect are in a virtual tie for first, with white/white pearl narrowly taking the top spot, according to the report issued by the company’s Automotive Systems business. White overcame silver in Japan and is the decisive leader in Mexico, more than doubling the popularity of gray. (more…)
More About: Vehicles , Ratings

Wacom Expands Cintiq Interactive Pen Display Portfolio
2007-12-07 04:19:00
Wacom’s new Cintiq 12WX and Cintiq 20WSX join the flagship 21UX to deliver pen-on-screen choices that fit virtually any professional content creator’s digital workflow and budget. Wacom Technology Corp. announced today the introduction of two new members to the Cintiq family — the Cintiq 12WX and Cintiq 20WSX. The Cintiq 12WX combines all the advantages and power of direct pen-on-screen input with a new low-profile, lightweight and flexible design. The new Cintiq 12WX is aimed at professional creators of digital content looking to improve and streamline their workflow. Storyboarding for 2D or 3D animations, compositing for post production, designing graphics, as well as retouching photos are just a few of the many creative applications where the Cintiq 12WX will excel. Also joining Wacom’s Cintiq lineup is the Cintiq 20WSX, the world’s first wide-format desktop pen display. Combining the the same design elements and ergonomic enhancements as the Cintiq ...
More About: Portfolio , Interactive , Display , Wacom

Windows: the Dumb Bully in the Class
2007-12-06 22:05:00
Remember back in high school, or in middle school or junior high, you found yourself in a class where the other students were so far below your level that you suffered through the painful, slow way of teaching that the teacher had to adopt to keep those kids from failing? If you were really unfortunate, that class also had a bully in it who was not only dumb, but also influenced the other kids to pretend that dumb was cool, and smart wassomething to attack? That dumb bully is Windows , and the IT people who advise their companies to use Windows are the other kids in the class who follow the bully. (more…)
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Cutting-Edge Flash Website Template for Professional Photographers
2007-12-04 14:46:00
Photoidentities Launches Site Composer — Cutting-Edge Flash Website Template for Professional Photographers Photoidentities, specialists in flash website templates for professional photographers, have launched Site Composer, a new type of website that empowers photographers of all genres to create a professional and affordable online presence. Tampa, FL (PRWEB) December 4, 2007 — Photoidentities, specialists in flash website templates for photographers, launches Site Composer, a brand new type of website template. It was created to make life easier for the professional photographer looking to build an online presence quickly and effectively. The aim is to give photographers more choices and freedom in defining a look and feel for their website. (more…)
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Adobe upgrades Flash Media Server, slashes entry-level price
2007-12-04 14:41:00
Video-friendly upgrade comes as competitors move on juicy market December 03, 2007 (Computerworld)– Adobe Systems Inc. on Tuesday announced a new, more video-friendly version of Flash Media Server that also introduces a less expensive single-server edition. Flash Media Server 3, which can help Web publishers deliver Flash applications and Flash-encoded video, can handle about five times the number of streams and amount of bandwidth as version 2, according to the San Jose, Calif. software company. FMS 3 will come in an interactive server edition that costs $4,500, which Towes says is comparable to FMS 2’s original and edge-server package, which are aimed at large publishers and content delivery networks (CDNs) and list for a combined $60,000. (more…)
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Akamai Unveils Unique View of the High-Definition Internet
2007-12-04 14:36:00
Innovative content providers participate in initiative to showcase the next generation online experience Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM), the leading global service provider for accelerating content and applications online, announced The HDWeb, a ‘proof-of-concept’ portal designed to showcase the experience consumers can have with high definition content online. The Website, available at http://www.thehdweb.com, showcases content from a variety of industries including music, movies, professional sports, games and news. Akamai customers are now delivering a consistent, high-definition video experience on Akamai’s uniquely distributed edge delivery platform that is specifically tuned for optimal delivery of high-definition (HD) files online. As an industry leader and pioneer in online video, Akamai has raised the bar for what a service provider must offer companies in order to deliver this content effectively and efficiently online today. (more…)
More About: Internet , High Definition , View , Unique , Definition

Get To Know PaperSpecs…
2007-12-04 01:10:00
Hello CreativeBLVD Users, Your colleagues and friends have been raving about the Members Only area in PaperSpecs - how easy it is to order swatchbooks, to access information on over 4,200 papers in our paper database. But you have always been a bit skeptical. You want to know whats behind all this hype, and here is your chance. We are opening our virtual doors for a live tour, an Open House so to speak, on Thursday, December 6th at 11:00 a.m. PT. (more…)

