Graphics software glossary, P. Photoshop, plugins, PDF.

Glossary of graphic design software terms beginning with the letter P.

Pagemaker

Aldus Pagemaker was one of the key software applications of the desk top publishing (DTP) revolution of the 1980s. Pagemaker has since been bough by Adobe.

Alongside the Apple Macintosh, the Laserwriter printer and Adobe's PostScript technology, Pagemaker was the WYSIWYG layout package that allowed graphic designers and pre-press professionals to design and output print ready documents.

Paint Shop Pro

extend. PaintShop Pro
A low-end Windows graphics application. Can be used to create web site graphics, but lacks many professional features. Cannot be used for print design, due to lack of CMYK color separation function.

See also: Reviews of Paint Shop Pro

Portable Document Format

abbr. PDF
PDF is the Postscript file format used by Adobe Acrobat. It is a cross-platform file format designed to preserve the integrity of a document, regardless of the software that was used to create it.

Nowadays PDF files are a very common format for sending files off to be professionally printed. Because it is a 'closed' format, to some degree, and can also accommodate a number of security features, it is ideal for integration into an organized proofing system involving writers, editors, clients and (of course) designers and pre-press professionals.

See also: Adobe, PostScript, Acrobat, Distiller

Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop is the graphics industry's standard photographic image manipulation program. Developed originally for Photographers and high-end photo retouchers, Photoshop is now used by practically every single design agency in the World and has few, if any, professional rivals (but see Photoshop alternatives).

Adobe Photoshop can be used to create separated print quality bitmap graphics, and also optimize low resolution digital images for use on the web. It comes bundled with ImageReady, which is a web specific graphics package, capable of more precise web graphics optimization than Photoshop.

Plugins

extend. plug-ins, Xtras, add-ons, Xtensions
Plugins are software tools that typically enhance the functionality of a software application. Adobe have built their whole product line around plugins. Some plugins come with the basic software installation, whilst others are supplied by third party graphics software publishers.

Adobe Photoshop is probably the software tool with the most third party plugins – although QuarkXpress with its own implementation of add-ons called Xtras, may well beg to differ. Plugins range from filters that simply enhance a single function of a software application, to plug-ins that can alter the whole functionality of a program.