CS3 details announced

It’s the day every design professional has been waiting for

Adobe has finally spilled the beans on what’s going to be found in Creative Suite 3. In short, it depends which version you’re after; there are no less than six versions in the offing, from the predominantly print-oriented Design Standard edition through to the packed-to-the-gills Master Collection, plus a special Production Premium edition featuring Adobe’s video packages.

Photoshop CS3 – now in long-awaited Universal Binary flavour – is up for the biggest overhaul, featuring automatic layer alignment and blending plus improved Raw support, as well as a new Extended version featuring image analysis and new tools for 3D and motion graphics work. New to the CS3 family is Device Central, designed to ease the nightmares of developing for mobile platforms. With over 200 regularly updated mobile device profiles to work with, you’ll be able to easily preview and test mobile content on your desktop, even simulating the effect backlighting and sunlight reflections will have on your content.

The demands of design and computer art have changed markedly since the release of the original Creative Suite. With Creative Suite 3, Adobe has acknowledged and acted on this change. Mobile phones and PSPs are as likely to be a canvas for computer design as printed posters and the web, and these shifts are reflected in Creative Suite 3’s newest application, Device Central, as well as in some of the enhancements made to its core programs.

Most obviously, Adobe has polished the way in which its individual applications complement each other. Aside from the refinements to Adobe Bridge, the onus is on workflow: the way in which the various apps segue within a project. For example, with Adobe’s acquisition of Macromedia, the two most popular web design tools – Dreamweaver and Photoshop – now link together seamlessly. Likewise with Illustrator and Flash – the latter is finally and logically inducted into the Creative Suite.

The next issue of Computer Arts – on sale 12 April – features a full analysis of what’s in Creative Suite 3, with expert opinion from Jason Arber, Karl Hodge, Alistair Dabbs and the Computer Arts team. Reserve your copy now!

Oh, and the prices? But of course.

DESIGN PREMIUM (Photoshop CS3 Extended, Illustrator CS3, InDesignCS3, Flash CS3, DreamWeaver CS3, Acrobat 8 Pro, Device Central CS3, Adobe Bridge CS3)
AIMED AT: Print and design professionals working in print, web and interactive campaigns
PRICE: £1,409

DESIGN STANDARD (Photoshop CS3, Illustrator CS3, InDesignCS3, Acrobat 8 Pro, Device Central CS3, Adobe Bridge CS3)
AIMED AT: Single-user print and design creatives predominantly working in print
PRICE: £895

WEB PREMIUM (Photoshop CS3 Extended, Illustrator CS3, InDesignCS3, Flash CS3, DreamWeaver CS3, Acrobat 8 Pro, Fireworks CS3, Device Central CS3, Adobe Bridge CS3)
AIMED AT: Web and interactive design professionals working predominantly in Flash with web support
PRICE: £1,195

WEB STANDARD (Photoshop CS3, InDesignCS3, Flash CS3, DreamWeaver CS3, Acrobat 8 Pro, Fireworks CS3, Device Central CS3, Adobe Bridge CS3)
AIMED AT: Single-user web design and Flash creatives predominantly working online
PRICE: £705

MASTER COLLECTION (Photoshop CS3 Extended, Illustrator CS3, InDesignCS3, Flash CS3, DreamWeaver CS3, Acrobat 8 Pro, Fireworks CS3, Device Central CS3, Adobe Bridge CS3, Production Premium)
AIMED AT: Print, graphic, web and interactive professionals working across all disciplines.
PRICE: £1,969