I’m pleased to say that if you own Photoshop CS3 or higher, you’ll be able to get Photoshop CC, Lightroom 5, and more for $9.99 per month.
Photoshop VP Winston Hendrickson writes, “One common request was a solution specifically tailored for photographers. We listened, and at Photoshop World we’re announcing a special offer for our loyal Photoshop customers.” The new package includes:
- Photoshop CC
- Lightroom 5
- 20 GB of online storage
- Behance ProSite (custom site/portfolio hosting)
- Access to the online video tutorials in Creative Cloud
The Photoshop team provides some details:
To be clear, $9.99 is not an introductory price. It is the price for those of you who sign up by December 31, 2013. This offer will be available at the same time we introduce the new version of Lightroom 5.2 in a couple weeks. Visit the FAQ to learn more and follow Photoshop on Facebook, Twitter and Google+ to find out when the offer goes live.
To reiterate: the intention is not to get you in at $9.99/mo., then crank up the price after a year. $9.99 is the expected ongoing price.
I know that this change won’t address every concern, but I’m happy that the offer makes it much easier for photographers who want just two Adobe apps to get the benefits of Photoshop CC & the Creative Cloud. As time goes by the cloud component will grow more & more valuable, and I’m excited that more people will be able to get new capabilities the moment they’re available.
Cool enough John! Any word on pricing in EU?
[Last I heard someone was updating the FAQ with non-US pricing. (Hopefully that’s happened by the time you read this.) Sorry that it wasn’t there from the start. –J.]
“the intention is not to get you in at $9.99/mo., then crank up the price after a year. $9.99 is the expected ongoing price.”
Adobe also told us we could buy an upgrade from CS6 to CS7. Didn’t happen. Anyway you look at it, it’s still a rental and when you stop paying for it, you lose access.
John: you definitely have my attention with this new pricing scheme. But, what happens if I stop paying one day – any new ideas from the team??
[Are you asking about being able to keep accessing your files? That’s a valid ongoing concern that we haven’t addressed yet. Getting the answer right takes more time than you’d think, and I’m afraid I don’t yet have an ETA for an answer. It *is* a topic of ongoing discussion here, however. –J.]
Without that piece, I remain reluctant to make a decision to upgrade from CS 6.
John, i’m glad that you are at least still debating this concern. I’m kind-of holding my breath here. I’d love to upgrade, but i won’t because of the current TOS.
Thanks for keeping us posted!
John: thanks for the response; yes, I am referring to the issue of accessing files. I am glad to see that the Adobe team is still chewing on this, and I’m looking forward to that answer.
Sign up in the next four months or you pay double, it must be a year membership, if you cancel and wish to rejoin at some future date, you pay double. if you cancel or do not renew, you have no program retention.
I bet it won’t be long before a stand alone version of LR gets discontinued like CS6 did…..
[There are no plans to do that. –J.]
John, thanks for the reply but I sure you can understand hesitation since there was no indication of the end of CS upgrades when the cloud was announced either.
Adobe has yet to do anything to address that main problem with CC, the fact that you inevitably will not be able to access anything in a PSD format the moment you stop paying rent. And that’s a problem a lot of us find objectionable and untenable.
[Understood. As I just replied via another comment, people here understand that this is a problem that still needs to be solved. –J.]
Price probably doubled in Europe, I expect, as usual!
What about those who are ready for LR and PS, but never took the plunge previously? Is our only alternative to purchase LR and add PS for $20/month?
[If you don’t already own a copy of Photoshop, you could indeed buy LR5 & then subscribe to Photoshop (for $9.99/mo. for the first year), or you could subscribe to both for $9.99/mo. each. –J.]
John, I think for folks that don’t any previous version, the single-app subscription to Photoshop CC would remain at US$19.99 a month.
[Ah yes, I think you’re right: Getting the $9.99/mo. price is contingent upon owning a previous version, isn’t it? Thanks for the correction. –J.]
“Getting the answer right takes more time than you’d think”
Doen’t take any time at all. Start selling licenses again. Problem solved.
