Image Doctor 2.0 includes:

Improvements to Image Doctor 2.0 provide:

Clean & Easy Interface
Each Image Doctor 2.0 filter opens with a clean, easy-to-use interface that provides intuitive defaults and the power of custom adjustments. Select “Settings” tab, and this interface offers a selection of factory default output settings. Custom settings can be saved and reused that enhance efficiency. Choose the “Basic” tab on the user interface to adjust sliding default and custom settings.

Image Quality
To test Image Dr image quality, test images were selected from photos taken with a Nikon D200 (10 MP sensor). The selected images were processed using both Photoshop CS4 and the Image Dr filters. The original and “Doctored” images are presented below.

Image Doctor – Smart Fill

Crop of original image

Using Smart Fill filter, red buoy is removed

Using Smart Filter a second time cleans up the water and the hillside

Removing the buoy presents several backgrounds – water, rock wall, buildings along the water, and the trees. As recommended in the user manual, the buoy was replaced in four steps. Each step selected a section of the buoy with a different background. The manual does an excellent job of explaining this process.

Manipulating the adjacent image required the “Manual–complex background” from the Factory Settings on the Settings tab. By selecting one of the “Manual” Factory settings, the user can select the area of the image that would be used in to replace the selected section of the image.

For some images, using the Smart Fill Filter a second time can significantly improve the result.  For this image, none of the “Auto” Factory settings gave acceptable results. The “Auto” settings worked better with a consistent background.

As shown above, Smart Fill filter works great with trees and foliage, and does an acceptable job with the buildings in the background. However, this filter did a fair job of replacing water. The Smart Fill filter appears to have difficulty creating the inherent patterns. In water, typically ripples, waves have a pattern that look artificial when broken.

Image Doctor – Blemish Concealer

Crop of original photo

Image using both Skin Softener and Blemish Concealer

Blemish Concealer zapped the blemish over the right eye, and reduced the red coloring on the nose. Skin Softener softened and smoothed the smile lines. Now the subject is happy. As show above the combination of Skin Softener and Blemish Concealer work wonders on the young, and the young at heart.

Image Doctor – Dust and Scratch Remover
Not only can you remove dust and scratches, but the Dust and Scratch Remover filter remove offending lines, trees, branches that in photos, seem to “grow” out of people’s heads. Select the Photoshop lasso tool and then remove as a group using the “Remove object – large features” Factory Setting on the Settings tab. As explained in the User Manual, the “Random Seed” button on the Basic tab should be clicked several time to get the replaced area to look good. Power lines, barbed wire fences, or other objects can be removed successfully.

Alien Skin offers a free download at Product Downloads , and video tutorials can be viewed at Alien Skin Tutorials.

System Requirements: Mac OS X 10.4 with PowerPC G5 or Intel processor (Adobe Photoshop CS2 9.0.2; Photoshop Elements 4.0.1; Adobe Photoshop Elements 5; Fireworks CS3); Windows XP with Intel Pentium 4 processor (Adobe Photoshop CS2 9.0.2; Photoshop Elements 4.0; Phtoshop Elements 5; Fireworks CS3; Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X2)
Contact: www.alienskin.com
Cost: $199

Snap Art 2.0 offers ten different filters for creating the perfect hand drawn artwork from a photo. Snap Art filters include: Color Pencil, Comics, Impresto, Oil Pant, Pastel, Pen and Ink, Pencil Sketch, Pointillism, Stylize, and Watercolor.

New in Snap Art 2.0:
• Higher levels of photo-realism
• Control over the level of photo-realism with a slider
• Adjustable focus regions control where detail is preserved
• Improved presets
• Photoshop CS4 panel

Clean & Easy Interface
Each Snap Art filter opens in a clean, easy-to-use interface that provides intuitive defaults and the power of custom adjustments. By selecting “Settings” tab, this interface provides a selection of more than 700 factory preset settings. Custom settings can be saved and reused enhancing efficiency. The default and custom settings can be adjusted with sliders after selecting one of the four adjustment tabs: Basic, Color, Canvas or Lighting on the user interface.

The addition of focus regions enables control over how the filter is applied to the image. Typically, the focus region is placed over the subject, or a specific portion to preserve important detail.

Example Images
To illustrate the film effects provided by Snap Art 2.0, an image was selected from photos taken with a Nikon D200 (10 MP sensor), and processed in Photoshop CS4 using Snap Art factory presets. Crops of the original and processed images are presented below.

