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Text File | 1989-07-20 | 8.4 KB | 174 lines | [TEXT/MACA] |
- For more information:
- SuperMac Technology
- 485 Potrero Avenue
- Sunnyvale, CA 94086
- (408) 773-4446
- Brian McDonnell
-
- For Immediate Release:
-
- SuperMac Announces PixelPaint Professional True Color Paint Software for
- Color Macintosh Systems
- A Universal Paint Product Supporting 8-, 16-, 24-, and 32-bit Color Display
-
- SAN FRANCISCO, July 10, 1989 — SuperMac™ Technology today announced
- PixelPaint Professional™, a true color paint program that allows
- Macintosh® II and SE/30 system users to import, create, manipulate and
- export photographic-quality images — tasks previously possible only on
- dedicated image processing systems or with help of an outside service
- bureau.
- PixelPaint Professional supports Apple® Computer's 8, 16, 24, and
- 32-bit color display standards. SuperMac's new $699 paint program will be
- available in third quarter 1989.
- In its most powerful mode, PixelPaint Professional fully exploits
- Apple's 32-Bit QuickDraw™ and a true color graphics card, and allows users
- to work on screen with nearly 16.8 million colors at once, or as many
- colors as a user's monitor is capable of displaying. This true color
- capability is critical to the creation and manipulation of lifelike tones
- and color gradations, and makes it possible to achieve images of
- photographic quality on the Macintosh.
- In comparison, 8-bit systems only allow use of 256 colors on
- screen at a time, imposing limitations on the quality of the images that
- can be reproduced or created in 8-bit color software.
- Regardless of whether it is used in 8-, 16-, 24-, or 32-bit mode,
- PixelPaint Professional works with a wide range of mainstream business
- software, including applications for graphic design, desktop publishing and
- presentation, CAD, video and animation.
-
- "It's a universal paint product that supports both
- advanced and standard graphics subsystems for the office," said Steve
- Edelman, SuperMac's founder and chief scientist. "Whether you're scanning
- and creating images in 8-bits, or scanning complex photographs and creating
- original, lifelike art in 16-, 24- or 32-bits, PixelPaint Professional
- meets all of a company's needs for color Macintosh paint software.
- "The flexibility of PixelPaint Professional means that hardware
- and software purchase decisions are now independent," added Edelman. "The
- hardware purchase decision now can be totally based on the budget and image
- quality requirements of the end user, and a single paint product can be
- chosen to support any color Macintosh system."
- PixelPaint 2.0, the leading 8-bit color paint program, remains in
- the product line for users whose requirements are strictly limited to 256
- colors.
-
- Advanced True Color Features
- PixelPaint Professional incorporates all the basic features of
- PixelPaint 2.0. These include a PANTONE® color picker, for specifying
- industry-standard colors on screen; dithering, for smoothing lines and
- shapes; plus a full range of tools for accurately scanning in images, for
- creating and manipulating artwork, and for producing color separations.
- In addition, PixelPaint Professional offers a full range of
- advanced features including smoothing and blending tools for creating
- subtle tonal gradations; flexible masking for text, shapes, brushes or
- color; plus an array of features for more powerful control of all drawing
- tools.
- PixelPaint Professional also implements features that are
- impossible with 8-bit color, such as anti-aliasing for smooth edges,
- transparency control, and a realistic airbrush and color mixer. Although
- 32-bit tools are more powerful, they can be more intuitive, realistic, and
- often easier to use than 8-bit tools.
- PixelPaint Professional reads from and writes to a broad range of
- file formats — MacPaint®, PICT, PICT2, Encapsulated PostScript (EPSF) and
- TIFF. This enables users to easily import images from almost any painting,
- drawing, imaging, video, or desktop publishing program. The images can
- then be colorized and exported to another application or to an output
- device.
- The program supports both QuickDraw- and PostScript®-compatible
- printers and other output devices, such as digital typesetting and color
- separation equipment. PixelPaint Professional also provides sophisticated
- half-tone control for printing monochromatic images.
