How To Get The Right AAdobe Creative Suite Bundle
Bundling several individual software packages to form a single product is a The daddy of all bundles has to be Microsoft Office which almost every PC user has some experience of. However, because Adobe products are so varied, there are quite a few different CS3 bundles to choose from.
Adobe’s acquisition of the Macromedia brand now means that Creative Suite 3 also includes the Macromedia software titles and to accommodate them, Adobe have tried to offer different flavours of Creative Suite 3 to suit all palettes.
So which one is best for you? Well, if you don’t have any Adobe products, it will be a question of asking yourself: “Which software do I most need and which packages can I live without?”
If you already own products by Adobe or Macromedia then it’s more a case of finding the bundle that will give you the best upgrade path. Adobe software falls into three broad categories: design and publishing, web design and development and video production. The three main bundles on offer reflect these categories: CS3 Design Standard (InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator and Acrobat), CS3 Web Standard (Dreamweaver, Flash, Fireworks and Contribute) and CS3 Production Premium (After Effects, Premiere Pro, Photoshop, Flash, Illustrator, Soundbooth and Encore).
In addition to these three key bundles, there are three composite versions of Adobe CS3. The first two offer a mix of media. Firstly, CS3 Design Premium adds Flash and Dreamweaver to the four key components of Creative Suite 3 Design Standard.
CS3 Web Premium adds Photoshop, Illustrator and Acrobat to the four packages offered in CS3 Web Standard. The third composite is the CS3 Master Collection which includes all of the above, all 12 packages found in the other CS3 versions.
Choosing from this dazzling array of products will involve some research. The Adobe web-site contains tons of information on all Adobe products and, if you need to evaluate an unfamiliar product, why not download a 30-day trial version of the software and have a play with it.
Whether you are upgrading or buying for the first time, if your budget permits it, the best buy of all is definitely the Adobe Creative Suite 3 Master Collection.
The The writer of this article is a training consultant with TrainingCompany.Com, an independent computer training company offering Adobe InDesign Classes at their central London training centre.