Original Photo

Art’s Color Pencil filter using Abstract (large pencil preset)

Color Comics – large feature size, vignette preset

Snap Art’s Watercolor filter using Landscape (moderate realism)

Snap Art’s Watercolor filter using Landscape – Large Brush, abstract colors preset

The above images are just a taste of the over 700 presets available in Snap Art 2.0. Use one of the presets to obtain the desired natural art look, then employ the controls in the four adjustment tabs to fine tune the image with the full creative power of Snap Art 2.0. Alien Skin offers a free 21-day download to experience Snap Art 2.0.

System Requirements:

This product requires one of the following host applications:

• Adobe Photoshop CS3 or later
• Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0.1 or later on Mac
• Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 or later on Windows
• Adobe Fireworks CS4
• Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X2

Windows:

• Intel Pentium 4 processor (or compatible)
• Windows XP or later

Macintosh:

• PowerPC G5 processor or Intel processor
• Mac OS X 10.4.11 or later

Contact: www.alienskin.com
Cost: $199 full version

Multiple Presets for Film Quality
DX0FilmPack 1.0 included presets for poplar slide and print films from Kodak and Fuji including Kodachrome and Fuji’s Provia. FilmPack 2.0 adds presets for films like Polaroid 669, Kodak Kodak Ektachrome, and Agfa Ulta Color 100. A total of 27 new film profiles and 8 color filters were added. The user interface was also improved to provide control over the grain, contrast and saturation.

Example Images
To illustrate the film effects provided by DXO FilmPack, selected images were taken with a Nikon D200 (10 MP sensor). The selected photo was processed in Photoshop CS4 using FilmPack’s film profiles, with 100% crops of the original and processed images presented below.

Original photo

FilmPack’s Fuji Velvia 50 profile

FilmPack’s Fuji Velvia 100 color profile and the Velvia 50 grain profile

FilmPack’s Kodak Tri-X profile

The above examples are just a small sample of the 50 film profiles available to create the right image mood, or tone. DXO FilmPack contains the ability to mix color and film profiles, and does not require Photoshop or DXO Optics Pro. However, DXO FilmPack cannot be accessed directly from Adobe Lightroom. Yet, if you’re looking for that high quality film for digital images, consider DXO’s FilmPack 2.0.  DXO offers a 21-day free demo online.

System Requirements:

• 1 GB RAM
• 100 MB available disk space
• Adobe Photoshop CS2, CS3 or CS4, or Adobe Photoshop Elements (version 4, 5, 6 or 7 for Windows; version 4, 5 or 6 for Macintosh) for the Adobe Photoshop plug-in
• DxO Optics Pro v5.3.1 (or higher) for the DxO Optics Pro plug-in

Windows :

• Intel® Pentium® 4 processor or AMD® equivalent (Pentium® Dual Core or higher or equivalent recommended)
• Microsoft® Windows XP, Windows Vista 32 or 64 bits

Macintosh :

• Universal Binary (G4, G5 or Intel-Mac)
• Mac OS X.4 or X.5

Contact: www.dxo.com

Cost: $99 (US)

And in today’s media classes, students may not realize the difference in quality from film to digital quality images. Using Exposure v2.0 will broaden their experience by contrasting different image quality, and improve their photo skills.

Exposure v.1.0 included presets for popular slide and print films from Kodak and Fuji, including Kodachrome and Fuji’s Provia. Exposure v2.0 adds presets for available films, such as Kodak Porta 160NC and VC; Kodak Ultra Color 100; Fuji Pro; Fuji Reala; and Polaroid. Alien Skin also obtained a few rolls of discontinued films to create presets for Agfa Scala, Fuji Velvia 50, and Polaroid Polapan. Exposure v2.0 incorporates a new grain generator with more grain controls, special effects presets, and an improved user interface.

Clean & Easy Interface
With Exposure v2.0, both the color film and black&white film exposure filters open into a clean, easy-to-use interface that provides intuitive defaults, and the power of custom adjustments. By selecting the “Settings” tab, this interface provides a selection of more than 200 factory preset settings. Custom settings can be saved and reused enhancing efficiency. Default and custom settings can be adjusted with sliders after selecting one of the four adjustment tabs: color, tone, focus or grain on the color film user interface. The black and white film user interface adds an infrared (IR) adjustment tab.

