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The individual programs have similar upgrade pricing structures, as well, so you won't necessarily have to empty your bank account just to buy one app. You can get lower prices on each of the "smaller" collections if you own any of the apps included in that suite, and you can get a big discount on the Master Collection if you own any of the other collections. Of course you can reduce the necessary cash outlay by upgrading, and there are plenty of paths to do that. (There are no Web Standard or Production Standard editions.) Need absolutely everything? Master Collection has it-and the heftiest price tag. Production Premium is optimized for use with film, video, and audio, and provides lots of different ways to edit and intercut all three. If you don't need the traditional print apps, Web Premium has you covered, and further expands your abilities to produce animation and other interactive content. (Because one of CS5's key features is easy Web conversion, however, you'll be publishing your documents online almost as easily.) If you need slightly more power, go for Design Premium, which adds tools for building Web sites and other Internet applications. Design Standard is the closest to a "basic" package, offering mostly what you need for effectively working in print. Check out the pricing table in Adobe Creative Suite 5 Unleashed for details on pricing for new purchases and upgrades.īut because of the dispersion of the apps among those collections, you're almost certain to find a lot that's new in each one. Any way you look at it, that can be an expensive proposition. If you just upgraded when that version was released in late 2008, you probably won't need to do so again now, unless there's a feature you're simply dying for. Overall, the changes made to the apps this time around eclipse those made in CS4, affecting the apps in ways both large and small. With apps available individually or as part of several expansive collections, there's something for everyone who wants to do creative work faster, smarter, and better. Windows and Mac users across a dizzying array of disciplines-from photo editing to publishing to film editing-will find something to help them, and will probably find something in CS5 they hadn't previously thought possible. Not so with Adobe's Creative Suite 5: Comprising over a dozen of the most powerful design and production apps on the market, all of which (except Acrobat) have received some degree of tweaking to improve the way they work alone and together, it looks as bright-eyed and optimistic as a kid on summer vacation. Often when software gets to be of a certain age-or a certain version number-it starts showing its wrinkles, even if it's dressed up in snazzy new clothes and sports some shiny new skills.
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