Adobe Introduces Creative Suite 4 Product Family

By DE Editors

In Adobe Systems Inc.’s (San Jose, CA) announcement of Adobe Creative Suite 4 (CS4), its “biggest software release to date,” new features are said to advance the creative process across print, Web, mobile, interactive, film and video production.

With new levels of integration for Flash technology across the entire product line, the release includes Adobe Creative Suite 4 Design editions, Creative Suite 4 Web editions, Creative Suite 4 Production Premium, Adobe Master Collection, as well as 13 point products, 14 integrated technologies,  and seven services.

In Adobe Creative Suite 4 Design Premium, new tools and simplified workflows increase efficiency in cross-media design. This suite combines new versions of Adobe InDesign CS4, Adobe Photoshop CS4 Extended, Adobe Illustrator CS4, Adobe Flash CS4 Professional, Adobe Dreamweaver CS4, Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro, and the newly integrated Adobe Fireworks CS4 for prototyping websites and applications. A new version of Adobe CS4 Design Standard will also be available.

Adobe Creative Suite 4 Web Premium simplifies creative workflows and reduces the time it takes creative professionals to develop high-impact, interactive websites and online experiences. It includes new releases of Adobe Fireworks CS4, Adobe Dreamweaver CS4, Adobe Flash CS4 Professional, Adobe Photoshop CS4 Extended, Adobe Illustrator CS4, Adobe Contribute CS4, Adobe Device Central CS4, and Adobe Acrobat 9 Professional as well as Adobe Soundbooth CS4, the latest release of its audio editing tool. A version of Adobe CS4 Web Standard will also be available.

Adobe Creative Suite 4 Production Premium is for professionals who craft world-class video, audio, and interactive media-for delivery on-air, online,  and on device. It offers levels of integration across new releases of its video, audio, design, and web tools, including Adobe After Effects CS4 Professional, Adobe Premiere Pro CS4, Adobe Encore CS4, Adobe Photoshop CS4 Extended, Adobe Illustrator CS4, Adobe Flash CS4 Professional, Adobe Soundbooth CS4 and Adobe OnLocation CS4 — now redesigned to natively support Intel-based Macs.

Adobe Photoshop CS4 and Photoshop CS4 Extended provides a fluid user experience,  creative control, and higher efficiency. Photoshop CS4 leverages the power of the latest hardware to extend imaging possibilities and offer faster, more flexible ways to accomplish core tasks like image adjustments and masks. All of these features — plus more — can be found in Photoshop CS4 Extended, which serves users with advanced motion graphics functions, expanded 3D visualization capabilities, and precise image analysis.

Adobe InDesign CS4, said to be a major upgrade, helps increase productivity and efficiency, streamline and automate long document creation, and expand output to new media, such as interactive PDFs or Adobe Flash files.

Adobe Device Central CS4 simplifies the workflow for creative professionals and developers producing rich content and Flash Player compatible videos for mobile phones and consumer electronics devices. With more than 450 dynamically updated device profiles, Device Central CS4 enables users to easily test content designed in Adobe Photoshop CS4, Adobe Flash CS4 Professional, Adobe Illustrator CS4, Adobe After Effects CS4, Adobe Premiere Pro CS4, and Adobe Dreamweaver CS4 software.

For more information on the suite, which the company is calling it a milestone release set to deliver “radical breakthroughs that bring down the wall between designers and developers,” contact Adobe.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.