CS3 plug-ins start rolling in

Now that Adobe’s Creative Suite 3 has been in the market for a while, we’re starting to see the release of CS3-compatible plug-ins. Here’s an update on a few choice plug-ins for the different applications:

InDesign

Back in January , I covered DTPTools’ Page Control , an InDesign plug-in which allows you to create multiple page sizes inside a single InDesign document. The highly useful plug-in has recently been updated to work with Adobe InDesign CS3. Page Control retails for $59.

Photoshop

OnOne Software has been quite busy updating their flagship products— Mask Pro 4.1 , PhotoFrame Pro 3.1 , Intellihance Pro 4.2 , and Genuine Fractals 5.0 —to work with Photoshop CS3. You can purchase the apps individually for $160 each, upgrade for $70 each, or purchase all four for $400 (a savings of $240); a suite upgrade is $300. I consider all four of OnOne’s Photoshop plug-ins to be the best on the market for what they do.

Alien Skin Software has also been burning the CS3-compatibility midnight oil. Their plug-in collections are among the most popular Photoshop add-ons available and include Snap Art, BlowUp, Exposure, Image Doctor, Splat, Xenofex 2, and the EyeCandy 5 collection. All are ready for Photoshop CS3.

I am bummed that one of my favorite plug-in vendor’s filter sets are not yet ready for Photoshop CS3: MisterRetro’s Machine Wash Filter Sets I, II and III. A free update to existing users is planned for this fall, however.

Illustrator

CValley Inc.’s popular Adobe Illustrator plug-ins Silhouette and FilterIt are nearing release—not only for Intel Mac compatibility, but for Illustrator CS3 as well. Look for them in late July, according to their Web site.

Worker72a has several Illustrator CS3-ready plug-ins available, including a freebie that I’ve enjoyed using for a while now called White Overprint Detector. White Overprint Detector scans your Illustrator document as you open it, looking for any white-colored strokes or text which are set to overprint, a problem that can drive you absolutely batty if you don’t think to look for it.

Font management in CS3

Font management is always at the top of the update list for designers and pre-press operators when considering an upgrade to Adobe’s latest and greatest. Users of Extensis Suitcase Fusion will be delighted to know that Extensis recently released CS3-compatible versions of their Suitcase Fusion auto-activation plug-ins for Adobe Illustrator and Adobe InDesign. The updated auto-activation plug-ins are a free download for existing customers. I have been using Suitcase Fusion with InDesign and Illustrator for about a week now and haven’t experienced any problems thus far.

Linotype’s FontExplorer X and Insider Software’s FontAgent Pro font management applications are still noticeably absent in the CS3 update game. Insider last month that a CS3-compatible version of FontAgent would be available “this spring,” while LinoType has been mum on FontExplorer X (tip: keep an eye on the Unofficial FontExplorer X Discussion Board for updates).

[James Dempsey runs the Creative Guy blog, which offers tips, tricks and opinion on a variety of design topics.]

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