* The royalty-free, cross-platform iView Catalog Reader which enables those receiving an iView catalog to view it and slide shows without the need to buy the full application.
* The rapid assignment of media annotations using drag-and-drop. Media can be assigned annotations by simply dragging and dropping them over existing annotations.
* Slide shows can be configured with individual media items set for timing, media scaling, transition effect, and grid display. Slide shows can be exported as QuickTime movies.
* New image enhancement tools for cropping, under/over exposure, low contrast, backlighting, red-eye reduction, grain removal, rotation, and more.
* Auto-Importing of items added to watched folders.
* Assignment of custom themes for HTML export.
* Customized production of catalog PDFs using the PDF Maker.
* Assignment of voice annotations.
* Conversion of image and movie files.
* Output as contact sheets, PDF, slide shows, Web pages, printing, and CD-ROM.

$160

Purchase of the library, or individual volumes, is a full buyout, with no further royalties nor fees due for commerical use in videos, CD-ROMs, multimedia, television, film, or radio. Cuesheets for ASCAP/BMI or an international body are required for broadcast use with no cost to the licensee. Individual CDs are $49.99, the collection of seven CDs is $225 (a discount of $125).

The drives have several unique features, including: V-Safe Security Software with a user-adjustable security partition, anti-tamper password entry, and secure data encryption; V-Key File Synchronization Software providing an easy to use on-screen interface for synchronizing data between devices; customization options to add a volume name, device icon, or preferred audio sounds; an ultra sleek design making it easier to stack multiple drives in tight USB port configurations; 2 color LEDs provide instant drive status; a user label area with included labels; and individual serial numbers to make each drive easily identifiable.

Reliability is ensured through the use of an on-board 32 bit ARM-7 microprocessor that manages the I/O operations and many of the drive's technical features. Prices range from $74.95 for 256MB to $599.95 for 2GB.

The 7.5 hours of training and instructor-led tutorials are presented by Laurie Ulrich Fuller, an author and Office expert. Through the attractive user interface, the learner maintains control over the presentation of the topics using VCR-like controls. The compact package of discs is readily available for learning new skills and reviewing old ones. It is a handy learning resource that offices should have available for their employees.

The three discs include: Microsoft® Office Jumpstart: Outlook & Excel; Express Yourself with Microsoft Word; and the Power to Persuade & Inform: PowerPoint & Access. The second disc includes a collection of PhotoSpin, Inc. professional photographs valued at over $100. The included work along project files are Windows only. $129.99

The program can work directly, one file at a time, or use a hot folder that can support up to 89 networked computers. Although PDFs can be generated directly from InDesign, PDF Bee uses Acrobat Distiller using user-selected job settings. The program uses AppleScript which can be user-modified or customized by the software author. The program requires InDesign, Distiller, and for font support, Suitcase X1. $50

Multi-channel, high-quality DVD-bound audio can also be extracted. Each channel in a sound track can be exported to an individual 24-bit AIFF sound file.

Unlike other DVD convesion programs, DVDxDV Pro is intuitive, and easy to learn and use. The video clips are automatically loaded, and the user simply chooses the video to be extracted. The original quality of the image is maintained throughout the conversion process. $80

Users can add almost any kind of file (either linking to it or moving it into the program) through drag and drop, import, or by using the built-in browser. Files, such as Excel, which would not ordinarily be compatible, can be exported directly into DEVONthink as PDF files using a provided plug-in.

The collection of files for a particular project can be grouped and arranged, viewed and edited, and saved and exported. It is a rich environment for the rapid assembly, organization, and management of massive amounts of data. Users are provided with the capability to index and classify content, create concordances and cross-references, and link files to other files.

The listing of documents for a particular project can be manipulated like an outline, with tools to arrange and label each listing as needed. This view is very helpful in creating a global view of the data, and for acting on specific components.

The program contains an integrated Web browser which enables the user to view, capture and search Web pages. Web page contents can be saved as listings in the outline. The program is also closely integrated with DEVONagent, the intelligent search agent. $40

* Easy keep track of PDF documents using the new PDF Organizer interface which lists a history of previously viewed PDFs. * Search PDFs on the Internet. * Combine multiple application files into a single PDF document. * Enable users of the free Adobe Reader 7.0 to annotate PDF documents and become involved in the review process. * Utilize preflight, preview, and correction tools to help ensure that PDF files will print properly. * Include 3-D embedded data so that 3-D objects can be viewed. * Streamline the document security process. * More quickly convert AutoCAD, MS Outlook, MS Publisher, MS Access, and Visio into PDF format. * More quickly convert hard copy documents into PDF format. * Export comments from a PDF that has been made from an MS Word document and commented upon in the Acrobat environment, and return the comments to the original Word document. This feature requires Windows Word 2002 or 2003. * Repair errors that are uncovered in preflight. These include converting color space from RGB to CMYK, creating trap settings, adjusting stroke weights (hairline fix), and more. * Create PDF documents from any application that has a print option. * Display and navigate using pan and zoom, split-window view, dynamic zoom, viewing layers, layer management, New Window, and the use of the Loupe tool. * Self-heal by detecting problems within an Acrobat document and repairing them. * Support a variety of multimedia formats including MP3, Flash, Windows Media, and Real Media (Windows only). * Generate PDF documents that are PDF/X-a:2003 and PDF/X-3:2003 standard compliant for print production. * Create JDF product definitions. * Create intelligent PDF forms that resemble paper forms using the Adobe LiveCycle Designer 7.0 (Windows only).

