• Stop being a LURKER - join our dealer community and get involved. Sign up and start a conversation.

Greatest graphics software I've ever used.

Jump to latest Follow Reply
DogbertBH

DogbertBH

Give Away Artist
Apr 29, 2009
47
0
First Name
Sudbay Family Auto
#1
I'm guessing a lot of you use different Adobe or Corel products for a lot of your design needs. Illustrator and CorelDraw have become permanent fixtures in most of our arsenals.

Check out Graphics Software by Xara and look at Xara Xtreme.

They have 2 versions. The regular version is just $89!!

With the Pro version you have these additional abilities:

Shortcut key configuration
Color Separation Support
PANTONE® color support
PDF/X export
XPS Support
Multi-core processors
HD Photo Import
Panorama Studio

If you need them, it's $249. Otherwise, the regular version is fine. (I got Pro for the PDF capabilities. Made my life MUCH easier)

They offer a 30 day UNLIMITED demo for FREE. And they have video tutorials on everything.

The software is 10 times faster than Illustrator and there hasn't been anything I can't do with it.

I thought it was something anyone here could use and I know I use it for everything from photoshop-type photo editing to Iluustrator/CorelDraw-type drawings and button creation, etc.

They have a somewhat watered down version called Web Designer that was created for simple non-interactive web design that I've been using as well since its release.

Enjoy and let me know if you have any questions about the software.
 
#2
It would take something amazing to move me away from the full Adobe Suite - I'm damn close to being a Photoshop master who can compete with the best of them! I've got years invested in Adobe.

Recently I've discovered QuarkExpress 8. I haven't dived in too hard on it, but it is the best "outside-Adobe" program for handling .psd and .ai files. I really like the drag and drop features it has for templates.
 
#3
Show me ANYTHING you do with Photoshop and I guarantee there is a way to get it done in Xara faster.

You know how you crop a large image and it has to redraw for about 5 seconds? (on a fast PC). Doesn't happen to me.

I don't have any affiliation with Xara, just thought it was something people could use.
 
#4
I checked out the website and there isn't much to gather from it, but one thing struck me:

Xara.com said:
index.php

  • Microsoft® Windows® XP or Vista
  • 256MB of RAM
  • 150MB of available hard-disk space
Click to expand...

What is up with that!?! - no Apple, Linux, or other operating systems? Are they just assuming the hardcore designers are too entrenched in Apple and Adobe so they shouldn't even bother? If it were me, I'd be thinking just the opposite! 256MB of RAM - wow!
 
#5
Alex Snyder said:
I checked out the website and there isn't much to gather from it, but one thing struck me:

What is up with that!?! - no Apple, Linux, or other operating systems? Are they just assuming the hardcore designers are too entrenched in Apple and Adobe so they shouldn't even bother? If it were me, I'd be thinking just the opposite! 256MB of RAM - wow!
Click to expand...

If you go to the website and Select Programs > Xara Xtreme 4,you will see demo's of almost every feature they offer.

I don't think it's about the designers as much as it's about designing what they already have which is a PC version and making it better. They've made vast improvements over the years.

You could probably run it using some kind of Windows emulator on a Mac.

Yes, just 256 of Ram, and that's no exaggeration. it runs SUPER FAST on every machine I've ever had.

-Bobby
 
#8
Not to stray to far but another "competitively priced" solution is Paint.net. I have no experience with GIMP so I can't say it's any better or worse but when we first got our dealer.com website and I was still green behind the ears this was the program I used to create our web graphics.

I can't imagine XARA is quicker and better than Adobe and like Alex, I'm far too invested in Adobe now that I can't fathom making a switch. The hours spent memorizing the keyboard shortcuts alone has me cemented in...
 
#9
@Mitch - You're really saying you can't imagine software that doesn't take less than 30 seconds to redraw a complex drawing?? Or to render a large photo after rotating?

I'm not saying Xara is "Better than Adobe" I AM saying it's FASTER - by a LONG SHOT.

But I am also saying that a majority of the things people do with Adobe's software that costs thousands can be done with this $89 software.

Most people haven't heard of it - so I thought I'd pass it along.

-Bobby
 
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply
Jump to latest Follow Reply
Menu