Visual Thought Leaders Explore the Color of Ideas
2007-12-03 22:22:00
Pantone, Inc., the global authority on color and provider of professional color standards for the design industries, today unveiled the myColor myIdea community Web site, which features insights from visual thought leaders in a wide variety of design industries responding to the phrase, “The color of my idea is…” myColor myIdea lets people learn about the colors that inspire some of today’s most celebrated icons in the graphics, fashion, beauty, architecture and interior design industries, to name a few. Color enthusiasts are invited to post their color inspirations to the new site. Site visitors can select and submit their color and idea at www.mycolormyidea.com. Visit myColor myIdea to learn what color the principal designer at Mattel, Robert Best, prefers to wear, and why PANTONE(R) 94-2-1 C is the color he dreams in. Find out why Chris Webb, senior creative designer at General Motors, thinks that PANTONE 78-1-5 C is the ultimate color of nature and rebir...
More About: Ideas , Visual , Thought , Explore

FontMarketplace.com Debuts New Holiday Card Font Packs
2007-12-03 22:19:00
FontMarketplace.com is introducing specially-priced sets of fonts with matching Microsoft Word templates for Hanukkah Card s, Christmas Cards and other holiday projects. Elk Grove Village, IL (PRWEB) December 1, 2007 — Ascender Corporation, a leading provider of advanced font products, today announced two new consumer font packages for the holidays available exclusively from its fontmarketplace.com website. The Hanukkah Card Kit and the Christmas Card Kit each contain five selected holiday-themed fonts matched with five expertly-designed Microsoft Word greeting card templates. (more…)
More About: Holiday , Font , Packs

PixeZoom, New Image Scaling Plug-In for Adobe Photoshop, Now Available
2007-12-03 22:13:00
TORONTO, Nov 30 (MARKET WIRE) — Pixela Corporation (TSE: 6731), a leading manufacturer of PC peripheralhardware and multimedia software, announced today the worldwide availability of PixeZoom(TM), an image scaling plug-in for Adobe (R) Photoshop (R) CS3. PixeZoom(TM) enables Photoshop(R) users to enlarge images with higherquality and smoother edges than other leading third party products. PixeZoom(TM)’sunique scaling algorithm automatically enlarges images without quality deterioration. The downloadable version of PixeZoom(TM) is available for $149 at Pixela’s e-store, www.pixela-1.com. (more…)
More About: Adobe Photoshop , Image , Plug

Filter Forge Announces Series of Free Photoshop Plugins, Releases First Plu
2007-11-30 21:18:00
Filter Forge, Inc. today announced an upcoming series of free Photoshop plugins and the availability of the first plugin in the series, “Filter Forge Free pack 1 - Metals”. Alexandria, VA, USA (PRWEB) November 30, 2007 — Filter Forge, Inc. today announced an upcoming series of free Photoshop plugins and the availability of the first plugin in the series, “Filter Forge Freepack 1 - Metals”, which generates photorealistic metal textures and effects. Over the course of the coming year, Filter Forge, Inc. plans to release seven free Photoshop plugins named Filter Forge Freepacks, with each plugin centered around a different theme. The freepacks are based on the technology used in the company’s flagship product, Filter Forge, an innovative Photoshop plugin allowing users to create their own filters in a visual editor. Each freepack will be capable of generating seamlessly-tiled textures with professional-grade anti-aliasing, and will take full advantage...
More About: Series , Plugins , Filter

Design Tools Weekly - November 26th, 2007
2007-11-30 19:19:00
Hosted by Jeff Gamet and Jay Nelson of Design Tools Monthly. Lulu: Custom Calendars: Easy & Profitable Tip: Create a Movie from an iPhoto Slideshow TransType Pro: Convert Your Fonts to OpenType Take Control of Fonts in Leopard PDF2ID: Convert PDFs to Native InDesign ID2Q: Convert InDesign documents to QuarkXPress Tip: Panes-to-Palettes in Acrobat Tip: Power Paste in QuarkXPress & InDesign Tip: Hide Items from Master Pages in InDesign Tip: Remove Paragraph Formats but Keep Character Formats in QuarkXPress Tip: A Useful Pangram
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Design Tools Weekly - November 19th, 2007
2007-11-30 19:17:00
Hosted by Jeff Gamet and Jay Nelson of Design Tools Monthly. Microsoft JPEG XR to Become Industry Standard Adobe Acrobat 8.1.1 and Reader 8.1.1 Holiday Gift Guide for creative professionals (click for list with links)
More About: Weekly , November