PDF is the de facto standard in digital publishing workflows, and a significant release such as this must be considered as an essential upgrade. $449

Users can track the status of selected sites and maintain multiple versions of targeted pages. The program can detect when a page has changed. The captured pages can be searched and analyzed, and maintained over time. In addition, Webstractor pages can be edited using a built-in word processing tool set. Special tools are provided to easily crop areas that are not needed, convert colored text to black, remove background colors, compress content to fit the page, and generate a table of contents, all useful when composing content for print or to generate a PDF file. In addition to managing Web content, the program supports the importation, through drag-and-drop, of Microsoft Word files, text, images, and RTF and RTFD files.

The program maintains thumbnail images of each browsed page in a vertical drawer to the right of the main window. Pages can be selected for viewing by simply clicking on a thumbnail. The contents that reside in the program are independent of the original Web site, and can be viewed off-line.

The program is perfect for anyone who routinely views Web content and has a need to document it for any reason. It is of special value for researchers, educators, writers, students, scientists, librarians, and anyone who has a need to collect and compose Web-based information.

In addition to all of its other capabilities, the program makes it possible to capture pages that are many screens deep, a feat which is impossible for any screen capture program, and one that is of particular interest and usefulness to digital publishers. $79

According to Keith Hevenor, writing in Electronic Publishing magazine (September, 2003), "A host of surveys, studies, and other research has shown that digital proofing is not only accepted, but fully embraced in the industry today." Although soft proofing has enjoyed a significant acceptance in the printing industry, its two-dimensional quality does not completely replace the need for viewing a proof in three-dimensional space. The surface of the substrate, as well as any special finishing processes, such as embossing or varnishing, cannot be seen, and therefore cannot be "proofed."

The static nature of the typical soft, or digital, proof, does not make allowances for the surface of the paper that will be printed on, nor the on-press or post-press treatments that the printed surface may be subjected to. For certain kinds of work, such as packaging, magazine and book covers, greeting cards, and others, which undergo one or more of these operations, their appearance cannot be represented in a two-dimensional space on a computer display. At least not until now. PrintDevizor, a cross-platform print visualizer system, is a novel application that enables realistic on-screen viewing of special inks and decorative finishes in a three-dimensional space. This remarkable, and unique, application enables the user to rotate a printed page model a full 360 degrees, in any direction, panning and zooming, and utilizing any of a variety of lighting conditions. The movement of the print model in this viewing environment allows the user to assess easily, and accurately, the print and finishing appearance of the job as it will appear when complete.

It is, in fact, quite expensive to produce mock-ups or on-press proofs of jobs that must undergo several specialized printing and finishing steps. PrintDevizor eliminates that need by providing a realistic environment in which to apply, modify, and view these effects without the time, labor, and cost of producing expensive hard proofs.

To use PrintDevizor the user prepares a job with their standard 2D design software, such as Photoshop. Design images are used as masks onto which are applied the PrintDevizor options. Within the PrintDevizor environment substrates can be selected (paper/board, colored, matt/satin/mid-gloss/glossy, smooth, textured), and a variety of print effects (process color, spot color, metallic, and fluorescent inks) and finishes (foil blocking, embossing, debossing, varnishing, laminating, glitter, and flitter) can be applied.

The user interface is clean and direct, and the results are immediate and compelling. The color of the background can be selected, and any of six viewing environments can be selected. Print models can be saved and sent to clients who have the PrintDevizor or PrintDevizor Lite software, or images (in JPG, PSD, PNG, TIF, TGA, or BMP file formats), animations, or interactive QuickTime VR views can be e-mailed.

A collection of 150 of the best tips and tricks for efficiently and effectively using Adobe Acrobat 7 Professional. Tips are grouped into 18 chapter categories, including Organizing, Searching, and Cataloging; Printing; Enhancing PDF Accessibility; Touching Up and Modifying a Document; Reviewing and Collaboration; Working with Multimedia; and many more.

The Kleper Report on Digital Publishing is (c)opyright 2005, Graphic Dimensions, Rochester, NY, all rights reserved. You may distribute portions of this document, up to 200 words in length, unmodified, provided that you also include this copyright notice and subscription information.