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Adobe Illustrator CS6

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Adobe Illustrator CS6 Editor's Review

For a very long time, Adobe Illustrator has reigned as the top contender in vector illustration and design arena. Millions of designers, artists and print media professionals swear by Adobe’s popular vector tool. Its versatile toolset and truckload of features are really hard to match by industry rivals. The steep price tag and rising system requirement of Illustrator has not deterred those followers from upgrading to the newer versions despite the availability of less expensive and capable alternatives from rivals like Corel. To retain the loyal users and allure new ones, Adobe has packed in some exciting new features in Illustrator’s new version. The major changes are speed improvements, interface tweaks and features aimed at illustrators and designers.

Illustrator has always been a resource guzzling app and that is also true of this release. To get the most out of the app, you will actually need more than 1GB of RAM, mentioned by Adobe in documentation. It still runs on Windows XP with SP3. In all possibility, users with multi core CPU equipped PC and oodles of RAM will obtain the benefits. The app also needs a large amount of disk space for installation.

The first thing you notice about this version of Illustrator is its revamped and aesthetically pleasing interface. The adjustable "brightness" slider is useful if you want to set the interface lighter or darker. Adobe has touted the Mercury Performance System which powers Illustrator and PCs with 64 bit Windows OS will get the benefits. This means users with Windows 64 bit equipped PCs will not have to suffer while rendering complex files with lots of mesh and effects. The darker interface which is set by default, undeniably lends a more professional look to the app. The app’s main tools panel appears more refined as well. As expected, Illustrator’s new release supports majority of vector and bitmap file formats.

There are a handful of new features introduced in this iteration of Illustrators and one instance is gradients on stroke. The gradients can be applied across width or along the length. You may also apply it within the stroke. While its usefulness to all users is debatable, it does open up unexplored creative possibilities for veteran artists. Illustrator’s new version is also equipped with a revamped tracing tool which also puts an end to the older Live Trace tool. Illustrator’s new Image Trace tool also gives you quite a lot of options. As it is, the Image Trace tool with its new tracing algorithms and underlying architecture offers quicker tracing time and undeniably better results than its predecessor. It comes with a button which allows you to see the source image with click and un- clicking reverts to the traced result.

The most important feature in Illustrator’s new release is possibly the Pattern Creation tools. As it is, designers and artists need to deal with patterns quite regularly. You can control the created patterns from the app’s Pattern Options panel. You can also create seamless patterns easily with the tool in less time compared to the previous version.

In Illustrator’s new version, Gaussian Blur effect gets a new dimension, literally. The new Gaussian Blur dialog box now has a Preview option so that you can experiment with varying amounts without actually applying the filter on files. In fact, you can use this effect in conjunction with other effects like Drop Shadow and Inner Glow. Owing to the revamped engine, applying blur on large files does not make Illustrator sluggish anymore.

Illustrator also packs in a new collection of Pantone libraries also called Plus collection by Pantone. You can also find these libraries in new versions of InDesign and Photoshop. Print media professionals using Illustrator should be aware that the app now displays spot colors differently by default. They use LAB color definitions now in lieu of CMYK definitions.

Positive Points:
 -  Mercury Performance System boosts speed visibly.
 -  Native 64 bit support great for heavy users.
 -  Pattern Creation and Gradient on Stroke open up creative avenues.
 -  More streamlined and polished interface.

Negative Points:
 -  New features are not really groundbreaking.
 -  Not suited for users with older PCs.
 -  Pricing is quite steep for casual users.

Conclusion:
Should you upgrade to the new iteration of Illustrator? It depends on aspects like your usage needs and of course, budget. For casual users, the new version does not have much to offer apart from significant speed boost and eased workflow. The speed boost comes at cost of beefy hardware configuration. Without a fairly powerful PC equipped with a 64- bit Windows version, you will not be able to leverage the performance boost. However, advanced users including veteran designers and artists will surely appreciate its streamlined interface and minor tweaks that make working a faster experience, even with complex files. The features like Gradient on Brush and enhanced Gaussian Blur widens creative possibilities for sure.

Rating: 4/5







Adobe Illustrator CS6 Publisher's Description

Adobe® Illustrator® CS6 software is powered by the new Adobe Mercury Performance System so you can work with speed and stability on large, complex files. A modern, updated interface streamlines daily tasks. Advanced creative tools enable you to capture your vision better than ever.

Features:

Work with precision, speed, and rock-solid stability on large, complex files in Adobe® Illustrator® CS6 software -  powered by the Adobe Mercury Performance System. A newly modern interface streamlines daily tasks. Enjoy a new tracing engine, quickly design seamless patterns, and apply gradients to strokes.

Adobe Mercury Performance System
Work with precision, speed, and rock-solid stability on large, complex files thanks to a new performance system that powers Illustrator CS6. With native 64-bit support on Mac OS and Windows® you can access all the RAM on your computer to easily open, save, and export large files and preview demanding designs. Just about everything feels faster and more responsive.

Pattern creation
Easily create seamlessly tiled vector patterns. Experiment freely with different types of repeating patterns that can be edited at any time for maximum design flexibility.

New Image Trace
Convert raster images to editable vectors with a completely new tracing engine. Get clean lines, accurate fitting, and reliable results without using complex controls.

New efficient, flexible interface
Take fewer steps to accomplish daily tasks in a new, streamlined interface. Enjoy inline editing of layer names, precise color sampling, and UI brightness that's smoothly adjustable to match other Adobe tools.

Gradients on strokes
Apply gradients to your strokes -  along the length, across the width, or within the stroke itself -  all with complete control over gradient placement and opacity.

Inline editing in panels
Efficiently edit names in layers, swatches, brushes, artboards, and other panels directly in the panels themselves without using intermediate dialog boxes.

Gaussian Blur enhancement
See that Gaussian Blur and effects such as Drop Shadows and Glows are applied significantly faster than before. To improve accuracy, preview directly on the artboard rather than in a dialog box.

Color panel enhancements
Sample colors faster and more precisely using an expandable color spectrum in the Color panel. And now, copy and paste hex values into other applications more quickly.

Type panel improvements
Use arrow keys to change fonts in context for selected text. Glyphs for caps, superscripts, and more can now be accessed in one place -  from the Character panel.

Control panel enhancements
Quickly find what you need in a more efficient Control panel, now with consistency across options, anchor point controls, clipping masks, envelope distortions, and more.

Workspaces with rooms
Move fluidly from workspace to workspace with support for rooms. Achieve consistency across your work areas and maintain layout changes until you actively reset them.

Free download from Shareware Connection - Explore new paths with the essential vector tool

Publisher: Adobe Systems | License: Shareware | Price: 599.00
Version: 16.0 | Size: 1887232 KB | Platform: WinOther
Released Date: 07-09-2012 | Rating: 5 | Title: Adobe Illustrator CS6

Author Url: http://www.adobe.com/
Program Info Url: http://www.adobe.com/
Download Url: http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/tdrc/index.cfm?product=illustrator&PID=4042794
Screenshot Url: http://zapp2.staticworld.net/reviews/graphics/products/uploaded/adobe_illustrator_cs6_1198333_g2.jpg

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Shareware Connection periodically updates pricing and software information of 'Adobe Illustrator CS6' from company source 'Adobe Systems' , so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it. Software piracy is theft,  Using 'Adobe Illustrator CS6' crack, password, serial numbers, registration codes, key generators is illegal and prevent future development of Adobe Illustrator CS6.

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