How to Charge More Money for Your Design Services
2007-11-30 19:11:00
Whats one of the quickest and easiest ways to charge more money for your creative services? The answer to that question (believe it or not) is an easy one " differentiate your services from other designers and design firms. How? By adding more value and a greater advantage to your design services than your competitors are currently offering. One way you can do this is by sharing and leveraging the information you ALREADY KNOW to your prospects and clients " in writing! Writing down your expertise and sharing it with your prospects and clients is a must do exercise for the creative entrepreneur. If you are not communicating the value you bring to your clients business you could start to experience a slow and steady erosion to your profit margins. And put your business in the vulnerable position of being commoditized in the near future.
More About: Design , Services , Money , Charge

Logo Design Podcast 14: White Space
2007-11-30 18:56:00
White space, an easy way to take good art, and screw it up. White space is something that all designers should think about more often, but seldom take the time to do so. In logo design podcast 14, Paul shows you how to take your artwork, and test for the correct amount of white space. This gentle relationship between the positive and negative elements in design, is key to overall balance, proportion, and design hygiene. White space plays a very important role in design symmetry, and symmetry is what keeps the eyes attention from straying.
More About: Design , Space , Podcast , White , Logo

Logo Design Podcast 13: When life gives you clipart…
2007-11-30 18:54:00
Hello once again, and sorry for the layoff. In this episode, Paul takes one of our logo review clients, and gives their logo an extreme makeover! He shows how you can take clipart, and turn it in to something respectable. Since many clients like the look of clipart enough to use it as their company brand, and sometimes actually insist on using it over original design, Paul illustrates how you can use this to your advantage as a solid starting point. You already know what the customer likes, now you can proceed from the there and put your own original touch to the design, and give them back something unique that they will love.
More About: Design , Life , Podcast , Logo

Logo Design Podcast 12: Oh! Oh! Original!
2007-11-30 18:52:00
In this star-studded episode, Paul dives in to originality in logo design. Often times it is very easy to think you are being creative and original if you just sit down and create something from scratch. Problem is, often times we are influenced by things we have already seen and are just too lazy to research in an attempt to avoid plagiarism. There are some resources on the web that are in their infant stages of image recognition, and hopefully one day we will be able to submit a design, and get results back that show if anything has been created very similar to what we have done. But until that day, it is each designers responsibility to do reasonable, proper research, and investigation to avoid plagiarizing anothers logo.
More About: Design , Original , Podcast , Logo , Origin

PAPERSPECS ANNOUNCES FREE WEBINAR TO AID GREEN DESIGNERS…
2007-11-30 18:34:00
PAPERSPECS ANNOUNCES FREE WEBINAR TO AID GREEN DESIGNERS AND PRINT BUYERS TO APPLY SUSTAINABILITY News Highlights The webinar, titled Sustainability " Hands On, will be conducted on December 13th at 2:00 pm EST/11:00 am PST; Guest speaker Brian Dougherty is a respected leader in green design and a founding partner at Celery Design Collaborative in Berkeley, California; The webinar will be sponsored by Finch Paper who earlier this month announced a report detailing their own sustainability program; To attend the FREE webinar, prospective attendees can register at www.paperspecs.com/webinar/handson.htm. For more information about PaperSpecs or to sign up for their free newsletter, go to www.paperspecs.com. (more…)
More About: Free , Green , Designers , Webinar , Anno

Corel to close Minn. office, affecting 50
2007-11-30 17:44:00
Corel Corp. said Wednesday it will close its Minneapolis office and consolidate digital media operations in California’s Silicon Valley and China. About 50 people will be affected by the closure, but most will remain with Corel until May, a spokeswoman for the Ottawa computer software company said. A “small number” of Minneapolis workers will be allowed to work from home and the rest will be offered severance packages, the spokeswoman said. (more…)
More About: Office , Close , Corel

Corel Announces WinDVD(R) is the World’s First Blu-ray Disc…
2007-11-30 17:42:00
Corel Announces WinDVD(R) is the World ’s First Blu-ray Disc Playback Software to Receive BD-Video Profile 1.1 Certification WinDVD(R) now supports BD-Video Profile 1.1 for high-definition, picture-in-picture playback on Blu-ray Discs.OTTAWA–(Business Wire)–Corel Corporation (NASDAQ:CREL) (TSX:CRE), a leading developer ofgraphics, productivity and digital media software, today announcedthat WinDVD(R) is the world’s first Blu-ray Disc playback software toreceive BD-Video Profile 1.1 certification. By receiving certification for BD-Video Profile 1.1, WinDVD haspassed the stringent standards and guidelines set by the Blu-ray DiscAssociation to ensure the best possible user experience. With BD-Video Profile 1.1 support, WinDVD users can now usepicture-in-picture functionality to playback a smaller high-definitionvideo in the corner of their screen while watching the high-definitionmovie on the background main screen. With this enhanced functionality,movie fans can...
More About: The World , Corel