[Given that there are no plans to do that, I’m talking about finding other workable alternatives. –J.]
“Given that there are no plans to do that, I’m talking about finding other workable alternatives.”
For many of us, licenses are the only workable alternative.
I agree. I fell like Adobe got this idea to funnel us to the cloud from Temple Grandin.
I have been a commercial photographer for some 36 years. I started out with film and really never thought I would have to learn to use a computer. Before long, however, I found myself in the middle of the change from analog to digital, a change that cost me thousands in hardware and software and hour upon hour of training. I adopted Photoshop at version 2 going into 3 and bought into the Adobe format of PSD. I watched the development of layers and adjustment layers and believed Adobe when they told me it was the way to keep my files non destructively. I now have thousands of PSD files in my archives. Now Adobe tells me that they are no longer going to sell me their software. I can now only rent it. So, what do I do with all my files? Spend days, weeks, months and money converting them into a format that’s readable by another program? Go through another analog to film like conversion? That’s what I see in front of me. Course I can rent the software and access them until i can no longer pay the rent for some reason and then lose that access. I won’t do that however. I’ve spent too much money in believing Adobe. Time to find a way where I know I can get to my intellectual property without being extorted by a corporation. I’ve helped pay my share of Adobe salaries for many years. With the scheme they are pushing now, no more.
Wow, so when Photoshop CS6 Extended costs $999 and PS upgrades cost $249, here the company has created a new path to have the latest Photoshop CC release with ongoing upgrades – plus the same for Lightroom ($149 new and $79 upgrade) – both for only $120 a year total for the foreseeable future… so that is a scheme?
This is not an introductory price. But what if it were $5 a month? How about $1 a month? Is no price low enough? Do some people just want all future versions for free?
If the argument is you don’t want/need to upgrade, then just buy PS CS6 and LR5 and be done with it.
Make no mistake, this new program will overall lower the annualized costs for many customers.
Price has nothing to do with it. I’ve already spent thousands. It’s not having the access when you stop paying. And that’s not “if”. That’s a a sure “when”.
Fantastic price but now I’m curious to know what will happen with the bundle on Jan 1.
The single $50 for everything is super simple and the $10 Photographers bundle is great but wouldn’t it be nice if there was an equivalent of the old design premium suite for a price point in between? 😉
I’m currently subscribed to the full cloud for the promo $20/month but not sure what I’ll do when it jumps to $50. I use and depend on Ps and Lr daily but want Indesign and Illustrator only a few times per year.
I could switch to this $10 bundle deal and only do the month-to-month for Indesign/Illustrator but I’d rather pay $25/month and just not have access to the video collection.
[Understood, and there’s no perfect solution (simplicity + enough options to suit every use case). I think that vis-à-vis photography Adobe recognized that a lot of people really need these two specific products; hence the special configuration for this market. –J.]
In reply to John, It seems to me that the old program bundles made everyone happy. Those who wanted stand alone products had them..and the other chose between other two bundles.
Photographers are rarely ‘just’ photographers, however only a very small few are both photo AND video.
It is really disconcerting to have to over purchase just to get the tools one feels they need to do the job. The old bundles were much better.
[The flipside is that in the past you had to know up front what you needed & what you didn’t. The move to Creative Cloud comes in part from Adobe’s belief that creative pros need to work more flexibly now, and that you should have easy access to everything, even if a need hasn’t yet presented itself. I’ve heard people say that this has worked well for them—in a way that previous bundles couldn’t. –J.]
Very true John and I agree I have been trying apps that I wouldn’t have before. However, the old licensing and serial numbers for suites were fundamentally different. The logged-in cloud ‘could’ allow for more dynamic and flexible billing that grows with users needs.
I’m a big supporter of the cloud concept and have been subscribing since day one. It’s the all or nothing that bothers me. The pricing targets those that only want 1 app, or those wanting all of them. There is definitely no perfect solution – I’m sure there are artists or web developers who only want Photoshop and Illustrator.
