Claudia McCue

On Monday, May 6th, in the AdobeMAX keynote prefaced (somewhat ominously) by a driving instrumental snippet from the Allman Brothers’ “Whipping Post,” Adobe announced that the next versions of its creative tools will be designated “CC” — and will be available only via Creative Cloud subscriptions. This means the end of perpetual (conventional) licenses. Adobe will continue to sell perpetual licenses for CS6, but only by download — no boxed software. The new CC tools will become available on June 17th.

There are compelling new features in CC:

Photoshop

• Camera Shake Reduction
• Camera Raw as a filter
• Intelligent Upscale
• Smart Sharpening

Illustrator

• TouchType
• On-object transform controls
• Area Type to Point Type conversion (and vice versa)
• Images in Brushes
• Auto-generated corners for Pattern brushes

InDesign

• Greatly improved EPUB export
• 64-bit native (and this was a ton of work)
• De-Carbonized for future enhancements on Mac (another ton of work)
• QR Code generation

As for other applications, you’ll have to consult www.adobe.com: I’m a stodgy old print person, so I confess that I’m ignorant of what’s going on with the Web and video applications.

Pricing and Installing Nitty-Gritty

• You can now buy a year of Creative Cloud with one payment.
• If you own Creative Suite 3 or later, you can join the Cloud for $29.99/month for your first year. After that, the price goes up to $49.99/month.
• If you own a perpetual license for Creative Suite 6, you pay $19.99/month for your first year (and then $49.99/month in subsequent years).
• As with perpetual licensing, you can install on two computers (yours—not yours and your brother-in-law’s). And since the software is downloadable, one could be Mac, and one could be PC (no crossgrade charge). While the licensing implies that only one computer can be used at a time, I have CS6 running on my laptop and desktop at this very moment. InDesign and Photoshop are open on both, with no yellow terror alerts warning me that I’m going to Software Hell as a result. In my heart, I don’t think I’m violating the spirit of the license, since I’m one person. [suddenly, there’s a knock at the door...] Realistically, though, my arms aren’t long enough, nor am I sufficiently ambidextrous to truly be using both computers simultaneously.
• If you need Cloud applications on more than 2 computers, you’ll need another Cloud subscription, and another Adobe ID for additional subscriptions (no big deal; I have a bunch of Adobe IDs so I can test DPS stuff).
• As with the current version of the Cloud, you have to be online only to download and install the software. The software is installed on your computer, just like any other software. Once a month, it silently “calls home” to ensure that your credit card has been successfully charged; that’s the only time you have to be online. (There’s talk of more lenient arrangements, requiring the computer to check in over longer periods, and even more “conventional” arrangements possible for government agencies.)
• If you end your subscription, you’ll still have any files you’ve created, of course, but your software will stop working after a 30-day grace period.
• Don’t need all the programs? You can subscribe to individual products. But if, like most of us, you use more than one program, it makes more sense to just do the Cloud subscription. It gives you access to all the applications, plus numerous services, such as 20GB of Dropbox-like online file storage, free (basic) Business Catalyst hosting for a site created with Adobe Muse, and a free Behance ProSite account.

How do I feel about this change? I’m not utterly surprised — it does mean steady revenue for Adobe, and they swear that we will be given frequent new features to “sweeten the pot.” But I thought we’d be given a one-version warning before they pulled the trigger. I gather that Cloud adoption has been faster than Adobe anticipated—perhaps that hastened this move.

What should you do?

Well, it depends…
Stick with a perpetual/conventionally-licensed copy of CS6 if:

• You work alone, and submit finished files to print providers.
• You don’t anticipate creating EPUBs (or you’re happy tweaking the exported coded)
• You aren’t interested in Muse or the Edge family of products
• You plan to keep this computer and current operating system forever

What might force you into the Cloud:

• The need to collaborate with Cloud subscribers using newer versions
• The need to buy a new computer with newer operating system that doesn’t support your copy of, say, CS3.
• The need for Cloud-only applications such as Muse or the Edge products
• The need for features available only in Cloud versions of applications

I’m in an odd position: because I’m a trainer and writer, I have to keep current. But even when I was in prepress, I always upgraded my own software immediately, just because I loved playing with new stuff (and I had to stay ahead of the jobs coming in). So my natural bent would probably drive me into the Cloud. Mind you, I still have all my old versions, both for historical curiosity (“when did we get that feature?”) and to handle antique files in their native habitat (“It’s a PageMaker 6 file? How…quaint.”)

