Photoshop - can't afford it, but how can I have it

[Jessica Lares]

What else does she use in the Adobe package besides Photoshop and Illustrator? Sounds like the CS6 Design Standard package would work for her.

We are not allowed to tell you how to backup pirated software here. People would have still been suspicious anyway if you didn't come right out and said it was pirated by the way.

 

[Mildredop]

Hold up...first you said she can't afford it, but now you're saying it's too much because she only uses it sporadically?

If you're not going to pay people for the stuff they make, you need to figure out how to steal it yourself.

To be clear (although I'm not sure why I'm bothering), she doesn't want to steal it, or get it for free. She earns way below minimum wage at around £6k a year (she's self employed, only been doing the job for a little over a year) so simply cannot afford £600 a year, every year, for a computer program she only actually needs when she gets a commission.

She made a mistake a couple of years ago by letting someone load a fake copy onto her Mac. But now she's been using it and knows it well and is beginning to earn from it, she wants a genuine copy.

Most things in life are expensive when new, but it's possible to get them cheaper second hand or when they're out of date etc. I'm simply trying to find out of that's possible with Photoshop and illustrator.

 

[Mildredop]

What else does she use in the Adobe package besides Photoshop and Illustrator? Sounds like the CS6 Design Standard package would work for her.

We are not allowed to tell you how to backup pirated software here. People would have still been suspicious anyway if you didn't come right out and said it was pirated by the way.

Thanks, this is exactly what we're looking for. Didn't realise Adobe still sold old versions. We'll still try and get it second hand somehow (£1,100 is still tonnes), but this might be a good fall back.

 

[rosario1990]

If you're looking for free version you can download it from online and do work as you want.

 

[Ardmanz]

Seriously, as pointed out, it's $10 a month. That's an absolute bargain. This is for photoshop and and Lightroom.

You stated she only uses Photoshop so there's no need for the whole creative suite.

Why can she not do this? She must be able to afford $10 a month? Where are you getting $600 a year from??

 

[fhall1]

To be clear (although I'm not sure why I'm bothering), she doesn't want to steal it, or get it for free. She earns way below minimum wage at around £6k a year (she's self employed, only been doing the job for a little over a year) so simply cannot afford £600 a year, every year, for a computer program she only actually needs when she gets a commission.

She needs to start charging more for her work....

 

[Mildredop]

Seriously, as pointed out, it's $10 a month. That's an absolute bargain. This is for photoshop and and Lightroom.

You stated she only uses Photoshop so there's no need for the whole creative suite.

Why can she not do this? She must be able to afford $10 a month? Where are you getting $600 a year from??

As I mentioned in the first post, she uses more than Photoshop. She uses Illustrator, too, certainly. And maybe others.

The creative suite is £48 ($69) per month - 48 x 12 is £576 per year. And that's every single year.

 

[maflynn]

Other then finding it on eBay (which is rife with counterfeits), using the educational discount. There's no other inexpensive way of getting the CS suite.

Adobe spent a lot of time, money and energy in developing the suite, and they charge a premium. I feel for your friends predicament but her options are limited.

 

[Mildredop]

Other then finding it on eBay (which is rife with counterfeits), using the educational discount. There's no other inexpensive way of getting the CS suite.

Adobe spent a lot of time, money and energy in developing the suite, and they charge a premium. I feel for your friends predicament but her options are limited.

Seems that way. I get the feeling it might be me buying it for her hoping that, one day, I get the money back!

 

[Michaelgtrusa]

Seems that way. I get the feeling it might be me buying it for her hoping that, one day, I get the money back!

What version will you go with?

 

[Mildredop]

What version will you go with?

I need to persuade her to do it first, but I'm going to recommend CS6. It's £1,100 but then she's got it forever. If she gets no work for 6 months, she's not paying a monthly fee for creative cloud.

Although, as I say that, maybe you can stop and start creative cloud as and when, which might be the better option.

