October 2005 — Product Focus

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Digital Imaging Products

Corel (www.corel.com) has enhanced its Painter IX program by adding dual-monitor support for Windows, new pens and brushes, and more realistic painting capabilities to its already long list of innovative digital painting and illustration tools. The crossplatform program now includes specially designed courseware for educators and tutorials from leading graphics professionals, as well as an improved set of help features to make it easier to get started. Education version is priced at $129.

With a 4,800dpi optical resolution and 48-bit color, Hewlett-Packard’s (www.hp.com) Scanjet 8250 digital flatbed scanner features two-sided scanning and an automatic document feeder that scans up to 15 pages per minute.The Scanjet 8250’s large scanning surface allows users to scan legal-size documents, while its built-in transparent materials adapter can capture scans from 35mm negatives and slides. In addition, you can view, save, e-mail, or copy scans without a computer keyboard by using the scanner’s six one-touch buttons. Educational price: $772.

Delivering a print speed of up to 50 pages per minute, Lexmark’s (www.lexmark.com) W840 monochrome laser printer features wide-format printing capabilities, a powerful 625MHz processor, and 256MB of standard RAM (expandable to 768MB). The printer also has an easy-touse, customizable interface that features on-screen graphics to help users find answers to technical support questions, and a USB flash drive for direct printing of PDF files from its operation panel. Price: $2,299.

Teachers and students can now create newsletters,stickers,certificates, calendars, banners, and flashcards using their own digital photos thanks to Classroom Photo Publisher from APTE Inc. (www.apte.com). The cross-platform program includes more than 200 project templates, a large clipart library, and a teacher resource book loaded with ideas for classroom photo projects.In addition,the software’s Photo Edit Center provides a simple way for students to learn the basics of photo editing.The program retails for $64.95; lab packs and site licenses are also available.

Macromedia’s (www.macromedia.com) Studio 8 combines the latest versions of Dreamweaver, Flash Professional, Fireworks, Contribute, and Flash Paper into one solution that enhances an educator’s ability to create and deliver rich online content, as well as aids in the teaching of digital communication skills. A two-year subscription to the Studio 8 K-12 site license program is also offered, providing schools with project-based curriculum to teach the foundations of Web design, and professional development resources such as hands-on teacher workshop materials. Pricing: $2,750 (500 students); $3,750 (more than 500 students); the two-year subscription can be added for $1,050 or $1,125, respectively.