Images
To illustrate the film effects provided by Exposure, an image was selected from photos taken with a Nikon D200 (10 MP sensor). The selected image was processed in Photoshop CS4 using Exposure factory presets. Presented below are 100% crops of the original and processed images.

100% crop of the original photo

100% crop of original phot with Exposure Kodachrome 25

100% crop of the photo after processing with Exposure’s Fuji Reala preset.

100% crop of photo after processing with Exposure's Fuji Velvia 50

100% crop of photo after processing with Exposure’s Fuji Velvia 50 preset with the push processing slider set to +1.

The above examples are just a small sample of over 200 presets available to create the right image mood, or tone. If you have a quality digital image, but the image is well… too digital for your story or portfolio, consider applying Alien Skin’s Exposure v2.0 plug-in to regain that film quality look. Exposure v2.0 can be applied to Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 and Photoshop CS4, but is not available for Lightroom 2 or Aperture. Exposure 2.0 may also be a plug-in for Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo XI.

Alien Skin offers a free download at Product Downloads , and video tutorials can be viewed at Alien Skin Tutorials.

PROS: Great job simulating different types of film quality.

CONS: Not available for Lightroom 2, or Aperture.

System Requirements: Mac OS X 10.4 with PowerPC or Intel processor (Adobe Photoshop CS2 9.0.2; Photoshop Elements 4.0.1; Fireworks CS3); Windows XP with Pentium 4 processor (Adobe Photoshop CS2; Photoshop Elements 4.0; Fireworks CS3; Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo XI)
Contact: www.alienskin.com
Cost: $249; $149 for upgrades

Alien Skin provides a Photo Bundle offering a range of plug-ins:

• Blow Up
• Bokeh
• Exposure
• Image Doctor
• Snap Art

Blow Up 2.0.3
Alien Skin recently released Blow Up 2.0.3. Blow Up is a one stop, Photoshop output plug-in. As expected from the name, Blow Up enlarges images. Blow Up also crops, shrinks, removes compression artifacts, and sharpens for output. This plug-in prepares an image for output on a monitor or as a print. Why use Blow Up? Blow Up provides a sharper enlargement than Photoshop CS4 when using the Image Size tool (Image -> Image Size).

New features for 2.0.3 include

• Running Blow Up from the Filter Menu
• Blow Up 2 Startup Panel for Photoshop CS4
• Gallery Wrap Panel for Photoshop CS4
• ISO paper sizes in the Settings Tab
• Performance slider.

Efficient Workflow
Providing quick and efficient access, Blow Up 2.0.3 can be opened from the Filter drop down menu, the Blow Up 2 Startup Panel, or the File -> Automate menu. Including Blow Up in the Filter drop down menu improves efficiency as all the photo workflow plug-ins are now in the same drop down menu. Blow Up can still be found in the File -> Automate menu, as found in previous Blow Up versions. The Automate menu also provides access to the Blow Up 2 Batch (new in version 2.0), which processes an entire folder of images.

Quick Draw – One Click Access
From the Photoshop desktop, the Blow Up panel provides one click access to Blow Up and a selection of pre-set size and media selections (screen choice, plus three paper selections for printing). Using the pre-sets saves time, since the image is processed without opening the user interface. However, if custom adjustments or cropping is desired, open Blow Up.

Clean, Easy Interface
Blow Up opens in an intuitive, clean, easy-to-use interface that provides intuitive defaults and the power of custom adjustments. This interface, by selecting “Settings”, provides a selection of factory default output settings based on output media and size. Custom settings can be saved and reused to enhance efficiency. After selecting “Controls” on the user interface, the default and custom settings can be adjusted with sliders.

Image Test
To test Blow Up’s image quality, two images were enlarged for this review. These two images were photos taken with a Nikon D200 (10 MP sensor). The selected images were cropped (reduces processing time on a Mac Pro G5) and then enlarged by 400 % (four times), using both Photoshop CS4 and Blow Up. In the Photoshop Image-> Image Size dialog, Resample Image was set to “Bicubic Smoother (best for enlargement)”. After enlargement, the images were cropped to 300 X 300 pixels. Two sets of images are presented below.

First Image Set

Photoshop image

Blow Up image

In this first set of images, Blow Up provides a crisper enlargement that preserves the well defined edges and metal luster. Note on the right side of the image, this improvement is particularly noticeable in the stainless steel rod (part of the standing ringing for a sailboat).

