Confused by All of the
Creative Suite Choices?

Why Design Premium
is My Choice.

Brief History of Creative Suite

There's never been much doubt in my mind that the first three releases of Creative Suite were a work in progress. The first version was really nothing but a collection of applications with one installer but with each new release things have became more integrated.

CS2 introduced Bridge and with CS3 the Macromedia products were integrated and new suite combinations were made available capped off with the grand daddy of them all, the Master Collection. Along the way, the user interface become more recognizable from one application to the next.

Up til CS3, the choices didn't work for all customers and the Web vs. Design debacle that forced users to make the choice between InDesign and Fireworks when choosing between the almost identical Web and Design suites in was an example of poor marketing. The good news is that Adobe did listen to the complaints and corrected the situation with CS3.3 with the inclusion of Fireworks in the Design Premium package.

CS4 further refined the suites, added Device Central for those designing for mobile devices and even added a user selectable Windows-like application frame to most of the Mac applications.

New System Requirements for CS5

Still hanging on to that G5 Mac? Its time has come...and gone.

Apple stopped supporting the Power PC platform with the release of Snow Leopard and Adobe has followed suit. All CS5 applications will run on Intel machines only. On the Windows side, most requirements haven't changed much, but of course, Windows 7 is supported.

64 Bit Support

Photoshop CS4 on Windows was the first Creative Suite application to ship with a 64 bit version. Because there are so many third party plugins that are only available as 32 bit, Adobe includes the 32 bit version, as well. With the release of CS5, Mac users will also enjoy a 64 bit version of Photoshop. For those working on very large images, the performance gains are noticeable when using a system with 8 gigs or more of RAM.

64 Bit Required

For those interested in the Production Suite or the Master Collection, it's important to note that Premiere Pro and After Effects will be 64 bit ONLY. This differs from Photoshop in that there will be no 32 bit version of either application for CS5.

For those using older 32 bit systems, the CS4 version of both applications will ship with CS5.

64 Bit Systems

In order to take advantage of 64 bit applications you'll need a computer with a 64 bit operating system. On the Mac side that means Snow Leopard or Leopard.

For Windows users, things are a "bit" more complicated since there are both 32 and 64 bit versions. In the past, many vendors were slow to provide 64 bit drivers which slowed the adoption of Windows 64 bit. I can assure you that this is no longer the case and I highly recommend Windows 7 64 bit to those who use Windows.

Note that the 64 bit version of Windows XP is unsupported for all versions of Creative Suite.

What's Included in What for CS5?

The suite variations have been narrowed for CS5 with the elimination of the Standard Production and Web suites. Design Standard remains a choice for CS5. The Production Suite focuses on motion graphics (Pemiere Pro, After Effects, Encore) and sound (Soundbooth) and the Master Collection will also be available for CS5.

Being a print and web designer, I'm going to concentrate on the Web and Design suites and assume that if you're going to buy the Master Collection there's not a whole lot you need to know.

The Web and Design Premium packages both contain Photoshop Extended, Illustrator, Acrobat Pro, Dreamweaver, Flash Professional, Flash Catalyst (a new application for handing off content to Flash developers) and Fireworks. The Design Premium package adds InDesign to that while the Web Premium package adds Contribute and Flash Builder Standard.

Version Cue users should note that Version Cue has been discontinued. Its one size fits all approach to versioning and asset management never really caught on with most users.

Just Doing Basic Print Design? Design Standard Will Do.

If you're only doing print design, the Design Standard package includes only InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop (standard version) and Acrobat Pro. If read a bit further you'll see just how much (or little) you'll save by going this route.

Design Premium Continues to be the Clear Choice

For me, there's simply no contest here. Unless you're a dedicated web only designer and have a need for Contribute or Flash Builder the Design Premium package has all the tools to handle the day to day responsibilities of a designer doing print and web work.

I've found that it's very difficult to survive in today's environment without having some web capabilities. If you're using Design Standard now and considering CS5, please give very careful consideration to upgrading to Design Premium.

Whether you're designing a high end brochure, building a website or a even a Flash banner, it's all there for you.

What's the Bottom Line?

Pricing and Upgrade Eligibility

How can we talk about software without at least touching on the pricing and upgrade eligibility? Adobe hasn't always done a bang up job in explaining this very clearly so I'll give it whirl here.

If you're new to this, you're going to have to buy a full version of whatever software you need and the price for the Design Premium package is a hefty $1,899. If you're sure you can live without the web tools you can opt for the Design Standard suite. You'll save $400 but you'll give up a lot capability, so think very carefully about it. For the majority of experienced designers however, there are highly discounted upgrades.

Upgrade and Upsell Eligibility

Tiered upgrade pricing, introduced with the release of CS4 continues with CS5. If you have a CS4 Design Standard or Premium license, the price to upgrade to the Creative Suite 5 Design Premium is $599.00. Considering the number of newly released applications it's quite a bargain. As above, if you don't want or need the web tools you can go with the Design Standard package and save yourself $100.

Upgrading from CS2 or CS3 suites or Macromedia Studio 8 to Design Premium CS5 is $799. If you have a license for any suite application such as Photoshop or Illustrator for CS2, CS3, CS4, or CS5 the list price for the upsell is $1,499 or $400 less than the full retail version.

Limted Window of Opportunity for CS3 Users

While not generally advertised, Adobe has had a policy of offering free upgrades to those purchasing a retiring version of a product. If you buy CS4 during its waning days of availability you may be entitled to a free upgrade to CS5.

Why is that an opportunity? Because with tiered pricing a CS3 to CS4 Design Premium upgrade is $200 less than a CS3 to CS5 upgrade. This is a very time limited offer and I advise you read this document on Adobe's website which explain the requirements and the process to receive your free upgrade.

Since CS5 is now shipping you can no longer buy directly from Adobe, however Amazon still has some stock for sale. Click the link in the widget to the left to order. Update: All of the authorized resellers that I know of are out of stock on the CS3 to CS4 upgrades. If you decide to shop around for this, be very careful. Keep reading to find out why.

Can I Upgrade Just One Program in the Suite?

In a word, no.

Don't be mislead by the wording on Adobe's site saying that you can upgrade to InDesign CS5 from InDesign CS4, CS3, or CS2. If you've installed InDesign as part of a suite, Adobe doesn't consider that an InDesign license, they consider that a suite license. You must upgrade the entire suite.

If It Sounds Too Good To Be True, It Is...

If they'll steal from Adobe, Microsoft, Corel, and other major software vendors, they certainly won't think twice about stealing from you.

I'm well aware of the fact that software is expensive. I've only hit on the U.S. prices here. In other areas of the world it's far worse. But please, don't get sucked in by the claims of OEM versions or other assorted come-on's claiming that you can save 80% or more off the price of the software.

These are scams, plain and simple. Not only will you have purchased pirated software, but you will have provided your credit card information to thieves.

...With One Possible Exception

If You're A Student or Educator, Please Read This

Like most software companies, Adobe sells highly discounted versions of its programs to eligible students and teachers. Don't cheat yourself out of a great deal if you're eligible. While details vary from country to country, in North America, if you're eligible for academic versions, you're even allowed to use it for commercial work*.

Note: Depending upon where you live, commercial work may be prohibited in the cheaper student editions. These versions are usually sold directly by schools and serial numbers are obtained electronically via the web from Adobe.

*I don't work for Adobe and I advise you contact them directly with any questions regarding academic eligibility.

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