On top of that, I do freelance work for Adobe: I present at printer-sponsored co-hosts and at AIGA events. So I have no choice but to install the latest and greatest. So you might question my objectivity—fair enough. But I truly am trying to maintain my natural cynicism nonetheless. So, with that in mind:

Pros for Adobe:

• Steady revenue stream is good for bottom line (and that means that people I really like at Adobe get to keep their jobs)
• I’m trying to think of another, but that pretty much covers it. UPDATE: As someone remarked to me, maybe this means that the teams aren’t forced to exactly the same release schedule, since features can come “down the pipe” as they’re ready. That could benefit the development teams (and consumers).

Cons for Adobe:

• This could really piss off customers: the appeal of an optional Cloud may not carry over to the forced Cloud. If people don’t upgrade, revenue sags.
• Even if Adobe backs down from the forced Cloud, the bad taste will remain in the mouths of the disgruntled.

Pros For Users:

• Access to every application
• Cross-platform installation
• New features without additional upgrade costs

Cons For Users:

• You’re leasing software: stop paying, it stops working.
• Printers will either have to obtain multiple individual subscriptions, or use the (more expensive) Teams subscription.
• Government and other corporate agencies will have to make special arrangements for Cloud subscriptions, to accommodate firewall and other security concerns.

What About Compatibility?

The potentional for incompatibility with clients’ and collaborators’ versions isn’t new—I have numerous clients who are still using CS4 (especially on Windows). That’s why I keep all my old versions. Adobe has said that they will make every version from CS6 forward available, which implies that, even when “CC3” is released, subscribers would be able to download and install CS6 applications. So this sounds like we’ll have a continuum of versions available for those situations. How will any changes in file architecture affect us? Well, given that, for example, InDesign CC can export IDML that can be opened in CS4 or later, I don’t anticipate problems in the very near future.

I currently have CS4, CS5, CS5.5, CS6 Cloud installed on both my laptop and desktop computers. I used my AIGA 15% discount to purchase a PC version of CS6 Design Standard, and a Mac version of Design Premium, so I have “hard” versions of CS6 that I can install on both platforms if necessary. And if I wake up all my old laptops, I have everything back to the last century. Why, look—here’s my installer for InDesign 1.0.

Tell Us How You Really Feel

So, am I pro-Cloud or anti-Cloud? To quote an old coworker, “I feel strongly both ways.” Want to hedge your bets? If you’re not yet a Cloud subscriber, join AIGA at the Supporter level ($150/yr) or above, and take advantage of the software discount benefit to get a copy of CS6, and keep that on the back burner. Join the Cloud, see if you like it. If you don’t, you always have CS6 to fall back on when civilization collapses (which is imminent, given that elementary schools are not teaching cursive writing, basic grammar, or multiplication tables).

I’ll be frank— I don’t like the idea of leasing software. I know that software is licensed for use, not ownership, but it doesn’t evaporate when you have a conventional perpetual license. I don’t resent the fact that I “rent” my cellphone, cable, and internet services. But I wouldn’t want to lease a car, or rent my house. I can’t quite put my finger on what makes me uneasy about this, but I’m not fond of the idea. Despite the advantages (easy download, tons of features, the promise of constant improvements), the software now seems less real. Less mine.

Then again, it’s not exactly like leasing a car, since the software is not unchanging. If car leases were like Creative Cloud, I’d walk out to the garage one morning to find that I now had heated seats and a sunroof, without an increase in my monthly lease. I could get used to that.

I will soon have to present the new Creative Cloud model to groups, and I’ll be interested to see how they respond. Or maybe I should say “I’ll be steeled” for their reactions: maybe I’d better download “Whipping Post” to serve as the soundtrack.

It may be much like this:

http://bit.ly/11THKHL

What do you think?

If you’ve used the built-in contact sheet generator in Adobe Bridge, you know it only gives you the option to generate PDFs (or Web galleries). That’s nice — but there’s a much better way.

I’ve blogged in the past about Bob Stucky’s great scripting solution, which enables you to invoke InDesign from within Bridge, in order to generate a truly editable InDesign contact sheet.

