Adobe Design Premium

Professional package for creating media in print, web and mobile.

Product summary of Adobe Design Premium

Adobe Creative Suite 4 Design Premium is a special professional software package for print layout designers, web page designers, animators, and graphic artists. This is a digital toolbox that includes applications for creating and editing image and graphic files for use in print and in online publishing. It also features applications for layouting and designing web pages and print publications.

Adobe Creative Suite 4 Design Premium costs $1,799. But when upgraded from Creative Suite 3, it becomes only $599. Cost of upgrading from Studios or CS 1-2 ranges from $599 to $799. Adobe Creative Suite 4 Design Premium is quite costly. This software package is intended for professionals and companies. Freelancers and leisure users who can afford the price can also get this superb package with its excellent features.

Design Premium What’s In It: Product Features and Included Applications

Since Adobe Creative Suite 4 Design Premium costs quite a sum, it would be worth knowing what your money is worth.

Adobe Creative Suite 4 Design Premium includes InDesign CS4 for print layout editing and creation. This version is an updated one, integrated with other applications; file export, import and sharing might be necessary. Adobe InDesign CS4 costs $699 when bought separately, but an upgrade from an older version costs only $199.

For a nimble web page design, Dreamweaver and Fireworks are also included in the Adobe CS4 Design Premium package. Both applications included in the software package are also advanced versions. Both are integrated with other applications so that digital files that might be needed to complete a web page can be processed and edited in other applications intended for such functions. Purchasing only Dreamweaver CS4 costs $399, while an upgrade costs $199. Fireworks CS4, on the other hand, costs $299 when purchased as is, and $149 when upgraded from an older version.

For animators and web page designers, an improved Flash CS4 graces this group of applications intended to make life easier for these professionals. Flash CS4 scraps certain steps in creating and editing animations, thus allowing for easier and faster creation and editing of animation for web pages. Flash CS4 Professional costs $699 when bought separately. Upgrading from an older Flash version costs $ 199.

Vector and pixel graphic artists would also find their own work place in the Adobe CS4 Design Premium package, as this digital toolbox includes Photoshop CS4 Extended and Illustrator CS4.

When bought separately, Illustrator CS4 costs $599 and Photoshop CS4 Extended costs $999. However, an Illustrator upgrade from CS, FreeHand 9+ or CorelDRAW costs $199. A Photoshop upgrade from CS3, on the other hand, costs $349. From 5 or 6, an upgrade to Photoshop CS4 Extended costs $899.

Adobe CS4 Premium Package also includes Adobe Acrobat 9 Professional, which is now equipped with a capability to integrate Flash content. This application costs $449 when bought as is, and $159 when upgraded from an earlier version. The package also includes Bridge CS4.

Like all other Creative Suite 4 Packages, Adobe CS4 Design Premium also offers users the convenience of application integration, allowing easy exportation of files from one application to another. That way, images and graphics needed for print and web pages can easily be imported from Photoshop or Illustrator, and vice versa. Flash content can also be exported to Dreamweaver easily, thus allowing the creation of a dynamic web page easier and faster.

Adobe Creative Suite 4 Design Premium’s interface is more user-friendly, with handy menus and Flash-based panels to facilitate easy work flow and work space management. It also allows easy navigation between work spaces. Companies specializing and multimedia ad campaigns can benefit in this setup, since a client’s logo or a particular design can be easily transferred from one work space to another so all ad materials will have uniform designs.

Adobe CS4 Design Premium may cost quite a sum, but buying each of the applications include in the package separately would cost way more. Adobe CS4 Design Premium provides convenient solution, giving a relatively excellent deal for professionals in web page designing, print publishing, animation and graphical design. This package, however, does not include audio editing.

Design Premium System Setup, Interface, and Installation

Heavy duty and jam-packed as it is, Adobe CS4 Design Premium requires a relatively long time to install. But it would probably require less compared with Adobe Creative Suite 4 Master Collection’s 2-hour installation time. Adobe CS4 Master Collection includes all applications included in the Creative Suite 4 Deign Premium package, plus applications for video editing and audio file management. Thus, Design Premium, which is a smaller package, would most likely complete its installation faster.

Installation of Adobe products requires closing all active applications, particularly web browser and Microsoft Office applications. There are options for installing only selected applications, but there’s the software does not support the transfer of your older CS settings and custom tools to CS4.

For Windows users, Adobe CS4 Design Premium installation requires an operating system of at least Windows XP SP2 or Vista. It should be run by a 2 GHz processor or something faster. There has to be at least 9.1 GB of available space in the hard disk. While installing, more disk space might even be needed.

Mac users, on the other hand, would need an Intel-based machine or PowerPC G5. It has to have OS X v10.4.11 at the very least. There must also be at least 11.2 GB of disk space available. The RAM must be at least 1 GB.

Moreover, a display of 1280 x 900 is needed to facilitate installation. At least 16 MB of VRAM and at least a 32-bit video card is also necessary. It would also be helpful to make sure of OpenGL 2.0 and Shader Model 3.0 compatibility, since they can be needed.

Premum Design System Support and Service

Adobe makes use of a help yourself and online peer support system for technological support. By installing tutorial videos, and online and embedded look ups, Adobe does away from customized tech support and customer assistance. However, there are support programs requiring additional charge.