I’m in the awkward position where this $10/month Photographers Bundle is what I primarily want 99% of the time. The difference to $50/month to have access on the very rare occasions I may need to open a clients file sent in Illustrator is a big step.
I realize “it is what it is” but Adobe prides themselves on listening to feedback. I would be perfectly happy paying half the price for half the stuff.
John, with all due respect, it is easy to use that argument when referring to InDesign which is usable to many different professions even outside the usual ‘creative’ stream but you cannot say the same thing when referring to Premiere, After Effects, Media Encoder, Prelude, Speedgrade and Encore. That is an awful lot of extra baggage to be paying for with absolute no need or desire to use.
When I initially made the jump from stand-alone programs to the CS suite, I did so because I got InDesign, and the only other extra that I didn’t already have was Acrobat, it made financial sense….CC does not. I would be paying for several expensive programs that I do not and will not ever need…especially when I will not have the ability to ever retain any of them once I terminate my subscription!
It is like renting a Winnabago when you really need a four door sedan.
It seems to me that if Lightroom supported all versions of the PSD format instead of just the “compatibility” version, and if this subscription version of Lightroom didn’t stop working the moment you stopped paying rent, then people wouldn’t have to worry about losing access to their files.
Well this is good news, indeed! Though I still prefer the license model, this seems more workable. Thank you for finding a better solution!
“So, to be clear: the intention is not to get you in at $9.99/mo., then crank up the price after a year. $9.99 is the EXPECTED ongoing price.” (emphasis added)
To anyone who knows elementary contract law, “expected” is a marvelous method of eliminating any legally enforceable promise from the words associated with it.
Adobe and it’s CEO apparently believe that photographers are morons.
Adobe could have said “So, to be clear: the intention is not to get you in at $9.99/mo., then crank up the price after a year. $9.99 will the ongoing price for the next ten years.”
[I don’t know what rules come into play here. I suspect that things are more complicated than it would seem, but I wasn’t intimately involved in these discussions. –J.]
Of course, Adobe’s CEO didn’t want to say that. Even if he had done so, that would have left open the potential for unlimited price increases thereafter.
How about a guaranty of $9.95 per month for the life of the subscriber? (crickets)
Don’t get fooled again. The word “expected” was added on purpose. Anyone with an IQ above room temperature should understand that, and there are very few stupid photographers of the type that use Lightroom and Photoshop.
If one wishes to assume the best – that “expected” wasn’t meant as a weasel word, I advise you to watch this exposition by Adobe’s CEO on their prices in Australia:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaR2jR-RpYo
Right…
John,
It’s about time (long overdue) Adobe allowed customer’s outside the US to order Adobe products from US servers – same rate enjoyed by US customers.
In this day and age, on the ‘World Wide Web,’ there is no excuse for not allowing direct US access to purchase a downloadable only product.
Long overdue!
I think this has less to do with Adobe and more to do with import restrictions that various countries operate. For example if you sell within the EU you must charge and collect VAT. If I purchase a physical item in the USA and import it into the EU, I will be charged both import duties and VAT – it the same for software.
Mike,
I am aware, all Adobe have to do is register with UK HMRC office.
I purchase US software from US based software companies who are registered with UK HMRC and much smaller than Adobe. If they can do it so can adobe.
I like the price, and I like the package ..
I already own Lightroom 5 and I suspect Adobe will not give me my money back for that.
The big issue still remains, what happens when I stop renting the software? I need guaranteed access to my psd files in the future.
Offer this and I’ll sign up.
Thanks.
Great price Adobe but completely sucks for those of us that just signed up for 12 months of the full CC suite to get the benefit of the other cheaper offer when really all we needed was PS and LR. And it seems this offer will no longer be available once my 12 months runs out. Grrr. Thanks for nothing Adobe!!!
@Craig,
If you bought direct from Adobe within the past 30 days then you can always return/exchange whatever product you purchased (even if already installed, and even the Creative Cloud) for a full refund, and get something else instead.
You make this sound so good.
