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Serif Affinity Version 2

A fully featured yet very low-cost challenger to Adobe’s Creative Suite, says Simon Eccles

As before there’s a decent range of export
formats and Illustrator EPS can be
imported.
New features in Photo 2 include non-
destructive Raw processing (allowing ini-
tial settings to be changed while keeping
subsequent adjustments); compound
masks (to combine separate masks into
new ones); live masks; hue or luminosity
based masks; live mesh warp (non-
destructive distortions); normal adjust-
ment (lighting effects); saved mask states
(groups of different visibility can be
saved); and new JPEG XL export (with
lossy or lossless compression and other
new features). It can open and save
Photoshop’s native PSD files, as well as
many other formats.
The iPad version of Photo 2 has the full
What does it do? too. According to Serif’s PR manager function set: according to Serif this is
Specifications
Serif’s Affinity Version 2 is a suite of John Atkin: “Affinity apps are used by “the first professional photo editing
three very low cost but professionally fea- Speed: Depends on some of the world’s biggest names in sec- application to have 100% file format
tured graphics programs. They can be style of product, tors like automotive, publishing, archi- compatibility across Windows, Mac and
purchased separately, but will share edit- typically 250-500 tecture and movie production.” iPad”.
ing tools if used together. items per hour In the Printweek Best of British profile Publisher 2’s new features include:
They cover the main functions needed of Serif in 2018, Atkin said that the books (to combine separate documents
for design for print. Affinity Photo is a Box/slip case expectation is that most users will as chapters in a book, automatically sync-
bitmap image editor/painter, Designer is dimensions: Max: already use at least one of the main alter- ing page numbers, table of contents,
for vector design, and Publisher is for lay- 350x350x120mm natives, with Adobe Creative Cloud dom-
(LxWxH); Min:
outs. They are analogous to Adobe’s 40x30x10mm inating the market. indexes and styles; footnotes, endnotes
Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. If and sidenotes); place auto-flow (a single
you have all three, the StudioLink feature Machine dimen- How does it work? layout is automatically repeated to
lets users edit placed graphics by access- sions: Assuming you’re familiar with Adobe accommodate a set of images); linked file
ing the Photo and Designer tools from Depends on guard- Creative Cloud apps, there are few sur- layer visibility override (switching on or
within Publisher. ing options prises in Affinity. It’s not a feature-for- off layers in placed files); a style picker
Serif introduced the original Affinity feature match, but there’s not much you tool; and DXF/DWG file placement.
Photo in 2014 and Designer in 2015, then Power: can’t do in Affinity just as well, one way Memory handling for very large docu-
Publisher in 2019. There have been Single phase, 16A, or another. There are several Affinity fea- ments has been revised to boost perfor-
220v, 800w
updates since, but the new Version 2 is a Commando socket tures not available from Adobe. mance. InDesign IDML files can be
major upgrade for all three and intro- required Third-party add-ons are sold via the imported and edited but not exported.
duces an iPad version for Publisher for Affinity website. These include sets of PDF/X up to PDF/X-4 can be exported.
the first time. Price £36,427 templates, brushes, palettes and the like,
with most sets priced at £30 or less. The iPad versions get most of the new
When was it introduced and what mar- Designer 2’s new features include: vector features, plus some refinements to con-
kets is it aimed at? warp; a shape builder tool; knife tool (to trols and menus.
Serif announced and shipped Affinity split up objects); distance and area meas- Version 2 application perpetual
Version 2 in October 2022. Target mar- ure tools; DXF and DWG file import licenses cost £59.99 each for Windows or
kets are professional designers, but the (maintaining properties); and X-ray view MacOS, or £17.99 each for the iPadOS
price is suitable for more casual users (to help selections in complex images). versions.
Target markets are professional designers, but the price is suitable for more casual users too.

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