This product came to by way of Ken Herbig, President of the Rockland PC User Group. Therefore this article will be in both of our newsletters. I chair a Graphics and Web Design SIG (Special Interest Group) for NJPCUG and try to demonstrate and write about a variety of graphic products.

I recently wrote a review in our NJPCUG newsletter about using edges and frames on photos and graphics to enhance them and give them a unique look. I had an earlier version of Photo/Graphic edges and I used Harald Heim’s Edges and Frame Galaxy through the Autof/x interface. This version of Photo/Graphic Edges has 10,000 selections to choose from plus you can use the Edge and Frame Galaxy CD-ROM selections from Harald Heim for even more edge choices. Autof/x is the largest developer for plug-ins for Adobe Photoshop. This is a wonderful collection that enables users to express their creativity and artistic style. When you use this software, they say you will "never do square again". That’s for sure! Edges come in all shapes and styles, rectangular, round, swirled, twirled, star-shaped, torn, rippled, patterned, and more. Various styles such as Geometric, Artistic, Digital, Painted, Deckled, Feathered, Impressionistic, are a few of the names that make up these varied shapes and styles.

Photo/Graphic Edges takes a plain, straight edge image and changes it into something that is eye catching and a step apart from the usual plain edged image. It will give any web page image or print document graphic a look that will make it stand out from the ordinary. When designing images or enhancing photos, this is what we strive to achieve. Something that will catch the attention of the viewer and draw them into whatever message we are trying to deliver. I use edges frequently to enhance the images I use on our web site. I have also included examples of edges with effects in this review to give you a better idea of what the interface looks like and how an image can be changed. The color will not be visible but I hope the image with print well enough to show what I am describing.

The product comes on 4 CD’s. Disc 1 is the installation CD and it also has an assortment of light, textures, tiles, and several volumes of the edges. In all, there are 17 volumes of edges, 1,000 full size and seamless texture backgrounds, 200 lighting tiles, 100 sepia tones and mezzotints. Due to the size of the contents they need to be run from the CD. The package also includes a manual that has thumbnails of all the edges and the volume number and image number for ease in locating them. It also describes the features on the toolbars and how to use them. There are also troubleshooting tips included to help solve any problems that may occur. I have the earlier version installed on my hard drive with the edges that came with it and the 1,400 edge and frame selections from the Edge and Frame Galaxy. This version upgraded what was on my computer and I didn’t have to re-install it to the plug-ins in my graphic programs. It works with all of the graphic programs I have from Jasc Paint Shop Pro, Ulead PhotoImpact 6, Corel Photo Paint 8 & 9, Photoshop 5, and more (works with any Photoshop plug-in compatible software). It can be added to any plug-in directory without any problems. At least I have not had any problems and I have it installed in all the products mentioned above plus I use several other programs. It also comes as a stand-alone product and it can be used on both Windows and the Mac platforms. I use it as a plug-in since most of what I add it to are graphics I create for our web site. For Paint Shop Pro users if you already have three plug-ins installed, create a plug-in folder (a folder titled plug-ins) inside the one of the plug-in folders already installed and add it inside of the new plug-in folder. Since Paint Shop Pro is limited to three plug-ins, I use this method to install the many other plug-ins I use. The installation was easy and caused no conflicts or problems.

After opening the graphic software and creating or selecting an image, launch the plug-in. The interface will show the image on the right side with a selection of sliders on the right and choices of options across the bottom. It opens with the "edge" choice and after selecting from the vast amount of offerings you can begin to change the effects. By default it will open with the Autof/x extension. In order to use another type, you have to choose the file extension, such as jpg from the selections available, and then point it to the folder with the other edges. If you have other edge and frames selections, they can now be used with all the effects that come with Photo/Graphic Edges. Aside from having 10,000 selections to choose from, each of these is customizable so the number of possibilities is vast! Each time a slider is changed from default, a color is changed, or an effect added a new edge has been created. The edge can also be scaled or rotated. Multiple effects can be used together.

Other effects that can be added to an image include lighting, shadow, distort, bevel, carve, glow, burn, grain, and sepia tones. Matte color and matte texture add more possibilities to the image effects. There is also an effect log, which keeps track of all the additions that have been made to the image. Each setting on the edges selection can be customized to show a pronounced effect or reduced by setting the opacity and/or softness to create a hazy effect with little or no prominent edge design. By adjusting the opacity you can decide if you want the image to show through the edge. The idea is to create a design that is not only different from the average image but has your own personal style. Each of us brings something special to the designs we create.

Original Image

Example 1

This example is the interface and an image with an unaltered edge. I selected an edge but have not changed the color, texture, or added any of the effects in this view. The setting is on the "Select Edge" and all settings are on the default. The original image is black and white with the only color being the violin and the peach colored rose. From this setting, the size of the edge can be adjusted from the default size; it can be enlarged to cover more of the image or decreased to show more of the underlying image. The softness slider will determine if the edge stays sharp as it is now or faded so that the shape can be changed to nothing more than a barely visible shape. The opacity setting can be reduced to allow the image to show through the edge if desired. This image shows a border color of black but because it is set by default to zero there is no black edge on the inside edge where the shape is. By adjusting the slider, the edge can be brought out which add a whole new look to the image. There is an example of this in an image below. The border color can be changed to any color; black is the default setting. The edge color can be changed to match a background so that only the inner effect is visible or with a few added steps in PSP it can be feathered and faded to look as though it is fading into the background. With a little experimentation, I was amazed at all the things I could do with this software. Before when I used it, I just tried simple things and really missed out on the broad scope of changes that can be added. I am very impressed with the effects and love using edges on my graphics.

In this example I added "noise" which is the speckled effect, changed the color to a peach shade, extended the border (black edge on the inner side of the edge), then added the "Sepia Tones" effect to change the outer edge to a whitish color with a gray speckle, and then added a "Glow" to the inner edge to intensify the peach color I started with on the inner edge. The end result has the peach speckled areas flowing and fading into the grayish area. It blends without leaving a distinct separating line of the colors.

In this image I added one final effect, a bevel. I closed the working window in the hopes it might be easier to see the effects on a larger image. If I wanted to blend the edge of this image into the background of the page it will be used on, I would add another edge and match the color so that the image appears to be part of the background and leave a hard line between image and background. I don’t know that I would use all of these effects on an image but I wanted to demonstrate what several effects would look like.

Autof/x Photo/Graphic Edges retails for $199.95. A good investment because of all the possibilities it offers in creating artistic designs. Great tools are necessary when working with graphics and also to compete in today’s graphic design market. Plain may always have its place because of the simplicity but I march to the beat of a different drummer and like tools that allow me to create more exciting images. Print projects and web designs both will benefit from using a design that is unique. This product offers the user many ideas and design elements to work with. I have seen examples of designs with edge effects that are so dramatic and beautiful that I can only hope to get to this level. Whether the image is greatly enhanced or just has simple effects added with the addition of an edge it absolutely adds that something extra a plain edge can’t. This is a product that I would recommend to anyone who wants to work with excellent image enhancing software.