However, I just decided to get a sub to Photoshop CC from CS6, and buy a Lightroom 5 upgrade from Amazon. Adobe has made this look lie a stupid waste of money, four days after it said Aug 31 was the CC upgrade deadline.
You look like you’ve misled your loyal customers in a rip-off deal, and now you’re trying to present that rip-off as customer friendly four days after you stuffed customers like me.
[“Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.” I can’t imagine that anyone here has intended to mislead customers, but I apologize for any clumsiness in communications & timing. Please contact Customer Care as I’d bet they can help you out. –J.]
@Doug,
With a Photoshop CC upgrade subscription, you will automatically switch over to the new plan with the lower price and higher benefits…
See the program FAQ for more details.
You may still be able to return your LR5 upgrade within 30 days but you’d have to contact the reseller about that.
Well, that’s something, but I think I’m stuck having paid for LR5. I don’t think any reseller gives refunds once the software seal has been opened.
Thanks for the link. There’s no info on the UK Adobe site as yet.
Pissed it up again guys and gals. WHY are you locking out new users of your products, and making them pay full CC prices instead of offering this to EVERYONE? I guess you have enough customers and don’t want any new ones….
So if the new pricing is going to be the ongoing price, why does it end on December 31? If I wanted to sign up say in March of next year, but I DO have CS3 (AND CS6 BTW), I’d have to pay full price? What a crock….
Your marketing people are definitely out to kill this company. When you start really cranking prices on ALL subscriptions to rapist levels and you piss off your entire customer base, then I guess you’ll all be on the unemployment line.And you’ll deserve it.
Cloud only…what a load of shit…
The reason of the Dec deadline for the AdobeCC upgrade pricing is because Adobe needs to show good conversion rate by end of year. The best way to make our voice heard, is to not upgrade to CC or to hold the upgrade to 2014. I am pretty much certain that Adobe will have the same upgrade discount (from CS3 to CS6) in 2014. They are going to need those numbers.
Sorry, not true. Adobe’s fiscal year ends November 30th, not December 31st… The company will report annual full-year results on December 12, 2013.
So if what you claim were true and they “needed numbers to report for year-end,” then the deadline would have been a month earlier.
So I did the math and figured out that I have spent 754.00 on Adobe products in the last six years. This consists of upgrading LR 4 times and upgrading PS twice. With that I have spent an average of 125.00 per year and the new plan would be 120.00 per year.
While that is now an attractive solution for me I will NOT join the CC until they tell me what happens when I want to stop my subscription. Why this has not been figured out prior to launching this plan is beyond me.
It would seem to me that if I am using LR 10 and PS CS 10 when I decide to end my subscription then I would continue to use that version as long as I would like without any further upgrades. That is exactly what would happen now……..
Adobe is still not getting the message. After spending tens of thousands of dollars in the past 13 years I really feel let doun by this greedy bunch. Apart of Photoshop CS6 everything else Adobe I have replaced.
I won’t even rent a single bit from these guys. Never!
While no solution is ever perfect, this seems pretty darn good. Thanks to John for his continued interest and, I expect, behind-the-scenes advocacy.
Sorry John, but I am back on this AdobeCC, which should be called AdobeSO (as Subscription Only) because the cloud part is just a pretext to justify the subscription licensing model. Adobe CC customers would be better off with good Dropbox integration.
Again, those are just pricing traps to stuck customers into a forever paying model for Adobe stock to go up. I bet we are going to see more of those before the end of 2013, because the CC conversion numbers might not be as good as what the Adobe’s Execs need it to be.
I really love(d) Adobe’s products, and I think we all do. I always like to get the latest software with little consideration for the price. As a software guy myself, I do not mind to pay $$$ for good software and I am lucky enough to run a good business that allow me to do so. However, one thing I have a really hard time with, is to feel forced to into a licensing model that I did not subscribe to when I started to buy and invest my time in this software.