Second Image Set

Photoshop image

Blow Up image

In the second set of images (crocus with water drops), Blow Up’s improvement over Photoshop is visible, but not as obvious as in the first image set (sailboat rigging). From using Blow Up, the image improvement is easiest to see where the crocus petals overlap near the center of the image.

Additional comparison images may be found on the Alien Skin website at Alien Skin Examples, or on the Macworld Alien Skin Blow Up review: Alien Skin Blow Up 2.0.

Conclusion
Pros:

1. Blow Up is a great enlargement tool that uses a vector based enlargement algorithm that out performs Photoshop’s bicubic enlargement algorithm.
2. Blow Up does an excellent job of preserving well-defined edges during enlargement resulting in an obvious improvement over Photoshop. For softer edges, the improvement is subtle, but visible if you look for it.
3. Blow Up enhances workflow efficiency by combining output sharpening with enlargement.

Cons:

1. Only available as a Photoshop plug-in. For those that use Lightroom or Aperture, a plug-in compatible with these applications would save having to open or edit the image in Photoshop.

Examples and video demos are available at Alien Skin Tutorials. Download demo versions at Alien Skin Demos.

System Requirements: Mac OS X 10.4.11, Windows XP
Contact: www.AlienSkin.com
Cost: $249; Free upgrade if you own Blow Up 2.0; $99.00 if upgrading from Blow Up 1.0

“Autodesk will now support use of AutoCAD software, AutoCAD LT software, Autodesk Inventor Professional software, Autodesk 3ds Max software, Autodesk 3ds Max Design software and the Autodesk Revit software platform for building information modeling (BIM) on Mac OS X via Parallels Desktop. Autodesk added official support for these products on the Mac via Boot Camp earlier this year.”

Parallels Desktop for Mac allows over 2 million users to run Windows-based applications seamlessly on their Macs.

Lots of AutoDesk Choices
Mac users have quite a few choices from AutoDesk.

“With the launch of the Autodesk Alias family of software for Mac OS X earlier this year, Autodesk now offers five native Mac OS X applications for the entertainment, multimedia and design industries, including Autodesk SketchBook Pro, Autodesk Maya, Autodesk Mudbox and Autodesk Stitcher Unlimited software. For more information about Autodesk Mac support, visit Autodesk.com/mac.”

“Autodesk customers are increasingly working with both Mac and Windows, and have asked us to support Mac virtualization,” said Chris Bradshaw, Autodesk chief marketing officer. “Today we are pleased to welcome Parallels as a partner and Parallels Desktop as our preferred Mac virtualization software. ”

Parallels Optimizes Computing
Parallels works seamlessly with Macs (see my review at Parallels 4.0 Desktop for Macs). If you need access to Windows software, consider Parallels Desktop.

Now, Mac users can enjoy additional AutoDesk products with Parallels Desktop.

Contacts: AutoDesk.com; Parallels.com

Reading Outloud
Stuck in traffic, on a plane, or waiting for a meeting and you’re behind reviewing work, or keeping up on favorite blogs? Are you a visually  or reading impaired  individual? Want to take along that document, but not all 20 pages? Consider using iSpeech to download text, and read with your ears.

How iSpeech Works
Since 2007, iSpeech went through some rigorous testing, and was recently launched in 2009. No software installation, or technical expertise is required. The initial service is free, and additional content conversion services are provided with monthly fees (see Cost at article end). Simply sign up, then cut and paste text into the application’s text box, or upload any supported document, website, blog, etc. The program then converts the content into speech.

Audio files are stored in My Library. Files can be public, or locked for privacy.

iSpeech reports their program can support file types and websites that include: Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Adobe Acrobat, Rich Text File, Blogs, RSS news feeds, hypertext markup language (DOC, DOCX, PPT, PPTX, XLS, XLSX, PDF, RTF, HTML).

iPods, Blogs and More
iSpeech indicates material can be podcasted, listened to on iPods, MP3s, or burned onto CDs. Users can embed a file on any website, including MySpace, Blogger, or eBay. iSpeech also supports Terapad and Typepad.

For bloggers using Wordpress.org, iSpeech provides a plugin. The computer voice is understandable, plus has cadence so you’re not listening to a flat monotone. Users, however, can upload an advanced voice quality.

At present, Wordpress.com does not support iSpeech, however iSpeech reports to bloggers that the “current alternative is to place [audio MP3-URL] tags into your post with the MP3-URL pointing to your converted post. For more details on how to accomplish this, please refer to wordpress.com audio support“.

