How to purchase Photoshop

I've received several emails about purchasing Adobe Photoshop. Yes, it is expensive. But, if you are an artist, and you wish to use image editing software to enhance the making and marketing of your artwork, the full version of Photoshop is the industry standard and worth the expense.

Here are a few different ways to acquire Adobe Photoshop:

Free Trial Version: On the Adobe website, you can download a free trial version of the application; it will expire after a certain amount of time. This allows you to try out the application without investing any money. Also, sometimes, a limited version of Photoshop is offered free with purchase of a scanner, camera, or book. Check the software that came with your purchase, or go to www.adobe.com/ to download a free trial version.

Educational Pricing: If you or someone in your family is a student or works at an educational institution, you may be eligible for educational pricing on full and upgrade versions. This means that you may pay as little as one-half the retail cost of Photoshop. Contact your school’s bookstore for more information.

Bundled Software: Often, you will run into special deals where the Photoshop application is bundled with other Adobe applications or other products and offered for a special low price. This is a great deal that allows you to use these applications without a large investment. One caveat, however: Usually, software sold as part of a bundle is not eligible later for the lower upgrade version pricing when the application is updated. If this is the case, a new version must be purchased at full version pricing.

Retail Pricing: You can purchase Photoshop in retail stores like Best Buy and Circuit City, and online through those stores' Web sites or sites like Amazon, Buy.com, etc. Full version pricing usually runs over $600. Once you purchase the full version, you will then be eligible for upgrade pricing whenever the application is updated. Retail upgrade pricing usually runs around $180.

The most recent version of Photoshop can be acquired via different packages: the basic version, Photoshop CS3; the enhanced version for advanced users, Photoshop CS3 Extended; and various Suites bundled with other Adobe software such as Dreamweaver, Flash, etc. The current retail price for the full, basic version of Photoshop CS3, is $649. See above for other purchasing options.

The information in The Painter's Guide to Photoshop will also apply to many aspects of Adobe's consumer product, Elements. But, if you are in the business of art, you should be working with the professional, industry-standard application, Adobe Photoshop.

If you have any questions, let me know.