phantasmCS | D e s i g n e r | S t u d i o
The essential Adobe Illustrator® color plugin range
We are rightly proud of our software which we continuously improve by listening to users and reviewers. And to back our claims up, here are snippets of reviews to date.
Click on the publication's title to view their website or read the full online review (where available).
Published reviews (for CS Designer | Studio)
Digital Arts, June issue 2008
Re-published in PC World (Australia), May 2008
“With such a range of Illustrator plug-ins on the market, it's rare to come across one that excels to this extent.”
“To have all these features available in Illustrator (Adobe take note) and at such a modest price tag puts this product in a class of its own. We wholeheartedly recommend that any designer or studio adds it to their software arsenal.”
Digital Arts rating: 4.5/5
Originally published in The Graphic Mac, April 2008
Re-published in Creative Bits, April 2008
“If your design environment is primarily Adobe Illustrator, the full Studio version is a bargain.”
“Overall, Phantasm CS is probably the most useful plugin set I've ever come across for any version of Adobe Illustrator.”
IT Enquirer, March 2008
“Pros: Separation and Ink Coverage capabilities early in the workflow, ease-of-use, parallel colour handling between Photoshop and Illustrator, image editing for embedded images
Contras: None I can come up with”
IT Enquirer rating: 5/5 Editor's Choice
Published reviews (for CS version 2)
Computer Arts, Jan 2008
Illustrator CS3 plugins group test
“Frankly, and we say this with our hand on our heart, you'd be mad not to buy it at $45 — it changes the entire way you deal with colour in Illustrator.”
“There's no real downside to Phantasm CS 2 — it just works and work brilliantly. It's compatible with Illustrator Actions and has overprint options to make sure everything prints as you would want it to. In fact, that word neatly sums up Phantasm CS 2 — 'brilliant'”
Digital Arts, Aug 2007
“Cheap plug-in offering a wide range of useful add-ons for colour correction.”
Digital Arts rating: 4.5/5
Computer Arts, Aug 2007
“Phantasm is one of those plug-ins that comes along very rarely — one that combines true innovation with real-life usefulness and value. It's a great combination.”
“Phantasm CS 2 is still excellent, and remains one of the best Illustrator plug-ins we've seen. We're big fans and you will be too...”
Computer Arts rating: 5/5
IT Enquirer, May 2007
“It still is a time-saver and a workflow enhancer, making the simultaneous use of Photoshop and Illustrator much more painless than without. If you regularly use these two programs together and for ‘synchronised’ design, then do yourself a favour and at least try Phantasm CS 2.”
IT Enquirer rating: 5/5
The view of Adobe's Illustrator CS3 Product Manager
The list of quotes and praise for Phantasm CS is rising. But we are very proud to have none other than Adobe's Illustrator CS3 Product Manager, Phil Guindi adding his own views on Phantasm CS version 2:
“Phantasm CS version 2 is a solid addition to Illustrator CS3 for anyone who needs the most flexible and powerful color control tools available. This plug-in complements Illustrator CS3's Live Color feature, and provides additional image-level controls for both vector and bitmap artwork. If you often wish you could easily adjust the colors on images directly within Illustrator, this plug-in is for you.”
Published reviews (for CS version 1)
Dynamic Graphics Magazine, Dec/Jan 2007
“The developers hit the right key ... it is accessible to hobbyist users and yet offers the level of control demanded by professionals.”
Computer Arts, Dec 2006
“In short ... Phantasm CS is a great little plug-in. It has potential to seriously speed up your Illustrator
workflow and offers a world of experimentation previously unavailable.”
Computer Arts rating: 5/5
Layers Magazine, Nov/Dec 2006
“Most of the commands will be familiar to Photoshop users... One of the best features is that the edits can be applied as either Filters,
which are permanent, or Effects, which can be modified at any time and added to Graphic Styles.
Some of the last remaining color Filters and Effects that weren’t available in Illustrator are now resolved with this plug-in.”
Layers rating: 4.5/5
Digital Media Designer
This review has also been syndicated to other publications including
Creative Mac,
Digital Produce Magazine and the
DNM Forums.
“Phantasm CS brings to Adobe Illustrator functionality that really should have been there all along: real color adjustment tools that remain fully editable and that can be applied to any type of object. What's more, it offers this functionality for a really modest price... There is no way I can give this software anything short of a Strong Buy recommendation.”
“Whatever work you’ve produced, Phantasm CS lets you quickly explore colour-based variations. It’s such central power, massively boosting both productivity and creative possibilities, that once you’ve seen it in action it’s difficult to know why Illustrator doesn’t offer similar functionality itself.”
designer-info overall rating: 5/6
IT Enquirer, Oct 2006
“Without Phantasm CS, I would have been busy with these files a lot longer. Phantasm CS makes processes such as these a lot easier, offering much
more control than with Illustrator's standard tools. And it offers the ability to perform the same kind of colour adjustments as in Photoshop - almost one-on-one.”
IT Enquirer rating: 4/5
Customer comments
It's always great to hear feedback from customers. And as you can see from these below, they are very positive!
“I just got Phantasm CS yesterday, and I absolutely love it. It fills one of the biggest holes in Adobe Illustrator's capabilities, and it does
it well.”
Gordon Mc Alpin, creator of the Multiplex cartoon strip
You can read more of Gordon's feedback on his blog...
“Phantasm CS works terrifically!”
Scott Weichert
“Just finished noodling around with Phantasm CS. WOW! I can't believe how useful this plug-in is!
Phantasm CS opens up a world of experimentation and creative choices otherwise untapped. Can't believe how I ever got along without it, and can't wait
to spread the word to others! Phantastic and so easy to use, too.”
Scott Citron, leading certified Adobe trainer
“I just bought the software and was playing all day long with the new features. I can't find words...
This is something I'm using every five minutes. Really really awesome!!!! Very cool guys! Fantastic!”
...
“Just wanted to tell once again, that this is the best plug-in ever. I'm using it now for a month and I can't even imagine how I could work without it!
Just what I need! Fantastic!”
Aron Farkas
“I used Phantasm CS to adjust the title of one of Dynamic Graphics Magazine's articles. I had created an illustration of a pixelated word, but
it looked a little blurry, so I used the Phantasm CS Brightness/Contrast filter to brighten and contrast the color a bit to tone the blur down. Without Phantasm CS, I would have had
to take it into Photoshop in order to get the result I needed, but lose the ability to keep it a flat vector graphic. So Phantasm CS was the perfect tool.
I absolutely love it.”
Sam Berkes, Art Director, Dynamic Graphics Magazine
“Just wanted to say that this is a GREAT plugin and I've been looking for something like this for some time! Really great price and functionality.
Thanks for developing this!”
Josh Gordon