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sparkie7

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Oct 17, 2008
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I use mainly Adobe Illustrator, Indesign, Photoshop, Acrobat. What's the cheapest way to get the newest versions. I think Adobe Creative Cloud is for all the applications, so may not use all of them and is there a non-subscription option?

Any advice appreciated
 
What's the cheapest way to get the newest versions.
I'm trying to sound snarky, but given how Adobe operates, there really isnt any option. I think once in a while they'll offer a small discount for their top tier plan, but that's just for the first year.
 
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You could also consider moving to the Affinity apps and drop Adobe. They are all one-time purchases.

Affinity Photo looks intriguing. I have ~40k images in Lightroom 6.14 (also evaluated LrC 11 a few times and haven't made the transition).

Do you recommend using Adobe bridge with Affinity Photo to work with existing LR catalogs or have another suggestion for digital asset management?
 
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I'm trying to sound snarky, but given how Adobe operates, there really isnt any option. I think once in a while they'll offer a small discount for their top tier plan, but that's just for the first year.

I just thought there might be deals I was not aware of like on Stack Social or BundleHunt type websites
 
$600 every year. For ever... Ouch..
I think its going to be more, because if you use pantone colors, they used have a license for that, now you need to use a plug-in that will run you 15 a month on top the normal stuff
 
$600 every year. For ever... Ouch..
When it first happened, I looked at my upgrade costs (occasionally missing a version) for Indesign, PS, Illustrator and Acrobat and it was not terrible. Things were a bit cheaper then, but if you need it for chargeable work it is not the end. I have the affinity apps here now and they seem OK, but I have been very busy and have not had the time. Getting a publication together feels natural with the CS Suite.

The biggest problem is that they never work properly (for about 2-3 months) when Apple update their OS.
 
I think its going to be more, because if you use pantone colors, they used have a license for that, now you need to use a plug-in that will run you 15 a month on top the normal stuff

WTH ? They never used to charge for that in pre-subscription days. The color palettes were just there in all the application as color swatches. How can they charge for something that's in the application already?
 
When it first happened, I looked at my upgrade costs (occasionally missing a version) for Indesign, PS, Illustrator and Acrobat and it was not terrible. Things were a bit cheaper then, but if you need it for chargeable work it is not the end. I have the affinity apps here now and they seem OK, but I have been very busy and have not had the time. Getting a publication together feels natural with the CS Suite.

That's it. I've been using Photoshop, Illustrator (preferred Freehand better though, but can't use it as Freehand does not work with Mac OS X 10.6 or higher, unless there is a work around?.), Indesign for many years, so it's intuitive. Having to learn a new suite of software feels like a mental nightmare. And then there's the issue of file sharing with most of the design / publishing industry on the Adobe platform

The biggest problem is that they never work properly (for about 2-3 months) when Apple update their OS.

You mean Adobe or Affinity?
 
If you’re using them to make money - it’s just a cost of doing business, consider it as such & don’t worry about it.

Well that's true. A business expense, right off. claim. But I didn't mind it when it a every 2-3 year upgrade expense, usually smaller costs as it was an "upgrade"

Having to pay every year the same amount is just more $$$ in Adobe's pocket. UGH
 
That's it. I've been using Photoshop, Illustrator (preferred Freehand better though, but can't use it as Freehand does not work with Mac OS X 10.6 or higher, unless there is a work around?.), Indesign for many years, so it's intuitive. Having to learn a new suite of software feels like a mental nightmare. And then there's the issue of file sharing with most of the design / publishing industry on the Adobe platform



You mean Adobe or Affinity?
Adobe!
 
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If you’re using them to make money - it’s just a cost of doing business, consider it as such & don’t worry about it.

If you’re not - then switch to Affinity.
Definitely not using LR or ANY other Adobe products to make money.

For years Adobe has been my nemesis in terms of desktop and virtualized CPU/memory resource sapping nightmares in addition to very expensive enterprise licensing debacles.

LrC 11 turned my Studio Base Max into mediocre slugishness until I ripped out all of the bloodthirsty CC processes running in the background. Even after that, I still went back to LR 6.14 on i5 Intel Mac to bide my time and figure out a better way for my personal needs.
 
I think once in a while they'll offer a small discount for their top tier plan, but that's just for the first year.

In July they offered their all apps plan with a discount of 25% - $39.99 rather then $54.99 Priced it out and with the expensive acrobat pro, lightroom and maybe photoshop the all apps subscription was just a few dollars more the the individual ones.


It also wasn't just for new customers. I've been using it years and was able to change to the discounted rate.
 
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I use mainly Adobe Illustrator, Indesign, Photoshop, Acrobat. What's the cheapest way to get the newest versions. I think Adobe Creative Cloud is for all the applications, so may not use all of them and is there a non-subscription option?

Any advice appreciated
Curious, are you in the US, and are you a Contractor, doing contract work? If so, merely purchase the full cloud option from Adobe (Creative Cloud), and then file it in your yearly taxes - this is a work expense, IF you're a Contractor...
 
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In July they offered their all apps plan with a discount of 25% - $39.99 rather then $54.99 Priced it out and with the expensive acrobat pro, lightroom and maybe photoshop the all apps subscription was just a few dollars more the the individual ones.


It also wasn't just for new customers. I've been using it years and was able to change to the discounted rate.

That was back in July. Anything similar for Oct/Nov?
 
Curious, are you in the US, and are you a Contractor, doing contract work? If so, merely purchase the full cloud option from Adobe (Creative Cloud), and then file it in your yearly taxes - this is a work expense, IF you're a Contractor...

I'm in New Zealand
 
In July they offered their all apps plan with a discount of 25%
Yeah, I get those emails. Truth be told, if they offered the photography tier at a discount, I probably would have signed back up. I by and large ignore those emails, so I was aware of the promotion but I forgot the details

Date a student.
The last time I tried, the police showed up at my door :oops:

:p
 
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