Either way, her Mac needs a serious clean out and clean install - it's so slow it's unusable. It's the fear of losing Photoshop that's stopping that, so she needs to do something.

 

[austinpike]

I get the feeling it might be me buying it for her hoping that, one day, I get the money back!

I can't speculate too much as to your relationship, but I wouldn't bank too heavily on ever being paid back by a fledgling designer.

Seems like the CC subscription would work well, just buy photoshop for a month if that is all she needs, add Illustrator if she happens to need it for another job, quit paying if the work dries up for a month. Yes it is a pain and may be "money down the drain" that could be put toward a full CS6 license but it is also putting a lot less £ at risk up front. It's kind of what CC was designed for.

 

[jlc1978]

Here's an alternate approach:

1. Have her list out the absolute must have features she needs for her work, not just "I need Adobe..."
2. Look at free and low priced alternatives to see if they offer those features as well
3. If she finds some that have all but a few of the features then she first needs to decide is that feature a must have, and if so, see if their is a combination of programs that will love her need. For example if programs X and Y meet all her needs and can reliably interchange files she can use them to do the work and spare the cost of Adobe products.
4. If there is some feature that is a absolutely critical to her selling work and only Adobe offers it then she needs to look into getting the programs she needs.

I have often found that by simply listing out and analyzing one's requirements you often come up with a set that is complete and much smaller than you though.

 

[Les Kern]

I can't believe I'm saying this but here goes:

Use Carbon Copy Cloner or another rsync app (free ones out there) and clone to another Mac. Upgrade the old Mac to Yosemite or whatever, then use Migration Assistant to bring the cloned Mac back to the old one.

Now my two cents: There's always a way to get around these issues, if you can live with being a thief. Try some of the solutions above before dirtying your soul.

 

[mw360]

As I mentioned in the first post, she uses more than Photoshop. She uses Illustrator, too, certainly. And maybe others.

The creative suite is £48 ($69) per month - 48 x 12 is £576 per year. And that's every single year.

If she only does one commission per month she should add £48 to the quote to cover CC. That's not actually a whole lot to a design client. If that is a lot of money to her clients then those clients don't deserve the kind if work the Adobe Suite can deliver. She should offer the budget service performed in budget software bought in the App Store.

You can by used copies all over the place but the cheaper it is the more likely it is to be a pirated copy anyway. Buy only from a reputable dealer.

 

[JuryDuty]

I think the $9.99 monthly version is your best bet if you have to have Photoshop...or find an older version on ebay.

Personally, I like Pixelmator.

 

[Michaelgtrusa]

I need to persuade her to do it first, but I'm going to recommend CS6. It's £1,100 but then she's got it forever. If she gets no work for 6 months, she's not paying a monthly fee for creative cloud.

Although, as I say that, maybe you can stop and start creative cloud as and when, which might be the better option.

Either way, her Mac needs a serious clean out and clean install - it's so slow it's unusable. It's the fear of losing Photoshop that's stopping that, so she needs to do something.

Older versions will likely have compatibility issue with Yosemite.

 

[Steveatesh]

As I mentioned in the first post, she uses more than Photoshop. She uses Illustrator, too, certainly. And maybe others.

The creative suite is £48 ($69) per month - 48 x 12 is £576 per year. And that's every single year.

Some thoughts:
Sound like you are in the UK. I presume she is registered as Self Employed or is she a Ltd company?

Remember the expense of the software is tax deductable - if the monthly subscription it is 20% per month every month - have you took that into account? If you buy it outright then it may count as a capital purchase and the tax benefit is not quite as good. There should be a free business advisor that can give you a definitive view of this.

In addition she MAY be entitled to various set up or development grants, especially being a female. Has she explored this route? Usually something like Business Link or similar in your area can provide free advice around this. I know I was just offered 50% grant of anything I wanted to develop my business - anything. This is a national thing, get looking.

