Adobe declares graphics software price war

Creative Suite 2 is a software package that contains the latest versions of InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, GoLive and Version Cue programs. The Premium version of the package also comes bundled with GoLive and Acrobat Professional.

A first time purchase of CS2, for those with none of the programs from previous versions, Premium costs $2209, while an upgrade from the previous version costs $999. A new license for the Standard version is valued at $1699, while the upgrade costs $699. The clincher in the deal is that if users are able to dig up an old copy of PhotoShop purchased as far back as 1990, then the Standard and Premium versions of the suite can be purchased for the bargain-bin price of $999 and $1499 respectively.

Further cajoling customers to make the big switch over from Quark, Adobe creative manager Michael Stoddart claims the package offers a lot of potential benefits for graphic arts professionals. “Creative Suite is more than the sum of its parts,” he says. Specifically, the package offers centralised colour management settings, centralised PDF settings, an automation of the production process as well as a raft of individual improvements across the different applications.

The new version of CS is the latest round the battle between Quark and InDesign for the desktops and minds of the industry. After years of aloof disregard Quark is now providing upgrades to its latest versions from less than $1,000. It has also instituted a free telephone support hotline, playing on Adobe's perceived weakness in this area.

Adobe is pushing strongly the idea of CS as a tightly integrated platform, rather than simply a collection of individual programs. Of interest is a new component in the suite called Adobe Bridge, which functions as a centralised hub that provides multi-view file browsing and smooth integration across the different programs in the suite. Adobe Stock Photos also provides a one-stop purchasing point for hi-res images, while the suite offers new support for emerging mobile platforms.

For an in depth appraisal of the desktop wars see Andy McCourt's news commentary this issue.

Errata - the prices origally quoted for the PhotoShop upgrades were incorrect, and have since been updated.