The World's Best-Selling Professional Image-Editing Software Just Got Better

San Jose, Calif. (April 26, 1998) (Nasdaq:ADBE) -- The world's best-selling professional image-editing software will be available next month in its most powerful version ever with new tools to unleash the talents of inventive and creative users of Adobe Photoshop software.

Key new features in Photoshop 5.0 such as the History Palette, Editable Text Layers, Spot-Color Channels, and Color Management support make it easier for users to focus their creativity on their designs.

"Customer input has played a major role in shaping the Photoshop 5.0 release," said John Leddy, Photoshop group product manager. "In addition to answering our customers' top requests, we've added a wealth of powerful features that address the full range of Photoshop uses--from color correction to photo-composition and from print production to Web design. Users will gain more freedom to experiment, more predictable results, and more saved time."

Freedom to Experiment
The addition of the History Palette satisfies one of users' top requests: the ability to undo multiple steps with a single click. Katrin Eismann, a photographer and author in Los Angeles, thinks the History Palette is "brilliant." "It's as if someone is taking notes of my work in progress," says Eismann. "Since the History Palette tracks every step of my work, I feel more relaxed and try out more new ideas. If I decide I like what I did 10 minutes ago better, I click on that step and I'm back there."

Photoshop 5.0 software also offers an innovative History Brush that allows users to seamlessly combine different versions of the same image. The History Brush enables customers to create unique designs that incorporate the best elements from both images.

Saves Time
Other practical new features of Photoshop 5.0 include timesaving Magnetic Selection Tools. The Magnetic Lasso makes it a breeze to trace the outline of even the most intricate objects. "Today, for example, I'm leaving on a shoot for an Italian fashion magazine," says Douglas Kirkland, a fashion and celebrity photographer whose work includes photographs of celebrities from Marilyn Monroe to Leonardo DiCaprio. "With the magnetic lasso I know I can finish this project in three days instead of four. It is an amazing tool and it saves a phenomenal amount of time."

Web and print designers will appreciate the new Layer Effects feature in Photoshop 5.0 which automates the creation of formerly time-consuming effects such as shadows, glows, and bevels. Now, these effects can be attached to any layer with a few mouse clicks, after which they remain "live." The effects regenerate themselves automatically any time the layer is edited.

Predictable, Professional Results
Color management has challenged many creative professionals who require color consistency across hardware and for output of their designs. Photoshop 5.0 software helps resolve this issue by complementing its existing color management engine with full support for industry-standard ICC profiles. Users can now choose the color management workflow they prefer, or they can even integrate different approaches. The result is more consistent color from input through output.

Precision and Control
Editable Type with Character Level Formatting is one of many new features that give Adobe users even greater precision and control during the editing process. Users have complete control to flow text horizontally or vertically, to mix multiple typefaces, and to adjust size, kerning, baseline, and tracking. Best of all, the new Type Tools create special type layers that retain their formatting characteristics and can be edited at any time.

This newest release reinforces Photoshop as an indispensable tool for a broad range of users. Ben Willmore, CEO of Digital Mastery in Boulder, Colorado, has taught everyone from corporations to government agencies to Hollywood film studios how Adobe software can help their bottom line. "I tell companies, if you're not using Photoshop to create your documents you're wasting time and money," says Willmore. Too many firms, he says, pay high fees for others to do their scans, color corrections, retouching and image compositing. Says Willmore: "Photoshop 5.0 has become so refined and has so many time-saving features that tasks that once required five production people can now be done by one person."

Adobe Photoshop 5.0 for Windows also includes the FotoExplorer™ software from FotoNation Inc. which makes bringing images into Adobe Photoshop from some popular digital cameras as easy as accessing files from a desktop folder.

Since Adobe introduced Photoshop software in 1989, growth in digital imaging has exploded. Sales of digital cameras are expected to increase six-fold within two years, and Eastman Kodak Co. estimates that of the 72 billion photographs taken each year worldwide, between 20 to 40 percent will be processed digitally by the year 2000, driving even greater demand for image editing tools.

In addition to millions of new users, the range of people and purposes for which they use Photoshop is now more varied than ever. Photoshop 5.0 strengthens Adobe's extensive portfolio of digital imaging products for creative professionals, business customers, and home users. Whether for work with images on the Web, in print, in video, at home, or in the office, Adobe has the solution.

Pricing and Availability
Photoshop 5.0, priced at $995, is expected to ship in May. Photoshop users will be able to upgrade for an introductory price of $199.

About Adobe Systems Incorporated
Founded in 1982, Adobe Systems builds award-winning software solutions for Web and print publishing. Its graphic design, imaging, dynamic media, and authoring tools enable customers to create, publish and deliver visually-rich content for various types of media. The company's products are used by Web and graphic designers, professional publishers, document-intensive organizations, business users, and consumers. Adobe is the fourth largest U.S.-based personal software company, with annual revenues approaching $1 billion. It employs over 2,400 employees worldwide and has operations in North America, Europe, the Pacific Rim, Japan and Latin America. Adobe's worldwide headquarters are in San Jose, California and its web site is located at www.adobe.com.