So, to my surprise, for the first time, I did not get the latest and greatest by moving to the CC, and I might never do. I am trying to move Adobe’s products out of my workflow (which for HTML5 and Web design assets is getting easier and easier), and stick with my Master CS6 for the rest. More surprisingly, I did not even buy the LR 5 despite the fact that I really like LR4 (and recommended to all my family and friends). I did not even buy the licensed version, out of disgust of Adobe’s hypocritical arguments on justifying their Subscription-Only licensing model.
The stock went up big time, the employees (at least some) seem to think it is for the best of their users, so, for now, the apparent winner is Adobe. The problem is that Adobe is borrowing on its future, since now any Adobe customers know that they will only get subject to more pricing abuse. And yes, it is a pricing abuse to change the pricing model on locked in customers. So, Adobe gets it current customers, at least the ones they are going to convert to the “SO” model, but I do not think that Adobe will be able to get new product lines or market segments out of it. This “Subscription Only” pricing Technic is going to leave some stain.
Will you allow outside USA registration?
I’m from Israel and so far you didn’t let us register.
Thanks.
It will not be available before September 17th. If you can buy a CC-membership via the Adobe site in your country, this should be there for you as well AFAIK.
So this question may have already been answered but i just haven’t read all the previous posts.
I signed up for Photoshop CC a month ago and got it for $9.99 PM for 12 months because I had a previous version of Photoshop CS5. Does this mean that I will be eligible for the LR deal as well and not have to expect a price rise.
Cheers
Yes Derek, Adobe will automatically give you a price cut going forward, plus new access to Lightroom 5… See this previous reply.
Is Bridge a separate purchase? If so, how much extra?
[Nope, it’s included (as a separate download). –J.]
John – I’ve read on Fstoppers that if you have already signed up for a CC subscription, and own PS CS3/4/5 or 6, you can contact Customer Service and switch to the new PS/LR combo for $9.99. Is that true? I never wanted the entire CC suite, as I only use PS/LR, so this would be a big win for me if it is true.
I’m glad they’re doing this, but I really feel I’ve been abused as a customer by the timing. On Aug 30 I decided to get the first year cheap upgrade from CS6 to Photoshop CC only. One day before the deadline that closed this offer off, with no hint that a new offer was coming. Then, because I like the same version of Camera Raw in both Lightroom and Photoshop, I ordered LR5 upgrade from Amazon, and installed and registered it 24 hours before you launched this offer. That’s effectively £60 you’ve taken off me for nothing, since the PS and LR bundle will be the same price now as PS alone was four days ago.
Why not advertise the new deal before the deadline of the old one passed. I assume it was to take as much money from loyal customers (read suckers) as possible first.
Any ideas what I should do now, or what I should ask Adobe Customer services in the UK to do about this?
My apologies for posting the same thing a second time today. For some reason I wasn’t seeing my earlier post or the subsequent discussion. I have now read your earlier comments. Cheers.
No problem Doug, glad you found the previous reply.
Sorry if you can’t return an opened Lightroom to the reseller… that’s one big advantage of buying direct from Adobe instead – you can always return any software within 30 days for money back.
Reading these post and feeling bitter and lonely. I too have been an avid supporter of Adobe since version 2.
I read about Adobe like one reads about a spouse that you had a long and loving relationship with. It’s as if they became influenced by drugs and alcohol and lost all reason and common sense.
I feel abandoned and rejected, forced out of a relationship that I didn’t want to end. I miss Adobe very much, but it is unlikely we will ever get back together.
David, very nice metaphor. This is spot on >> “I feel abandoned and rejected, forced out of a relationship that I didn’t want to end.” I think many of us really feel the same. And it makes me sad to see many creative users falling into this unhealthy relationship, like, seeing a friend getting pull down by a very bad relationship.
The one thing I haven’t seen clarified is what this package including Lightroom 5 is. Is it just a single, “traditional” copy of LR 5, or is it a CC-style subscription to Lightroom that would come with upgrades?
Btw, does this offer entitle the user to get Lightroom 6 and 7 … or it is just for 5.x? The way it is phrased it seems that LR6 will not qualify.
[It’s a subscription, so you get subsequent versions for as long as you subscribe. –J.]
