9.1

PhotoPlus Suite

One heck of a package, Photo plus Suite is a great addition to the photo enthusiasts software library, offering three applications in the one box. For the beginner, this software is easy to use and will allow you to enhance your photos into works that will be the envy of your friends. 

Starting off the pack is Image Broadway which has been previously covered by the site:

Image Broadway is graphic editing software that most users will find more than adequate for their day to day editing needs. The interface is fairly similar to the basic Paint Shop Pro or Photoshop menu system without the entire depth that the other programs entail.

Using an intuitive menu design, Image Broadway is perfect for touching up digital photography, scans and images for websites and the internet. 

Using Image Broadway I was able to "map" images with hyperlinks for use on website and actually nominate the area to be mapped. Some software only allows mapped areas to be rectangular in shape, however I was able to customise this to suit my needs. 

Primary functions are covered for the most part however an integral menu command seems to be missing from the package being the command, past as new image. There is the option to cut from an image and then open a new image and paste your selection into it. This is also available when pasting into another existing image. A clever thing about this feature is when pasting into a blank image, the size defaults to the size of the portion you just cut. It was easy to do and took a matter of moments, however the paste as new image command would be a welcome addition to the software. 

For the more determined, it was interesting to note that the software might even be utilised by aspiring 3D artists as Image Broadway can also bump map images. For those who are not familiar with the term, quite simply it allows objects to appear to stand out from a flat surface whilst still retaining the characteristics of the flat surface. 

This is a tool used by games developers to create environments that are more realistic by bump mapping the textures used to make the gaming environment. 

There are a bevy of other features on the software including anti aliasing and interlacing options making Image Broadway a powerful piece of kit for the home user or budding designer feeling their way around imaging software. 

This is a tool used by games developers to create environments that are more realistic by bump mapping the textures used to make the gaming environment.

There are a bevy of other features on the software including anti aliasing and interlacing options making Image Broadway a powerful piece of kit for the home user or budding designer feeling their way around imaging software.  

Another innovative addition to Image Broadway is the file tree to the left of the screen that lets you easily navigate your way around your images with absolute ease. This is most definitely a feature that some of the competition could well do to imitate in future versions of their software.  As you can see in the screen shots, you can see the file structure of your PC and also thumbnails of any picture files in each folder. A single click will bring that image to the main screen for editing. 

Image Broadway can also import files created in Paintshop and Photoshop for you to work on without losing any quality. It packs quite a punch in features, yet is friendly enough for the novice to pick up and use almost immediately. I found the red eye reduction feature to be a breeze to use as was the function that lightened my dark photos without washing the software out. 

Overall, I would recommend Image Broadway to anyone looking for a solid graphics program at a great price. 

For the professional, Image Broadway may not be suitable for all purposes as it does not carry quite the extensive features of Adobe Photoshop or to a lesser extent Paintshop. However with Adobe being over $1000.00 more, this is easily overlooked and really the two items are for totally different consumers. 

Here is the list of features mentioned that Image Broadway provides and I am sure that you will be as impressed as I was: 

Web Authoring Tools: Create clickable Image Map; Create Server-Side Image Map (NCSA & CERN); Create Client-Side Image Map (CSIM); Make 3D buttons and logos.

Artistic Tools: Oil Paints; Water Colours; Charcoals; Twirls; Waves; Pinches; Tiles; Frames.

Rendering Tools: Bump Map; Bevel Frame; Drop Shadow; Perspective Tool.

General Tools: Files & folders Thumbnails; Unlimited Undo and Redo; Shortcuts for editing; Click & open; instant preview for tools; Popular image files support; Autosave feature.

Composition & Editing: Transparency; Intelligent lasso; Professional selection tools; Path editing; Channels; Mask editing; Blend modes; Opacity control; Feathering edges; Anti-aliasing edges; Local clipboard; Local buffers; Alpha channel; Object and Window layer.

Fundamental Tools: Paint tools; Draw tools; Image editing tools; Transform tools; Palette tools; View tools; Text tools; Pixel tools; Gradient tools; Select & Path tools; Fill tools; Brush palettes; Enhancement tools; Artistic tools.

Digital Photography Tools: Auto enhance & contrast; Curve tools; Auto levels; Level tools, Burn & Dodge tools; Remove 'Red Eye'; Blur, smudge, sharpen tools; colour balance; Hue & saturation; Brighten & contrast.

Optimization Tools: Perceptual palettes; Adaptive palettes; Web-safe palettes; Windows palettes; Customize palettes; Convert format; Reduce file size; Auto-rename; matte colour; Transparency; Interlace options; progressive option.  

As you can see, the title has a bevy of features that will be suitable for most consumers. If you are considering a well rounded and well priced piece of imaging software then look no further. 

Turbo Browser then comes into play with a lightning fast way of checking your pictures quickly and accurately. This is a app that is worth its weight in gold with the ability to process whole batches of pictures with just a few clicks. Simplicity is key here and making the process as easy as possible for users of any experience level. Turbo Browser also comes with the ability to zap images up and down to remote servers with an ease that was impressive when testing this software. 

Finally rounding off the software is PhotoBackup. It may seem after all the detail included in our coverage of Image Broadway that we are just giving these other applications a brief glance but it is hardly the case. The sheer truth behind them is that they do exactly what they say they do and are so easy to use that extensive coverage of them is not necessary as I simply could not fault them during the testing process. Every aspect of the way the programs behave is excellent and thoroughly up to the task that they promise.  

PhotoBackup is a fantastic application that simply works every time. Use it to backup those precious memories across a whole swath of media and schedule backups to work on a regular basis. There are also security features built into the software that allow you to password protect images that you might not wish others to access. PhotoBackup also provides support for .raw files which are rapldly becoming the file choice for most digital photographers wishing to do more with their images. This is a solid move on the part of the developers in appealing to the serious photographer as well as the happy snapper. 

Worth your money? I certainly think so. Sure there are other packages on the market but not bundled up nicely like this for the same price! The features on this are expansive and powerful and the main thing is that they are so easy to use. If you are into more than simply taking pictures then I would have no problem in saying give this package a good run. 

System Requirements for Photo Plus Suite