Park City, Utah – January 29, 2007 — Chronos LC today announced the
release of SOHO Labels & Envelopes 2.0, “The easiest way to design
and print professional labels, envelopes, and more”. This new version
includes a completely revamped interface and 14+ MAJOR new features
to make it easier than ever to achieve stunning results. According to
Robert McCullough, V.P. of Developement at Chronos, “Version 2 is the
most comprehensive software package for label and envelope creation
on the Macintosh. It eliminates the headaches typically associated
with printing these items and this new version breaks new ground in
the ‘ease-of-use’ department.”
GROUNDBREAKING EASY-OF-USE
SOHO Labels & Envelopes 2.0 takes ease-of-use to a new level for
professionals and novices alike. The new streamlined interface is
remarkably simple and clutter-free to help users unleash their
creative alter ego. Five major innovations contribute in this regard:
1) NEW! Smart Inspector. Most professional design applications are
cluttered with intimidating inspectors all over the screen. The new
Smart Inspector appears only when needed and is context-sensitive so
users only see the tools they currently need. Plus, the Smart
Inspector positions itself conveniently close to the work at hand so
users don’t need to waste time mousing around the screen.
2) NEW! Project Wizard. The new Project Wizard makes it easy to see
and choose exactly the kind of project the user wishes to create.
Detailed previews of blank label stocks and optional ready-made
designs eliminate any guess-work.
3) NEW! Favorites Bin. The new Favorites Bin makes it easy for users
to store and re-use designer graphics and shape artwork that they
have created. Favorites can be organized into unlimited collections
and are saved in a high-performance database for quick access.
4) NEW! Text Bin. The new Text Bin makes it easy for users to define,
store, and re-use common text styles like titles, headings, captions,
address text, etc.
5) NEW! Single Window Interface. The interface has been streamlined
to fit in a single window. There aren’t any drawers that pop out and
unexpectedly change the overall width of the window.
SOPHISTICATED DESIGN TOOLS FOR EVERYONE
SOHO Labels & Envelopes 2.0 includes new design tools that were once
available only in high-end graphic design applications. These
sophisticated features are so easy-to-use that anyone can create
labels, envelopes, and letterhead that look like they were
professionally designed.
1) NEW! Object Grouping. Graphics, text, and shapes can now be
grouped together as a single object that can be moved, resized, and
rotated as a single entity.
2) NEW! Unlimited Layers. Artwork can now be placed on an unlimited
number of layers including the standard Foreground and Background
layers. Layers help organize design elements and make it easier to
avoid disturbing unintended objects. Layers can be duplicated,
merged, and rearranged. Plus, users can show and hide layers to
quickly compare several variations of the same design.
3) NEW! 100+ Super-Masks. Super-masks take regular masks one step
forward by giving the user fine control over how the mask is applied
to an image. Super-masks let the user control the position of the
mask, the size of the mask (doesn’t have to be the same as the image
size), the softness of the mask, the rotation of the mask, and
whether the mask should be reversed. Further, the masking doesn’t
permanently alter the image so the mask can be changed at any time.
4) NEW! 30+ Special Effects. Over 30 special effects like Sepia,
Gaussian Blur, Sparkle, and more in 8 different categories (Photo
Effects, Color, Blur, Distortion, Stylize, Lighting, Tile, Halftone)
can be applied to an image. The effects don’t permanently alter the
image so the special effects can be changed at any time. Plus,
multiple effects can be applied at once for some truly eye-catching
designs.
5) NEW! Photo Fine-Tuning. Quickly and easily adjust the brightness,
contrast, sharpness, exposure, and more of any photo without
permanently altering the photo.
6) NEW! Photo Cropping. Users can now easily crop photos to the
aspect ratio of their choice. They can also use any shape or even
text to crop the photo. The crop can be dynamically moved and resized
at any time without permanently altering the original image.
7) NEW! Crop Zooming. Users can now zoom the image in a crop while
they’re performing the crop. This useful feature makes it possible to
make the image in a crop a little bigger or smaller without starting
over.
8) NEW! Grid Overlay or Underlay. Object placement on the design
canvas is often easier with a grid present. Now users can choose to
have the grid appear above all of the artwork or behind all of the
artwork for precise object placement. This new grid option and the
optional snap-to-grid feature makes it easy to align design elements
for precise control.
9) NEW! Lock & Unlock Objects. Users can now easily lock a graphic,
shape, or text on the design canvas so it can’t be accidentally moved
or deleted. Locks are available on a per-layer basis.
10) NEW! Perspective Tool. The perspective tool lets users easily
distort a two dimensional image to give the impression of depth.
11) NEW! Arrow Smart Shapes. Users can now easily create arrows of
any size and proportion including one-way and two-way arrows.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
SOHO Labels & Envelopes is a complete kit and includes everything the
user needs to design and print impressive labels, envelopes, and even
letterhead. It comes with a) 13,000+ designer-quality photographs,
photos of objects and vector clip art images; b) 50 Bitstream
commercial-grade fonts so users can obtain the perfect look for their
branding; c) a stunning collection of matching label, envelope, and
letterhead sets; and d) 100+ super-masks. SOHO Labels & Envelopes is
compatible with over 1,500 popular label and envelope stocks
including those from Avery, PaperDirect, DYMO, APLI, Formtec and more.
SOHO Labels & Envelopes can produce address labels, envelopes,
letterhead, zip disk labels, audio tapes, file folder labels, floppy
disk labels, color coding labels, video labels, automated labels,
multi-use labels, name badge labels, permanent ID labels, warning
labels, product labels, inventory barcode labels, name tags, gift
tags, and office equipment labels. Users may print their designs on
virtually any inkjet, laser or color laser printer including DYMO
Labelwriters.
Users can easily add POSTNET, PLANET, U.K. Royal Mail, and Japan Post
barcodes to envelopes and address labels to expedite shipping and
ensure proper delivery. Users may also choose from over 11 industry
barcodes for inventory and equipment labels including UPC A, UPC E,
EAN-13, EAN-8 , Industrial 2 of 5, Interleaved 2 of 5, Modified
Plessey, Code 39, Code 39 Extended, Code 128, and Codabar.
A powerful automatic numbering or serial number feature can be used
to create raffle and admission tickets or to create numbered groups
of shipping cartons such as Carton 1 of 3, Carton 2 of 3, etc.
AVAILABILITY & REQUIREMENTS
Chronos believes users should have the opportunity to try the
software for free before they purchase. A fully functional 30 day
trial version can be downloaded from Chronos’ web site at
(http://www.chronosnet.com). SOHO Labels & Envelopes has been
attractively priced at $39.99 and is available directly from Chronos
and soon from popular resellers including the Apple Stores.
SOHO Labels & Envelopes requires Mac OS X v10.4 or later; 40MB of
available disk space (1.2GB for full clip art collection); DVD-ROM
drive for installation; inkjet or laser printer optional (great
results from popular inkjet, laser, color laser printers including
HP, Epson, Canon, Lexmark, et cetera). Universal Binary (for PowerPC
and Intel processors).
COMPANY INFORMATION
Chronos has been developing award-winning Macintosh software since
1993 and is based in Park City, Utah, home of the 2002 Winter Games.