Lots of Languages
In a couple months, iSpeech will provide text in 23 different languages. French material will, well sound “French”, and not with a mono-dialogue translating words incorrectly.

Expand Into Different Markets
Educators, commercial enterprises, online publishers, and government agencies can offer audio versions of text content. For online publishers, iSpeech clients only pay for content that sells.

iSpeech offers a free 30-day trial, however free trials will require a charge either by PayPal, or credit card. However, iSpeech will refund all monies if the user decides to cancel their service.

Worked For Me
I cut and pasted text into the content box, and it worked just fine. Then I uploaded a file. Your uploads are saved as files in MyLibrary. Next I’ll play around with the URL. When this application provides text-to-speech service in different languages, it will be a very powerful tool.

Other Articles:
Reuters post this article: iSpeech.org Makes Box.net Talk Aloud
PR Web posts additional information at: iSpeech.org Makes Box.net Talk Aloud.

Try it out and see for yourself. iSpeech is the next step to being free from pounds of paper.

Made By: iSpeech.org
System Requirements: Web based browser, Requires Flash Player (free download at Flash Player)
Price: Free for 250 words/mo.; $7.85/mo. for 10,000 words; $14.85/mo. for 25,000 words; $22.85/mo. for 50,000 words. All plans have limited monthly conversions. Check online to purchase iSpeech credits.
Pros: Initial service free; easy to use and understand, multi-language, reported to work on many different servers
Con: Limited amount of words available for free service

Works Underwater Too
SealShield sells keyboards and mice that are dishwasher safe, protected by antimicrobial properties, and have laser etched keys that won’t fade with washing. And SealShield reports they work underwater.

And SealShield reports that they work underwater, have a 10 million stroke life cycle, and come with a one-year warranty. The gold USB connector resists corrosion and enhances performance.

One washable keyboard glows in the dark. And they even sell washable TV and theater remote controls.

If we can design nano-transmitters, we can design dishwasher-proof keyboards and mice!

Made By: SealShield.com
System Requirements: Mac 0S X 1.5 (USB, CD-ROM); Windows XP
Price:Keyboard $39.99 to $69.99; Mouse $39.99 to $69.99
Pros: Easy to wash, and guaranteed
Cons: None noted

Smooth Sailing for Macs

I am a Mac user, so I expect software to download easily and work seamlessly. Macs rarely stumble. Therefore, I expected Parallels 4.0 to work smoothly on my MacBook Pro. This utility software did not disappoint me.

I viewed Parallels tutorial video, which was very informative. In detail, it described many key components of Parallels.

Using Windows
First I downloaded, then installed Parallels on my MacBook Pro. No problems there. I dragged and dropped the Parallels icon into the application dock, and began. Parallels opened up with a clean Welcome screen, allowing users to choose between the Tutorial Video, Running Windows, Import Virtual Machines, or Start Using Parallels Desktop. After inserting the Windows Vista Ultimate (64 bit version) disk, I selected Import Virtual Machines to install Vista.

Gaming and More
I jumped right in playing NanoLegend, an interactive high school biology game. I’m not a gamer, so I had to use the keyboard and mouse. No hiccups there. Entourage chimed that I had an email message, so I paused NanoLegend, checked my email on the Mac screen, flicked back to the game on the Windows screen and continued playing. I also downloaded Nancy Drew’s Legend of the Crystal Skull Game, and tested this game out using Windows. Worked great.

All my Mac Desktop files showed up on the Windows screen. Could I pull up a Word document – absolutely. First a small window popped up asking whether Windows could find the program online, or on the computer hard drive. I selected on my computer, and in a few seconds, Word had opened. I can cut and paste material from one document in Windows into another document found on the Mac screen. While a PowerPoint presentation was opening on Parallels, I had Firefox open on the Mac screen typing in this blog. Parallels worked efficiently.

With Parallels, the next generation Coherence lets me run multiple windows side-by-side, or I could choose to operate Windows full screen. Parallels also states it can Linux and Mac OS X Server as Virtual Machines.