I’m tickled to announce that Bob has updated the script for CS5, and it’s even better than before. You can now include your Bridge ratings (in color!), and create separate masters for the first page and the remainder of the document. You can completely customize a template and invoke it when you create the contact sheet. It’s quick, it’s slick, it’s really trick (and I love it).

Bob has posted a video here, showing all the cool new features. Continue Reading »

True confession: I don’t have an iPhone (what?! What’s wrong with you?!).

That’s right — I’m a cellphone infidel. I’d like to have a sleek, hip iPhone, but I’m not willing to abandon Sprint for the more expensive AT&T service that’s spotty out here in the sticks where I live. Yet, I lust after the thousands of apps.

However, I do have an iPod Touch, so I can watch videos and listen to music while stuck on a plane, so I can run most of the apps I want, including the spiffy Color Expert app from Code Line Communicators. While it’s true that you’d get the most out of Color Expert with an iPhone (because of the camera), it’s still quite useful (and fun) on an iPod.

Some of the app screens in Color Expert. Note the photo at upper right, being sampled to pick a starter color for the palette-generation process.

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Choose from Color Wheel or Swatch mode, and then choose a color. Better than that? If you have an iPhone, use the camera to take a photo, and pick colors from that (on the iPod, you can pick colors from a stored photo). Then, choose the method for generating additional colors (e.g., Split Complementary, Triadic, etc.) If you’ve started with a color in the Pantone swatch book, all secondary colors are Pantone colors as well — very slick. A plus: Color Expert will display the CMYK, RGB, HSB, and Lab values for Pantone swatches. Is it a replacement for your Pantone fanbook? No, of course not — but it’s a great portable quick reference. Besides, you can’t play music on your Pantone Color Bridge swatchbook.

Once you have these palettes, what do you do besides admire your little screen? Well, you can save color palettes and email them. Unfortunately, they aren’t in a standard Adobe Swatch Exchange format, but at least you have a record of the swatch numbers or recipes. More than anything, I think, it’s a great way to brainstorm.

And it helps me justify having the iPod Touch

I realize this doesn’t fall under the heading of “graphics,” but I’ll bet a lot of you have an iPod touch. Even though I’d heard that the screen is sturdy and scratch-resistant, I wanted to ensure its smooth surface would remain unmarred.

There are a bazillion products to protect these things; I first bought a protector for about $20 that used a squeegee, sponge, and a small container of liquid to adhere the film. I made quite a mess, but with a lot of squeegeeing (is that a word?) I finally eliminated all the bubbles, only to find a piece of lint trapped smack in the middle. Aargh!

Then I found this product, absurdly priced, on Amazon. At first glance, you might get the idea that this is a cheap product. Its enthusiastic tagline — “The greatest guarder for LCD screen” — is quaint. The back of the package says “For iTouch II,” but it fit my iPod Touch 3rd gen perfectly. (Despite the illustration, it wouldn’t be appropriate for iPhone, unless you’re willing to cut a little hole for the speaker.) But it’s very well made, smooth and flawless, and the application procedure is painless and well thought-out.

It’s currently priced at $3.00, so I ordered 5 of them (in case I botched the installation–still cheaper than the one protector I’d already used). This protector provides a “tack cloth” to clean dust off the screen (I recommend using a good glass cleaner first). And it has a unique approach: there are two sheets protecting the screenguard: one covering the adhesive side, and one to act as a thick carrier sheet as you position the protector. A small protruding tag on the carrier sheet makes it easy to position the protector and use your fingers (or the tack cloth) to “roll across” the sheet and anchor it. The surface is smooth (not “rubbery” like the previous protector I used). It’s crystal clear, and you don’t even know it’s there. Highly recommended.

The Font Bureau, Inc. has filed a $2 million lawsuit against NBC over unlicensed installations of fonts, including Bureau Grotesque and Interstate.

Apparently, NBC used purchased fonts on many more computers than the original license allowed, and also used fonts which had not been purchased.

More information here.

Guess we can look forward to a lot of creative uses of Times New Roman in upcoming NBC advertising.

PS: when’s the last time you read the End User Licensing Agreement (EULA) for the fonts you own? (And I do mean own. You do, don’t you?)

