IF THE LATEST CROP of QuarkXPress add-ons is any indication, XTending the leading page-layout application remains a fertile area for developers. Check out the latest XTensions if you want to boost your productivity, convert documents for the Web, or set the right price.
XPert Tools Volume II.
Known for its XPert Tools Volume I, a lowly apprentice productions has released the companion Volume II, a collection of 15 XTensions. Among the highlights are XPert Character Styles, for creating custom combos of font, size, style, kerning, and so on; XPert Pilot, a handy thumbnail viewer that facilitates document navigation; and XPert CommandPad, which lets you create a "button bar" for commonly used menu commands -- and even for other extensions. $99. 800-823-0553 or 970-229-0620.
HexWeb XT.
The raison d'etre of this XTension from HexMac International is to convert QuarkXPress documents to HTML. Hot features include automatic style-sheet mapping; support for Netscape 2.0's Frames; and the inclusion of HexWeb Index, which automatically sets up a table-of-contents Web page from the headlines in your document. $349.
Punch XT.
If making prices stand out in catalogs or generating other high-impact display type is your thing, check out Punch XT, from Globimage. You can create preset combinations of typeface; point size; tracking; text color; outline width and color; and drop-shadow width, position, and color. Enter your text and select a preset, and -- presto! -- EPS artwork, correctly trapped and ready to place in QuarkXPress or any other EPS-capable page-design application. $149.
Both HexWeb XT and Punch XT are available from XChange: 800-788-7557 or 970-229-0620.
Fine Print
Photoshop Helpers
GETTING THE MOST from Photoshop means more than reading the manual. Check out this trio of books for the latest in Photoshop tricks. Photoshop IQ: Imaging Effects for Mac & PC, by Dieter K. Froebisch, Holger Lindner, Thomas Steffen, and James Wondrack, is so beautifully designed that it could vie for a spot on your coffee table. Using a single photograph of a human eye as the basis for all of its techniques, the book illustrates dozens of simple yet stunning visual effects, with understandable step-by-step instructions. $29.95. Silver Pixel Press; 716-328-7800. b Adobe Photoshop: A Visual Guide for the Mac, by Bert Monroy and David Biedny, also richly illustrated, describes more-complex techniques, concentrating on the creative use of Photoshop's layers and alpha-channel masks. $34.95. b Nick Clarke's Kai's Power Tools: An Illustrated Guide is a welcome signpost for those who have gotten lost exploring KPT. The book is useful not only for Photoshop but also for Painter and other applications that support Photoshop plug-ins, and it includes a CD-ROM containing clip art and sample filters from MetaTools. $39.95. Addison-Wesley. 617-944-3700.
Junk and Punk
IS RETRO PASSE? Not quite, but junk is making a comeback. High-quality images of junk, mind you. MetaTools' Junkyards CD, one of five CD-ROMs in its KPT Power Photos III collection, contains such delectable textures as broken glass and scrap metal along with masterfully masked images of crushed cars, mufflers, mag wheels, and the like. 75 images, RGB TIFF format with channel masks (300 dpi). $199. 800-472-9025 or 805-566-6200.
PhotoDisc's Toolshed volume takes a reverential approach to antiquated items. Its grayscale images -- an old saw blade, an anvil, a hammer, a jar of screws -- aim to convey a sense of beauty and craftsmanship embodied in old-time tools. 120 images, grayscale TIFF with channel masks and clipping paths (72 and 300 dpi). $149. 800-528-3472 or 206-441-9355.
On a very different note, 4More's offerings are based on the notion that the MTV world we live in is mercifully higher-energy than yesteryear. NYC: In Your Face is the first of the company's antiStock series of discs. With images of drag queens; skateboarders; and the pierced, spiked, and tattooed denizens of The Big Apple, In Your Face will appeal to designers for whom subtlety is not even a consideration. Channel masks? Make your own: These images cry out to be tweaked, torn, and twirled. 100 images in Photo CD format. $150. 800-675-5372.
