Can Fireworks CS4 be used for print graphics?

[chiefroastbeef]

Hi guys,

I have been using fireworks 8 for web graphics, and I was wondering if FW cs4 can be used for print graphics? With my understanding from this site, the older FW programs aren't suitable for print:

http://www.fireworkszone.com/page-2-0-117.html

I am contemplating upgrading to FW CS4, but just wondering if I'll need illustrator or something for simple stuff like designing my business card.

Thanks!

 

[design-is]

Hi there,

Here is a thread which talks the subject of Best program to design a business card/letterhead in? to death - so feel free to have a good read

But if your not worried about best practice, and aren't getting them printed professionally (Fireworks 8 doesn't seem to offer a CMYK colour space, see below*), then Fireworks 8 should be fine, as longs you set it to the right size and print resolution (example attached).

Cheers,

/Doug


*From the Fireworks 8 help files:

Creating colors in the Color Mixer

In the Color Mixer, you can create colors by dragging sliders or entering values for each component of a color model such as RGB, Hexadecimal, or CMY. The color you create is applied to the active Stroke Color or Fill Color box. The Color Mixer also has a color bar displaying the range of colors in the current color model. You can click anywhere in the color bar to apply a color. You can also click the system color picker button to select a Windows or Macintosh system color.

TIP

Although CMY is a color model option, graphics directly exported from Fireworks are not ideal for printing. To repurpose exported Fireworks graphics for print, you can import them into FreeHand MX, which automatically performs CMYK conversion of RGB images when output to digital color separations. For more information, see FreeHand documentation.

Though Freehand has now been replaced with Freehand since Macromedia was acquired by Adobe.

 

[chiefroastbeef]

Hello design-is,

Thank you so much for the input! That is exactly what I'm looking for, I appreciate it very very much.

Does Fireworks CS4 support CMKY colour space?

I searched and read the business card thread you posted, it helped a bit, but I quickly became furious at the comments of the "designers," I have never heard such arrogance, self-righteousness from a person's mouth, including millionaires and billionaires I've come to personally know in the past.

Thanks for your help, I will give it a try!

 

[design-is]

No problem - happy to help!

Yes, the design forum is a bit more arrogant than this one ... I should have warned you - sorry about that lol

I'll look into the CS4 CMYK issue and get back to you

/Doug

-EDIT-

It looks as though Fireworks CS4 does recognise CMYK colour values via its colour palette, but without access to the software, I can't vouch for whether or not it can use a CMYK colour space.

Source

It looks as though it only deals in RGB still:

Although CMY is a color model option, graphics exported directly from Fireworks are not ideal for printing. To repurpose exported Fireworks graphics for print, import them into Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, or Adobe FreeHand. For more information, see the documentation for those applications.

Source

In conclusion, I don't think Fireworks will ever be a good piece of software for professional print design. Adobe has Photoshop, InDesign & Illustrator for that.