Xara Xtreme Pro 4.0 Review
Jacob Van Ness

May, 2008

Xara Xtreme Pro 4.0 is another attempt by the software company out of the UK to try to compete with "the big guns" of graphics software. Xara Xtreme Pro 4.0 is at heart a vector based program with some amazing features that allows an attempt at going toe to toe with other well known vector programs.

The newest version brings some additional features to an already extensive list. Some of these new features include Integrated Photo Tool, HD Photo Import, Panorama Studio, 3D Extrude and even HTML export. Once again showing that this is not just a vector program but rather a photo, illustration AND web software.

Xara Xtreme Pro 4.0 continues to have blazing speeds and amazingly small file sizes. The website states it "is quite simply the world's fastest graphics software." With speeds, according to a press pack, 40% faster and up to 80% faster on dual-core processors. The press pack also states file sizes are 10 times smaller than other graphics tools. This can be pretty substantial when working with HD Photos.

While testing this software, I decided to put it to use in a production environment to see how it behaved. The speed and small file sizes were impressive. Also being able to export to high resolution PDFs with Pantone PMS colors was a good feature. The ability to set up templates was easy and quick. I was also impressed with how guides were automatically placed on a separate layer.

However, I was a little disappointed with the import option and found some troubles when importing Illustrator files with a lot of special graphics. I found the same issues when trying to import PDFs or EPS files. This makes it hard to try to integrate this software into an everyday production workflow that utilizes other graphics programs.

With that said, I feel this software is great for creating layout from scratch and exporting to PDF for sending to a printer. You do have to be careful with some of the features such as the new 3D Extrude option. Using such a features causes you to lose some spot color separation abilities. I did find the color separation support very good when working strictly with spot colors and was able to print items created in the software fairly easily.

Overall I think this is a great software with a huge amount of functionality. I am not sure it is ready to push the big names of graphics software around but it is a viable tool for designers on a tighter budget. At only $249 for Xara Xtreme Pro 4.0, it is a steal compared to other much more expensive graphic softwares.

You can test out the software for 30 days by going to their website and clicking on the "Try It" link. I highly suggest you give it a shot and see for yourself why Xara Xtreme Pro 4.0 is very impressive software.

Company Website or URL: www.xara.com

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