-
- — More —
-
- Today's Leading Edge; Prepared for the Future
- "The combination of PixelPaint Professional, our Spectrum/24™
- true color card, and one of our high-performance color monitors creates the
- core platform that lets Mac® II users fully exploit current system
- technology, plus be prepared for the new wave of true color applications,
- and input and output devices as they hit the market," said Edelman.
- "Today, users can immediately take advantage of the electronic
- display capabilities of true color for graphic design, illustration,
- desktop publishing and presentation, video and animation, color image
- processing and pre-press production," he added.
- The following application software, input and output devices are
- available today to enable users to configure a complete true color system.
-
- Software Application and Peripheral Product Support
-
- Software Applications
- Page layout: Aldus® PageMaker®
- Quark XPress®
-
- Presentation: Microsoft® PowerPoint® 2.0
- Aldus Persuasion™
-
- Drawing: Aldus FreeHand™
-
- Color Input Devices
- Scanners: Barneyscan Color Slide Scanner
- SharpScan
-
- Image capture boards: ColorFreeze-24
- Data Translation Inc., Color Capture™
-
- Color and Grayscale Output Devices
- Monitors: All color and grayscale monitors
- (including SueprMac and Apple)
-
- Film recorders: Mirus Corp., Mirus FilmPrinter
- Presentation Technologies, Montage FR1™
-
- Digital typesetters: Linotronic
-
- PostScript- and QuickDraw-compatible color and grayscale printers
- PixelMaster
- QMS ColorScript
- Tektronix ColorQuick Ink-jet Printer
- Tektronix Phaser CPS Color PrintStation
-
- Color Macintosh System Unit Sales
-
- 1988 1989* 1990*
- Mac SE/30 170,000 360,000
- Mac II 175,000 155,000 70,000
- Mac IIcx 105,000 285,000
- Mac IIx 55,000 95,000
-
- Total Unit Sales 175,000 485,000 810,000
-
- *Forcasted Annual Unit Sales Figures Source: Goldman Sachs, Investment
- Report, 1989
-
- Software TrueColor TradeUp Program
- SuperMac also announced a Software TrueColor TradeUp™ program by
- which current owners of any version of PixelPaint can trade up to
- PixelPaint Professional for $150. Registered owners of PixelPaint and
- Spectrum/8 video cards will receive notification by mail in early August.
- Other owners must submit either their master program diskette or sales
- receipt, along with a TradeUp form, available from SuperMac. Full details
- are available in the TradeUp request form which can be obtained by writing
- to: SuperMac Software TradeUp Program, P.O. Box 61015, Sunnyvale, CA
- 94088-1015, or by calling (408) 245-2202. Anyone buying PixelPaint between
- May 1, 1989 and July 31, 1989 can trade up for only $95, providing that the
- TradeUp request is postmarked by December 31, 1989.
-
- SuperMac Technology: The Advanced Graphics Subsystems Company
- SuperMac Technology develops, manufactures and markets color,
- grayscale and monochrome graphics subsystems which today include displays,
- graphics cards, software and application support products. These graphics
- subsystems extend the capability of personal computers into new vertical
- markets and their application in the traditional office automation and
- business market.
-
- — 30 —
-
- SuperMac, PixelPaint, PixelPaint Professional, Spectrum/24 and
- TrueColor TradeUp are trademarks of SuperMac Technology. Apple, Macintosh
- and Mac are registered trademarks, and QuickDraw and AppleColor are
- trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. PANTONE is a registered trademark of
- Pantone, Inc. MacPaint is a registered trademark of Claris Corporation.
- PostScript and Illustrator are registered trademarks of Adobe Systems, Inc.
- Aldus and PageMaker are registered trademarks, and FreeHand and Persuasion
- are trademarks of Aldus Corporation. Linotronic is a trademark of Linotype
- A.G. Microsoft and PowerPoint are registered trademarks of Microsoft
- Corporation. Montage FR1 is a trademark of Presentation Technologies, Inc.