If you buy it for her then the tax benefit is lost. It will cost you more in the long run. Hope she gets sorted.

 

[Mildredop]

Some thoughts:
Sound like you are in the UK. I presume she is registered as Self Employed or is she a Ltd company?

Remember the expense of the software is tax deductable - if the monthly subscription it is 20% per month every month - have you took that into account? If you buy it outright then it may count as a capital purchase and the tax benefit is not quite as good. There should be a free business advisor that can give you a definitive view of this.

In addition she MAY be entitled to various set up or development grants, especially being a female. Has she explored this route? Usually something like Business Link or similar in your area can provide free advice around this. I know I was just offered 50% grant of anything I wanted to develop my business - anything. This is a national thing, get looking.

If you buy it for her then the tax benefit is lost. It will cost you more in the long run. Hope she gets sorted.

She's self employed. You're right about it being tax deductable. But this only applies once you pay tax! Her earnings are currently way below the taxable threshold.

Didn't know about the grants you mentioned. Although I'm horrified that she's more likely to be helped because she's female (equal ops anyone?) it's definitely worth looking into. Ta.

 

[jdiamond]

You have to have business sense for a business...

Here's an alternate approach:

1. Have her list out the absolute must have features she needs for her work, not just "I need Adobe..."
2. Look at free and low priced alternatives to see if they offer those features as well.

1. 
   
   I couldn't agree more. Look - she made a tactical mistake by teaching herself one of the most expensive pieces of software out there. She needs to either learn cheaper software to get started, or use her knowledge to earn money a different way at first - for example, get a job at a larger company that needs people who know photoshop.
   
   I've started companies before, and you have to expect to cover the start up costs. $576 is nothing to launch a company. You just need to have a source of initial investment. Honestly, it sounds like she hasn't thought this business through - she needs something like a business plan that shows what it will cost her for the first X years and how she will initially get that funding and - importantly - later earn that money back.
   
   I realize this wasn't the question you were asking, but this situation is just crying out for some solid business sense. Maybe she could get a small business loan if she's at all serious about this and can demonstrate skills. Else, just find a job using photoshop, and save part of her income each month until she can quit and start her own business.

 

[rosario1990]

Seriously, as pointed out, it's $10 a month. That's an absolute bargain. This is for photoshop and and Lightroom.

You stated she only uses Photoshop so there's no need for the whole creative suite.

Why can she not do this? She must be able to afford $10 a month? Where are you getting $600 a year from??

She is new to Photoshop and learning though. This will be better using paid service for her?

 

[Consultant]

She earns way below minimum wage at around £6k a year

The problem here seems to be choice of profession or how the person is charging clients.
If someone earns way below minimum wage, get a minimum wage job. At least a part time job.

Or go to school. Looks like UK schools "students whose families earned less than £23,000 would be exempt from fees"

 

[Natzoo]

is there a law about minimum wage in the UK? sorry if its a stupid question

 

[thekev]

Adobe Photoshop CS2 is free, but the Mac version is only for PowerPC.

They can try and download the Windows version and run it on Mac using something like Wineskin.

Adobe didn't intend for it to be free. They merely dropped the activation servers, so that's their method of upkeep. Don't even suggest wineskin. It's likely to be a headache for them, and bootcamp is a much easier solution. It's important to note that some algorithms differ between CS2 and CS6. One cannot cleanly open files from the other. Maximize compatibility just embeds a composite image in case layers can't be read, so that won't help.

 

[Steveatesh]

is there a law about minimum wage in the UK? sorry if its a stupid question

Yes there is. However it applies to being employed and The lady is self employed so minimum wage would be doubtful. That said there may be in work benefits she can chase, and there are definitely business grants available, especially for women.

One thing the Uk is very good at is giving tax payers money away whether to worthy or unworthy causes - I'm sure she will be the former!

This would be chicken feed in the world of business start up grants, I think she should be looking in that direction first.