These tutorials have now been re-published on the Astute Graphics website to compliment the two existing comprehensive tutorials.

The three new tutorials cover the creative and technical aspects of the Phantasm CS tools and is something for all levels of users. Each tutorial was created and written by some of the best vector tutorial writers who are regularly featured on the VecTuts+ site.

Click here now to visit the Phantasm CS tutorials section...

Organisations and individuals based in Japan wishing to purchase Phantasm CS Designer, Studio and Publisher are asked to buy the software directly from Flashback (click here) in order to benefit from a fully translated combined user manual as well as receiving native support.

About Flashback: Flashback carries a wide range of plug-ins and tools for creative applications such as Illustrator, Photoshop, After Effects, Final Cut Pro, etc. Founded in 1986, Flashback has established themselves as the one-stop shop for all creator needs. From design to video production, Flashback carries essential tools to help you expand the creativity.

Click here to view the movie and browse the other movies demonstrating the wide range of tools available in the Phantasm CS range.

An alternative movie page may be found here providing direct links to the movie downloads.

Building on the release in 2008 of Phantasm CS Studio, Astute Graphics is reaching out further to the high-end design and pre-press markets with the latest in its award-winning and acclaimed Adobe Illustrator plugin range; Phantasm CS Publisher. Unique in its combination of fantastic value for money and critical features to enhance workflow and boost creativity, Phantasm CS Publisher has been developed and tested by professionals for professionals.

The key additions to Phantasm CS Studio's features are:

• Exposure Filter and live Effect that work with all embedded artwork, both vector and raster
• Advanced Swap Channels tools adding process to spot channel swapping plus the copying of channel levels (more...)
• Advanced Ink Coverage tool providing individual ink usage levels; percentage and area (more...)
• Bitmap Alpha adjustment in Curves and Levels tools giving contour control of standard live Effect Drop Shadows, Outer Glows and Blurs (see sample styles...)
• Link embedded images, allowing for easy image extraction and storage for common use across multiple documents (more...)

An illustrated example of the new tools' capabilities may be found in this PDF file...

Click here for full details of the plugin's features including a revised plugin range feature matrix.

Available for Mac OS X and Windows XP/Vista/7, with versions available for Adobe Illustrator CS2, CS3 and CS4, the user manual provided in both German and English.

Phantasm CS Publisher is priced at £139+VAT (approximately €155 / $231) with discounts for multi-licenses and upgrade paths for all existing customers.

To coincide with the release of Phantasm CS Publisher, the combined Phantasm CS Trial plugin is now available to give greater insight into the new features on offer.

Those who have previously downloaded a Phantasm CS Trial plugin from this site are able to quickly upgrade by visiting the Trial page and entering the same email address. No further confirmation would then be necessary.

If you have not previously downloaded the Trial software, which offers a free Brightness/Contrast toolset, the procedure is very quick and simple. Why not have a look today for how to experience Illustrator creative freedom?

• Removal of Phantasm CS (base version)
• Now available for Illustrator CS2 and above
• Tested with the latest operating systems; Mac OS 10.6 "Snow Leopard" and Windows 7 (note that Adobe has offered guidelines for running Illustrator on the latest operating systems).

Click here for full system requirements.

The decision to remove the base version of the plugin was in response to the overwhelming number of sales being for the Designer and Studio editions. It now also means that one of the most popular features, vector Halftones, is present in all versions of the plugin.

When Phantasm CS was originally launched in 2006, it catered for Illustrator CS and CS2. With the subsequent releases of Illustrator CS3 and CS4, further control of spot colors was offered (multi-ink images being the main feature) which Astute Graphics has made full use of. This means that older versions of Illustrator offer reduced support with certain tools such as the Full Separation system. As Illustrator CS would have been too compromised for Phantasm CS Publisher, plus virtually no sales of the Phantasm CS range for this version of Illustrator, it was logical to increase the minimum Illustrator version requirement.

If you wish to upgrade your existing product from the Phantasm CS, you will now be offered the new minimum versions.

To both demonstrate the power of this new feature, plus to provide Phantasm CS Publisher customer with over 15 new Styles, a new entry has been added to the Customer Styles page. This may also be previewed here...

Professionaly created to produce "must-have" and realistic results using the Phantasm CS range of tools to extend the standard Illustrator tool sets, both the Styles and Actions demonstrate a wide range of what's possible.

The Styles (click here to access) are applied with the click of a button yet can produce very rich mutli-layered effects such as "Speckled Characters" and "Bad Photocopy". Both the Styles and Actions can be quickly incorporated into your own artwork and new documents.

The Actions (click here to access) can multiply the power of single Styles, producing results which would otherwise be very time-consuming, such as the "Neon Sign". Other Actions provided cater for the enhancing workflows, including "Overprint Corrections" and "Export as Images".

It is hoped that these Styles and Actions will provide inspiration to customers who wish to push the creative and workflow envelope and even provide some inspiration when attempting to win a Wacom Intuos4 pen tablet or Pantone ColorMunki!

New customers of the Phantasm CS range will automatically receive details of where to download the Styles and Actions, whilst existing customers will have received a special newsletter with further details.

One new page brings a unique selection of Vector Halftone samples constructed using the Phantasm CS Designer/Studio Halftone tool which can be downloaded and used freely in all Illustrator CS and above artwork. A selection of the Halftones are carefully crafted to be perfectly tiled, producing wonderful repeating fills. Other Halftones are more abstract, intended to bring some vector textures and inspiration.

Other free resources include a comprehensive and continuously edited set of links to Adobe Illustrator resources on the internet. Categories including other Illustrator plugin products, scripts and tutorials. If you wish to expand your insight of the Illustrator scene, this is a good place to start.

Finally, two major Phantasm CS range tutorials have been re-introduced along with quick access to other freebies including the Phantasm CS Trial page, Halftone settings and the PhantasmSepsPDF script for customers of Phantasm CS Studio.

Organisations and individuals based in Japan wishing to purchase Phantasm CS Studio are asked to buy the software directly from Flashback (click here) in order to benefit from a fully translated user manual as well as receiving native support.

About Flashback: Flashback carries a wide range of plug-ins and tools for creative applications such as Illustrator, Photoshop, After Effects, Final Cut Pro, etc. Founded in 1986, Flashback has established themselves as the one-stop shop for all creator needs. From design to video production, Flashback carries essential tools to help you expand the creativity.

A range of videos have also been introduced to allow for a quicker and more captivating overview of the acclaimed Phantasm CS range of Illustrator plugins.

We hope you enjoy browsing the new site and content!