Alien Skin Software Announces Release of Image Doctor 2…
2007-11-28 01:47:00
Alien Skin Software Announces Release of Image Doctor 2 Image Retouching Software Enhanced set of five Photoshop plug-in filters provides one intelligent, easy-to use toolset for photo restoration, compressed JPEG repair, object removal, blemish concealment, and skin softening for under $200 (Raleigh, North Carolina: November 26, 2007) Alien Skin Software (www.alienskin.com), the award- winning developer of photographic and graphic design plug-ins for Adobe Photoshop and other compatible host programs, today announced the release of Image Doctor 2, the new version of its powerful yet easy-to-use software for photo restoration, retouching, and repair. Image Doctor 2s five plug-in filters offer users a complete toolset for photo restoration, compressed JPEG image repair, smart object removal, blemish concealment, and skin softening in one very affordable package that is also a great gift idea. The five filters in Image Doctor 2 " Dust and Scratch Remover, JPEG Repair, Blemish Conceale...
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xTrain.com Presents Free New Dr. Brown’s Photoshop Laboratory Class&h
2007-11-28 01:43:00
xTrain.com, a leader in online video training for media, arts, and design, is pleased to announce today the latest installment of their free Dr. Brown s Photoshop Laboratory Class es featuring Photoshop Guru Russell Brown. This new xTrain class titled The Good, the Bad, the Ugly features professional portrait retouching tips and techniques made easy by the comical and entertaining Dr. Brown. This fun and exciting class features all of the professional techniques that anyone using Adobe Photoshop needs to know to make their portraits better than real life, said Siotha Vest, xTrains Director of Training. This latest addition to Russell Browns classes on xTrain provides our students with solid instruction enabling them to master Photoshop CS3 without the boredom of typical online video training. (more…)
More About: Presents , Free

Adobe Type Collection, OpenType Edition
2007-11-28 01:35:00
With the power and convenience of OpenType , the Adobe Type Collection brings new versatility to creative professionals. Print, Web, Video or any other creative project Nothing is outside the realm of the Adobe Type Collection, OpenType Edition . Take a look inside this versatile collection and youre bound to recognize hundreds of the worlds most widely-used and highly-regarded typefaces. What may not be familiar is the remarkably low price. A 10 CPU version of the Adobe Type Collection, OpenType Edition can be yours for just $3,999 USD ' a $1,000 savings! But act quickly, this exceptional offer is only available until November 30, 2007. The Adobe Type Collection, OpenType Edition includes over 2900 type styles packed in to over 2100 files and includes such industry standard designs as Gill Sans, Adobe Garamond, Frutiger, Univers and ITC Franklin Gothic. Combining the best offerings from Adobe, Monotype, ITC, Linotype, and many other foundries and designers, this compilation has the...

QuarkXPress 7.31 adds Leopard support
2007-11-28 01:25:00
by macnn Quark has released v7.31 of QuarkXPress, its widespread publishing program. Although technically an incremental update, the new version is notable for adding Leopard support, specifically by means of testing and optimizations. Other improvements are also included however, mainly changes to spell-checking; users can now find and correct duplicate words or spacing after punctuation, as well as ignore file and Internet addresses, or words with numbers attached. The Passport 7.31 updater introduces spell-checking and hyphenation for the Bokml and Nynorsk variants of Norwegian, and corrects capitalization errors in several variants of German. Bugs fixed by v7.31 as a whole include problems with text reflow, the import and export of files using CS3 PDFs, and the output of hairline rules on non-PostScript devices. (more…)
More About: Support

EFI upgrades Colorproof XF
2007-11-28 01:10:00
printweek.com EFI has made a number of improvements to its Colorproof XF solution with the release of Service Pack 4. These upgrades focus on remote proofing and add support for recently released printers and Pantone’s new Goe system. Stefan Spiegel, general manager of EFI’s Graphic Arts Solutions arm, said: “The integration of the most up-to-date Pantone libraries and new printer drivers enhances our product free of charge to our customers.” Service Pack 4 is available to Colorproof XF customers via the Online updater.
More About: Upgrades

Annual Design Review… Competition
2007-11-27 20:53:00
Entry Deadline: December 1, 2007 I.D. is now accepting entries into the 2008 Annual Design Review . Winners will appear in the August 2008 issue of I.D. Click here to download the guidelines and an entry form. Since 1954, the Annual Design Review has recognized the best in product, furniture, graphic and environment design, from the iconic to the obscure. Throughout the years, this annual showcase has chronicled the evolution of design, and highlighted its impact on our material and visual culture. Each year, the featured work is chosen by a jury of leading practitioners, who, along with I.D.’s editorial team, focus the abundance of submissions into a clear survey of the state of design. The resulting overview is published in the August issue of I.D. magazine " the Annual Design Review issue.
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