Park City, Utah - December 21, 2006 -- Chronos LC today announced the release of SOHO Business Cards 2.0, "The #1 best-selling business card software for Macintosh". This new version includes a completely revamped interface and 15+ MAJOR new features to make it easier than ever to create stunning business cards. According to Robert McCullough, V.P. of Development at Chronos, "Version 2 breaks new ground in the 'ease-of-use' department. The new Smart Inspector really shows how one innovative feature can dramatically improve the user experience. We think users will really enjoy how easily they can employ professional design techniques to create amazing business cards."
GROUNDBREAKING EASY-OF-USE
SOHO Business Cards 2.0 takes ease-of-use to a new level for professionals and novices alike. The new streamlined interface is remarkably simple and clutter-free to help users unleash their creative alter ego. Five major innovations contribute in this regard:
1) NEW! Smart Inspector. Most professional design applications are cluttered with intimidating inspectors all over the screen. The new Smart Inspector appears only when needed and is context-sensitive so users only see the tools they currently need. Plus, the Smart Inspector positions itself conveniently close to the work at hand so users don't need to waste time mousing around the screen.
2) NEW! Business Card Wizard. The new Business Card Wizard makes it easy to see and choose exactly the kind of business card the user wishes to create. Detailed previews of both the blank business card stock and optional ready-made designs eliminate any guess-work.
3) NEW! Favorites Bin. The new Favorites Bin makes it easy for users to store and re-use designer graphics and shape artwork that they have created. Favorites can be organized into unlimited collections and are saved in a high-performance database for quick access.
4) NEW! Text Bin. The new Text Bin makes it easy for users to define, store, and re-use common text styles like titles, headings, captions, address text, etc.
5) NEW! Single Window Interface. The interface has been streamlined to fit in a single window. There aren't any drawers that pop out and unexpectedly change the overall width of the window.
SOPHISTICATED DESIGN TOOLS FOR EVERYONE
SOHO Business Cards 2.0 includes new design tools that were once available only in high-end graphic design applications. These sophisticated features are so easy-to-use that anyone can create business cards that look like they were professionally designed.
1) NEW! Object Grouping. Graphics, text, and shapes can now be grouped together as a single object that can be moved, resized, and rotated as a single entity.
2) NEW! Unlimited Layers. Artwork can now be placed on an unlimited number of layers including the standard Foreground and Background layers. Layers help organize design elements and make it easier to avoid disturbing unintended objects. Layers can be duplicated, merged, and rearranged. Plus, users can show and hide layers to quickly compare several variations of the same design.
3) NEW! 100+ Super-Masks. Super-masks take regular masks one step forward by giving the user fine control over how the mask is applied to an image. Super-masks let the user control the position of the mask, the size of the mask (doesn't have to be the same as the image size), the softness of the mask, the rotation of the mask, and whether the mask should be reversed. Further, the masking doesn't permanently alter the image so the mask can be changed at any time.
4) NEW! 30+ Special Effects. Over 30 special effects like Sepia, Gaussian Blur, Sparkle, and more in 8 different categories (Photo Effects, Color, Blur, Distortion, Stylize, Lighting, Tile, Halftone) can be applied to an image. The effects don't permanently alter the image so the special effects can be changed at any time. Plus, multiple effects can be applied at once for some truly eye-catching designs.
5) NEW! Photo Fine-Tuning. Quickly and easily adjust the brightness, contrast, sharpness, exposure, and more of any photo without permanently altering the photo.
6) NEW! Photo Cropping. Users can now easily crop photos to the aspect ratio of their choice. They can also use any shape or even text to crop the photo. The crop can be dynamically moved and resized at any time without permanently altering the original image.
7) NEW! Crop Zooming. Users can now zoom the image in a crop while they're performing the crop. This useful feature makes it possible to make the image in a crop a little bigger or smaller without starting over.
8) NEW! Grid Overlay or Underlay. Object placement on the design canvas is often easier with a grid present. Now users can choose to have the grid appear above all of the artwork or behind all of the artwork for precise object placement. This new grid option and the optional snap-to-grid feature makes it easy to align design elements for precise control.
9) NEW! Lock & Unlock Objects. Users can now easily lock a graphic, shape, or text on the design canvas so it can't be accidentally moved or deleted. Locks are available on a per-layer basis.
10) NEW! Double-Sided Card Canvas. The front and back sides of a double-sided business card now appear next to each other on the design canvas so both sides can be conveniently viewed and designed. This approach helps the designer maintain a consistent look and layout for both sides of the card.
11) NEW! Folding Card Canvas. The exterior and interior sides of a folded business card now appear next to each other on the design canvas so both sides can be conveniently viewed and designed.
12) NEW! Perspective Tool. The perspective tool lets users easily distort a two dimensional image to give the impression of depth.
13) NEW! Arrow Smart Shapes. Users can now easily create arrows of any size and proportion including one-way and two-way arrows.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
SOHO Business Cards is a complete business card kit and includes everything the user needs to design and print impressive business cards. It comes with a) 13,000+ designer-quality photographs, photos of objects and vector clip art images; b) 50 Bitstream® commercial-grade fonts so users can obtain the perfect look for their branding; c) 3,000+ ready-made designs including those with photos and artwork right up to the edge of the card (full bleed); and d) 100+ super-masks.
AVAILABILITY & REQUIREMENTS
Chronos believes users should have the opportunity to try the software for free before they purchase. A fully functional 30 day trial version can be downloaded from Chronos' web site at <www.chronosnet.com>. SOHO Business Cards has been attractively priced at $39.99 and is available directly from Chronos and soon from popular resellers including the Apple Stores.
SOHO Business Cards requires Mac OS X v10.4 or later; 40MB of available disk space (1.2GB for full clip art collection); DVD-ROM drive for installation; inkjet or laser printer optional (great results from popular inkjet, laser, color laser printers including HP, Epson, Canon, Lexmark, et cetera). Universal Binary (for PowerPC and Intel processors).
COMPANY INFORMATION
Chronos has been developing award-winning Macintosh software since 1993 and is based in Park City, Utah, home of the 2002 Winter Games.
PR CONTACT
marketing@chronosnet.com