I presented a seminar on InDesign and Photoshop CS4 in Birmingham, AL last week, for the delightful folks at EBSCO Media. It’s always fun doing events with them because they’re technologically wise, and have a great collective sense of humor. They drum up large and lively crowds for the events, which makes for a lot of positive energy.

During one of the breaks, one of the attendees came up to me and said “Rufus says hello.”

Wait… I only know one guy named Rufus: Rufus Deuchler, the charming and absurdly talented Adobe evangelist based in Italy — and I’m pretty sure he isn’t in Birmingham.

I ask, “You know Rufus? How is he?” The attendee says “No, I don’t know him; I was tweeting about being here at this seminar, and he picked up on it on Twitter, and tweeted back ‘tell Claudia hello for me.’” It was like a tap on the shoulder from across the world.

I’m so unhip — I confess I’m behind the curve on social networking; I should have started blogging long ago. I was dragged unwillingly onto Facebook (and it’s proving to be more of a time-vampire than a truly useful professional tool). And I think I’m too verbose to be a Twitterer. Tweeter? Twit? (I don’t know what Twitter participants are called…) But I’ll confess it was kind of cool to be on the receiving end. Maybe I’ll give it a shot: is there a “Twitter for Dummies”?

Just looked on Amazon: sure ’nuff, the “Dummies” book is due in July

Oh, and hi, Rufus, wherever you are.

This has nothing to do with print: So I offer this purely in the spirit of fun.

I don’t go to movies often; I venture out, oh, maybe twice a year, if it’s a compelling big sci-fi production. (Sometimes you just have to get away from the keyboard.) “Monsters vs. Aliens” looked like fun, but I wasn’t sure about the 3D version: would I get a headache? Would it have the brain-cramping effect of the red-and-blue cardboard glasses? Would I be deeply disappointed?

I’ll cut to the punchline: WOW!

The glasses are polarized, I suppose (darn; I should’ve kept them. But the “Recycle Your Glasses” sign was compelling so that I felt a pang of guilt, so I dropped ‘em in the canister), with gray lenses, and perfectly comfortable. The 3D effect seemed natural and realistic; there was no period of adjustment, nor a sense of “getting used to it.” It may have have helped that I went in a bit early and picked a seat smack dab in the middle of the row, about halfway back in the theater. I meant to move and see how things looked from the side, but, well, I sorta forgot to be clinical in my assessment.

Is it Great Cinema? Oh, probably not: after all, it didn’t make me cry, or send me home with a deep despondency, which it seems that Great Films are intended to do. It was cute, though, and I laughed out loud (excuse me: LOL’d) a few times. Stephen Colbert as the President is priceless, and it’s a perfectly good Do The Right Thing message flick, with sufficient amusement for kids and parents alike. Yes, the 3D shows are more expensive than the 2D presentations of the movie, but it really is worth the difference. Go have some silly fun!

If you have a webcam and a printer, you can play along with GE’s “Ecomagination Augmented Reality” technology. Here’s the link.

Follow the instructions to download and print the PDF target, then click on the “Wind Turbine” or “Solar Energy” button on the right side of the web page. Show the printed target artwork to the webcam, and watch the fun literally unfold. Very cool!

I was raised on Macs (well, actually, I was raised on X-Acto knives, but let’s fast-forward a bit). But I learned Windows in self-defense many years ago. At first, it was a bit foreign (we’re talking Windows 3), but not painful. After all, it’s not as if Microsoft hasn’t, ah, emulated the Mac interface.

Why did I do this? So that I could handle customers’ PC files when they came into the printing plant. We had quickly learned that it wasn’t smart to try to move the files to the Mac: fonts didn’t translate, text reflowed, and things generally fell apart. It made more sense to keep the jobs in their native habitat.

Continue Reading »

I’ve just received word that my book, “Real World Print Production” (Peachpit Press, 2006) is going to be revised. I’m pleased that Peachpit is going to let me update the book for current versions of software, and it will also give me the opportunity to expand some of the other content to reflect changes and growth in print and imaging technologies.

It all sounds like such fun now; check back when I’ve been up for 18 hours pounding the keyboard or staring at a stubborn paragraph

No ETA yet; I haven’t started pounding the keyboard. But I’m hoping to have it done by early Spring.