Susan Glinert Stevens

Review: Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional

More for the Office, Less for Creative Pros.

Review: Enfocus PitStop Professional 7

While expensive, the new version offers major interface improvements, painless preflight, and much more.

Review: CorelDraw X3 Graphics Suite

With new and improved tools in CorelDraw, Photo-Paint, and PowerTrace, this is one sweet suite.

Adobe Acrobat 7 Professional

Adobe released a new version of its Acrobat software. Is the upgrade worth $449? Read on for a firsthand look at the pros and cons.

The 2004 Creativepro.com Gift Guide

Here it is: our third gift guide for creative people. We asked our regular contributors what they'd like to give -- or receive -- for the holidays this year. Their answers may surprise you.

Paint Shop Pro 9: A Digital Photographer's Dream Image Editor

Many digital camera buffs find Adobe Photoshop to be too complex and too costly for many basic image-editing tasks. Jasc's Paint Shop Pro 9 offers a real alternative with powerful image correction tools and new natural media brushes. And at $119, the price is right, too.

XML Can Go to H***: One Designer's Experience with the "Future of Publishing"

Ask any guru about the next frontier in publishing and you'll hear the snazzy-sounding letters "XML." But according to Susan Glinert, who bears XML battle scars, the future is not bright.

Adobe FrameMaker 7.1: Fast Software for Long Documents

Producers of technical documentation have long sung the praises of Adobe FrameMaker, but other print designers may wonder what's the big deal. That may change with FrameMaker 7.1, which includes powerful QuarkXPress and PageMaker filters and whizzy conditional-text features.

CorelDraw Graphics Suite 12: Smart Doodling, Dynamic Snapping, Savvy Copying

Some graphics products may be flashier, but few offer the bang-per-buck of CorelDraw Graphics Suite. Just-announced version 12 of this illustration-imaging-animation package offers intelligent eyedroppers and smart drawing tools and withdraws Mac support.

Creative Gifts for Creative People: The 2003 Holiday Gift Guide

Looking for imaginative gift ideas for the creative professional on your list? Creativepro.com's editors are here to help, with creative suggestions for all.

PitStop Professional 6: Preflighting with Panache

Prepping PDF files for press -- also known as preflighting -- is an essential step of the publishing process. But if you want your preflight software to do more than just check for missing fonts and graphics in PDFs, take a look at Enfocus PitStop Professional 6.0.

Acrobat 6 Professional: Adobe Targets Creatives with Nimbler Acrobat

After years of trying to be all things to all people, Acrobat now comes in three flavors, among them Acrobat 6 Professional. Designed to meet the needs of creative professionals, Acrobat Pro sports features for creating e-books, preflighting files, onscreen color proofing, and more. Susan Glinert makes Acrobat Pro jump though some hoops.

Best Face Forward: Corel Painter 8 Gets a Needed Makeover

After years of hiding behind a confusing toolbox, Corel Painter 8 positively glows, thanks to an interface-lift and palette makeover. New natural media features and enhanced Photoshop compatibility make this version of Painter a must-have for anyone who dabbles in digital paint.

SmartDraw Photo 2: Windows Image Wizard

This friendly introductory image-editing and cataloging program for Windows won't make pros abandon Photoshop, but beginner to intermediate digital photographers will find a lot to like in SmartDraw Pro.

2002: The Creative Year in Review

What kind of year was 2002 for creative professionals? The staff and contributors of creativepro.com reflect on the year that's been and the year that's about to be.

Expression 3: Illustration Tools Meet Natural-Media Brushes

You've heard of natural-media painting programs, but what about natural-media drawing programs? Creature House Expression is a sleek and engaging illustration application that lets you "paint" vector shapes and strokes. Susan Glinert looks at the latest version.

The Creativepro.com Holiday Gift Guide

In our first-ever gift guide, creativepro.com's editors and contributors let you in on the gifts they'll be giving - and hope to be receiving -- this holiday season. From software to hardware, from gadgets to books, we've got just what you want.

Corel Ventura 10: Powerhouse Publishing for PCs

Often left in the shadows of bigger names, Corel Ventura 10 is a heavyweight desktop publishing program for all types of documents. With XML and PDF support, this venerable program can stand up with the rest.

Draw On It: Corel's Latest Graphics Suite Packs Powerful Punch

Come to Order: FrameMaker 7 Gives Structure to Documents

Adobe FrameMaker 7 is a different kind of layout program than QuarkXPress or InDesign. With its strong layout tools FrameMaker excels at long-document production then adds extensive XML support for creating structured documents.