Just a Few New Features
Here are some of the new features listed:

• Free iPhone application to remotely start, stop and suspend virtual machines from your iPhone.
• Speech recognition using Select Voice Commands
• Virtualize Mac OS X Leopard server inside Parallels Desktop virtual machine
• Safeguard Internet security with Parallels Internet Security
• Enjoy speed and performance with FastLane Architecture, up to 8-way SMP, 8 GB RAM and 64-bit computing

Requires Hard Drive Space
If using Windows Vista, decide if you want the 32-bit, or 64-bit version. With all the Vista updates, the 64-bit version swallowed up 24 GB of hard drive space. And each Virtual Machine needs 15 GB of hard drive space. Also, Mac users, be patient with Windows Vista. It takes awhile to start up and shut down. Parallels is required to be installed on the Mac boot disc, but you can install Windows XP, Vista or any other Virtual Machine on a second internal or external hard drive.

Download a trial copy and try Parallels yourself. It worked well for me.

Made By: parallels.com
Price:  Upgrade @ $49.99; New Install @ $79.99. Check online for special offerings.
Pros: Lets you run powerful Windows applications on Macs
Cons:  Be patient with Windows

If your blood runs cold at the thought of tackling these intensive web design programs, Media Lab Inc. offers a simple, yet powerful alternative.  Media Lab has developed SiteGrinder 2 Pro for Adobe Photoshop beginners and aficionados.

Many graphic and photographic artists are familiar with, or solely use Photoshop to build, develop and enhance graphic designs or photographic images. With SiteGrinder 2 Pro, graphic artists and web designers can build functional, well laid out websites from multi-layered Photoshop documents.

SiteGrinder 2 Pro is a Photoshop plug-in that is compatible with Photoshop 6 (and higher applications). For this review, the author easily downloaded SiteGrinder 2 Pro, comparing SiteGrinder’s operation on an Apple Powerbook G4 and a Power Mac G5 dual 2 Ghz computer.  With Photoshop CS, SiteGrinder 2 Pro operated efficiently and quickly on both computers.

How does SiteGrinder 2 Pro take Photoshop files and seamlessly transform them into web pages?  SiteGrinder starts with a simple or complex Photoshop document.  It literally grinds all the Photoshop graphic data and converts the material into HTML, CSS and web image formats. 

From Photoshop files, SiteGrinder 2 Pro can transform graphics and text, even insert photo galleries, video clips, and Flash imagery to develop attractive web pages that are functional across numerous platforms and browsers.  Within Photoshop, SiteGrinder 2 Pro can alter image compression settings for different compression requirements.  Using hint commands that are typed into the Photoshop layer names, SiteGrinder can create scrolling text, image or text buttons, rollovers, popups and menu selection commands.  Text can be altered within Photoshop layers and then converted into web text, with support for color, size, font styles, page and paragraph format and setting.

Most websites provide horizontal or vertical navigation buttons with popdown or popup menus.  SiteGrinder 2 Pro can build these menus from text and graphic layers, or a combination of both.  Simply add the “hint” text to the end of a text layer’s name and choose a “hilite” style. Watch SiteGrinder churn away and presto!, up pops a menu. 

With Photoshop CS, the “layer comp” feature allows SiteGrinder 2 Pro to create many linked pages from one document. SiteGrinder allows artists to display images in attractive, flexible and custom-made galleries with thumbnail navigation and metadata input.  At present, SiteGrinder 2 Pro doesn’t allow data base integration with galleries, which would be helpful in searching multiple pages for specific graphic art images and photographs.
Clients and site visitors need to communicate either by phone, email or through HTML forms. 

SiteGrinder 2 Pro supports CGI and PHP email forms, allows Google maps, collects survey data and supports other generic forms.
Media Lab offers online video tutorials demonstrating SiteGrinder’s versatility.  The tutorials are easy to understand, and the narrator does not assume viewers are experts with Photoshop.  Tasks are clearly explained and easy to follow. 

Additional help material is available online to identify step-by-step procedures.  Technical questions appear to be quickly answered via email.  An online forum offers another avenue to share queries and suggestions.

Would you prefer to save money creating your own website, and use your Photoshop talents to start an additional web design business?  Are you interested in developing websites that take hours instead of days to assemble?  Then let your right brain and left brain mesh together using SiteGrinder 2 Pro to transform Photoshop layered graphics into functional, stunning web pages.

Product: SiteGrinder 2 Pro Website Builder
Made By:  Media Lab
Website:  medialab.com

Pros:   Powerful Photoshop plug-in.  Converts Photoshop files easily into artistic, functional web pages.
Cons: Data base integration would support searching gallery pages.