For more information, contact: For Immediate Release:
Macromedia
Andrea Coffey
acoffey@macromedia.com
(415) 252-2260
MACROMEDIA ANNOUNCES FREEHAND 8.0.1
Free Update to the Industry’s Leading Multipublishing Tool Enables Users to
Output to both Web and Print
San Francisco, Calif. August 24, 1998 Macromedia (NASDAQ: MACR) today
announced FreeHand 8.0.1, a free update to the company’s popular FreeHand
design software. Available September 1 as a free download for registered
users from Macromedia’s Web site FreeHand 8.0.1 helps designers
multipublish their content to both the Web and print by supporting the open
Flash 3 file format standard and providing full compatibility with
Photoshop 5.
Award-winning FreeHand 8 has been enthusiastically received by creative
professionals for its innovative new features such as editable vector
transparency, new shape tools, customizable toolbars and keyboard
shortcuts, and breakthrough performance. It has been widely adopted by
organizations at the forefront of multipublishing, the new wave of graphics
production, in which designers output simultaneously to PostScript for
print and Flash (.swf) for the Internet. Leading companies using FreeHand
for print and Web publishing include Associated Press, Sony Signatures, and
Nike. Earlier this month Knight Ridder / Tribune announced it was switching
from its previous tool and standardizing on FreeHand as well.
“FreeHand took the lead among professional illustration packages in
allowing artists to multipublish their work that is, design once and output
for both print and the Web, because that is what customers told us they
needed,” said David Mendels co-general manager of Macromedia’s Web
Publishing division. “The emergence this year of new open standards for
vector graphics on the web, including Flash (.swf), VML and PGML, has
enabled us to solve the problem of publishing resolution independent,
anti-aliased vector design to both print and Web. This may well be the
biggest revolution in vector graphics since tools like FreeHand, CorelDraw
and Illustrator first came to market over 10 years ago. It is clear that
this will be as fundamental to vector graphics going forward as PostScript
printing has been over the last 10 years.”
The new Flash 3 support in FreeHand means that cutting-edge FreeHand
effects such as editable vector transparency and clipping paths are
preserved when files are transferred to Flash. Additionally, the new Flash
exporter in FreeHand 8.0.1 greatly reduces the size of Flash (.swf) images
and animations exported from FreeHand, ensuring fast download times even
over 28.8 modems.
Built-in Flash support represents a real advantage for FreeHand users, due
to the growing importance of vectors as a data type on the Web. Macromedia
recently announced distribution agreements with Netscape Communications
Corp. and Microsoft ensuring that the Flash player is included with every
Netscape browser and comes pre-installed with the Windows 98 operating
system, making the Flash format a de facto standard for vectors on the Web.
FreeHand and Flash can be purchased together, as part of the FreeHand
Design in Motion Suite (for more information on how to buy FreeHand, see
“Pricing and Availability”, below.)
Other new FreeHand 8.0.1 features include updated compatibility with
Photoshop 5. FreeHand 8.0.1 offers seamless export and import, along with
full drag-and-drop support for Photoshop 5 (.psd) files. This drag-and-drop
support extends also to Fireworks, Macromedia’s hot new Web graphics
production tool. The FreeHand 8.0.1 updater further provides refinements
such as full support for linked JPEG images (important for reducing file
sizes when transferring files over corporate Intranets), in response to
user requests.
About Macromedia FreeHand
Macromedia FreeHand is the tool of choice for designers creating and
producing illustrations and layouts for print and the Web. FreeHand’s uses
range from commercial line art illustrations and newspaper infographics to
mixed media pieces that combine line art with bitmapped images and
typography, as well as graphic elements, interfaces, and animations for the
Internet. FreeHand is sold independently or with Flash and Insta.html as
part of the Design in Motion Suite. For more information, please visit
www.macromedia.com/software/freehand.
About Macromedia Flash
Macromedia Flash products bring compelling, interactive multimedia content
to life on the Web. Professional designers use the Flash authoring tool to
create and deliver compact, fast, and beautiful vector-based graphics and
animation on the Internet. The free Flash player enables Web consumers to
display Flash content that streams, or plays, as it downloads, even over
standard 28.8 kps modems. The player technology is included in every Web
browser from Netscape Communications Corp., and comes pre-installed in the
Windows ’98 operating system. In addition, Macromedia recently published
the popular Flash file format (.swf) as an open Internet binary standard
with widespread support from a number of industry-leading companies. For
more information, visit www.flash.com.
Pricing and Availability:
As of September 1 the FreeHand 8.0.1 updater will be available for free
from Macromedia’s Web site at www.macromedia.com. FreeHand 8 for Windows
95/NT, or Macintosh Power PC can currently be purchased for an estimated
street price of US $399. Owners of earlier versions of FreeHand or the
FreeHand Graphics Studio may upgrade to FreeHand 8 for an estimated street
price of US $149. Owners of competitive graphics applications (Adobe
Illustrator and Corel Draw) may upgrade to FreeHand 8 for a special
competitive upgrade price of US $199. FreeHand 8 is also sold as part of
the new Design in Motion Suite, which includes FreeHand 8, Flash 3 and
Insta.HTML 2. The Suite can be purchased for an estimated street price of
US $499. Owners of earlier versions of FreeHand may upgrade to the Suite
for US $299. Interested parties outside North America should contact their
local Macromedia distributor for pricing and availability. FreeHand is
available for purchase directly from Macromedia at (800) 457-1774, online
through Macromedia at www.macromedia.com, or through traditional software
distribution channels. For the name of a Macromedia authorized reseller in
your area, call (800) 326-2128 or visit www.macromedia.com.
About Macromedia
Macromedia’s mission is to add life to the Web. By providing its
award-winning Web Publishing, Web Traffic, and Web Learning solutions to
Web designers, consumers, and the enterprise, Macromedia is delivering a
completely new generation of Internet tools and technologies designed to
transform the Web experience. Headquartered in San Francisco, Macromedia
(NASDAQ: MACR) has more than 550 employees worldwide and is available on
the Internet at http://macromedia.com. Macromedia also hosts one of the
most engaging entertainment sites on the Web at http://www.shockrave.com.