Back

NECC, Booth #8237/8239, SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – June 30, 2008 – Serif, a leading developer of professional and consumer-oriented desktop publishing, design and graphics software, today announced the availability of the Serif Design Suite, a site-licensed package of its four leading applications as well as free teacher resources to accompany the programs. Serif’s PagePlus X3, WebPlus X2, PhotoPlus X2 and DrawPlus X2, powerful design tools that are easy to use, are now being offered to educational institutions at an unparalleled price. Serif, a first-time exhibitor at the National Educational Computing Conference, June 29 – July 2, is making the software available for live demonstrations throughout the show at booth #8237/8239.

For years, Serif software has been helping students across the country improve their creative arts skills such as bitmap and vector drawing, animation and Web publishing. With PagePlus X3, WebPlus X2, PhotoPlus X2 and DrawPlus X2, secondary and elementary students can tap into their imagination more readily, instead of stumbling over freehand artwork or complex desktop publishing or design software. In addition, Serif products help educators enhance other subject areas by animating concepts and processes and enabling students to demonstrate their understanding through drawings and presentations.

“Users of all skill levels can be up and running quickly with Serif because of the products’ simple desktop interfaces and content-rich tutorials. Students can spend more time being creative and less time learning how to use the tool,” said Gary Bates, Managing Director of Serif. “Teachers can quickly integrate Serif software into their curriculum with Serif’s new resources that aim to provide all the support necessary to lead lesson plans and inspire imaginative thinking. All four of these programs offer powerful capabilities that produce truly impressive results. We are pleased to offer educators the Serif Design Suite as a site-licensed package.”

In addition to the product offering, Serif’s new, free teacher resources include lesson plans, how-to guides, handout sheets, project and presentation ideas, instruction on how to create certain effects and other materials to support educators working with the Serif Design Suite. Teachers have the freedom to use each support unit in its entirety as part of their classroom instruction or to incorporate some of the ideas into their existing lesson plans.

“Working with DrawPlus for the past 13 years, I see how students immediately respond to it. DrawPlus easily becomes part of the lesson and not another clumsy tool,’ said Robb Ponton, instructional technology resource teacher in the Williamsburg-James City County (Va.) Public Schools. “In addition to using it in a creative arts setting, our students use DrawPlus to create and animate subjects from chemistry compounds to Spanish verbs. Using DrawPlus, the students are so much more creative and come to more clearly understandthe subject matter. Serif solutions help our teachers take student learning to the next level.’

Pricing
The Serif Design Suite is available in three affordable site licensing options. An Elementary site license is available at $2,200, a Secondary Level 1 license for up to 50 users is available for $3,400 and a Secondary Level 2 license for up to 500 users is available for $4,900. A maintenance program is also available. The Serif programs are distributed in association with Sage Software by Douglas Stewart, Ingram Micro, Tech Data and Navarre and are available as individual products through online retailers and software dealers nationwide.

All Serif products are also available as individual packages. For a complete listing of retail outlets, please visit http://www.serif.com/partners/ourpartners.asp.

Product Highlights
Serif offerings provide students and educators with a complete solution to produce high-quality documents, designs, photos and graphics. Students can reach new heights of scholastic achievement while unlocking new levels of creativity and fun.

PagePlus X3
The latest version of Serif’s desktop publishing software, PagePlus X3 offers an unrivaled combination of editing features, ease-of-use and price value. Ideal for students studying how to create publications such as brochures, newsletters and catalogs, PagePlus X3 offers a balance between useable templates and high-end features, including:

• PDF import, editing and export
• Image Cutout Studio, providing a simple tool for extracting images
• Built-in Logo Studio to enable professional logo design and editing

WebPlus X2
The most recent version of Serif’s Web site design powerhouse, WebPlus X2 enables students and educators to build high-end, full-featured Web sites without having to learn to use HTML code. The program is great for student Web sites, a school intranet and e-portfolios. Highlights of the program include:

• Desktop publishing style approach to Web design, making it as easy to create a Web site as it is to create a printed document
• Built-in multimedia and Web 2.0 support for adding Flash animations, videos, blogs, podcasts, polls and much more
• Integrated ecommerce, enabling schools to create a fully transactional Web site
• Optimization and analytics, to aid search engine optimization and tracking visitor trends

PhotoPlus X2
PhotoPlus X2 offers an array of dynamic digital image editing features for digital photography enthusiasts wanting to make the very best of their digital images. It is perfect for students working with photo effects, Web graphics, textile patterns, design projects and file management. Features of the program include:

• Automated makeover studio, making it easier than ever to quickly remove imperfections from portraits
• Powerful artistic effects, such as lighting, distortion, sharpening and texture
• Smart filter layers allowing effects to be applied to photos without affecting the underlying image
• Adobe Photoshop PSD import and export as well as full integration with all Photoshop plugins

DrawPlus X2
This vector drawing software offers powerful and intuitive graphic tools, enabling students to create everything from natural-looking painted artwork and vector-drawn logos to screensavers, scaled diagrams, logos and animations. Like all Serif programs, DrawPlus X2 boasts professional-level tools that are easy to master, including:

• A wide range of pressure sensitive natural media brushes offering effects from charcoal to airbrush to watery paint
• Flash animation creation functionality with full support for both stopframe and keyframe animation as well as Flash export
• Photoshop and AutoCAD import and editing abilities, enabling users to work with files created in these complex programs and easily edit and share files with business partners

End

Note to Editors:

Please contact: Serif PR with any further enquiries. Tel: 0115 9149103 or Email: pr@serif.com

About Serif

Serif is the publisher of the award-winning software range that includes PagePlus™, PhotoPlus™, DrawPlus™, WebPlus™, AlbumPlus™, MoviePlus™, PanoramaPlus™ and Digtial Scrapbook Artist™ and more. Founded in 1987 with the aim to develop low-cost alternatives to high-end publishing and graphics packages, Serif has been repeatedly praised for its powerful yet easy-to-use software which has put professional effects and demanding publishing tasks within the reach of ordinary PC users around the world. Now with over 6 million customers worldwide, Serif has over 200 employees at its head office, development and European sales centre in Nottingham, UK and its North American sales operation in New Hampshire, US.

Back