A warning – a friend of mine did a huge mistake and downloaded thee CC version to try it out. After that he couldn’t go back to his CS6. Everything was screwed up completely. He had a perfectly running system and he had to do the clean install, OS reinstall etc.
I’m afraid once you jump, there is no way back. If you stop paying and want to go back to CS6, you might wake up with your pants way down…
[There should be no connection between CS6 and CC, and I have not heard other people report having a similar experience. –J.]
O/S reinstall??? Never heard a story like that before, don’t take it to be common.
“I’m afraid once you jump, there is no way back.”
Simply not true. Not a problem for 99.9% of the customers out there. We run both releases and switch between the two on different systems.
Avoid the FUD and just use the Adobe Cleaner Tool if you ever run into any problems.
For anyone concerned about how they access their PSD files if they cease their CC subscription, there are programs out there that can convert PSD to TIFF files which also support layers etc (Google it and see). I haven’t tried it myself as I always use TIFF but it might provide a viable option and a little more peace of mind.
Dear John!
What happens when I have no private licence to upgrade to PhotoshopCC?
I certanly won’t buy an old CS3 or newer just to get on this offer.
Who close out new customers willing to pay?
Why “force” users to use pirated software when you actually can earn money on subscription?
No, forget about this. The only acceptable solution was the option to write and read full psd/psb as it is the only format which can deal with all Photoshop features. Exporting to tiff was always terribly lossy on complex files
[You don’t export to TIFF, you save to it. I know that sounds pedantic, but it’s an important distinction: Saving means that you can do it without loss. As long as you enable the layers checkbox when saving your TIFF, everything should be preserved. –J.]
Imagine a psd which contains several embedded raw files (as smart objects,some smart filtering on top of these, layers clipping each other, grouping, embedded Illustrator artwork as Smart objects. That’s not a theoretical construction – I have loads of such files. When you save such a file to tiff this will keep the appearance, this maybe gives you layers too – but your smart file has suddenly become incredibly dumb.
[I just did a test & preserved SOs made from raw files & Illustrator data. –J.]
After a reasonable period of subscription one should be able to keep the present version of all CC programs permanently, so that one can go on using the Software after quitting the subscription. Every other offer was no solution.
sorry, this was intended as a reply to Neil A.
Thanks John for having a look! Yet, I think that you misunderstood my statement: PS indeed can handle all this added intelligence when reading a .tiff which was authored from a complex .psd. That means CC customers who quit paying AND own recent perpetual licenses of PS may happily go on working – they however could quite as well save a .psd for as long as Adobe doesn’t change anything mayor in the file format…
***
That’s not what I was talking about. Adobe is also targeting people who have never owned Photoshop. Adobe by now should have ten-thousands of customers who fall in in this user group,if things go well for CC it will be millions in a couple of years. Now imagine that any of these guys stops paying for whatever reason. He/she thought to be clever and batch exported layered tiffs from all existing .psds before the license ran out.
Unfortunately this user is still screwed:
I just opened one of my typical files in Photoline, a very powerful 96 bit editor which understands a lot of PS’s concepts… The result: Smart objects/filters gone, groups gone, several colour spaces per file gone, external references gone, vector objects and text as curves or even rasterized – do I have to go on?
[Sorry, you’re right, and I misunderstood. It’s true that *no* app besides Photoshop can understand and edit all those constructs. That’s one reason the PS team has always worked really hard to include compatibility data (rendered copies of each layer & optionally a rendered composite—which I believe is mandatory in the TIFF format). The question of what it means to retain access to one’s work is an important one: Is it enough simply to be able to open/view/export files, or does one need to be able to manipulate them—and if so, to what degree? Answering these questions across apps (PS, LR, video, layout, etc.) takes longer than anyone would like. –J.]
I have nothing against renting – but leaving people who payed thousands over the years with such a situation is utterly unacceptable!
I simply can not see a way around offering non expiring full versions after a reasonable time of renting. If you did so without offering support I fail to see how this could interfere with CC’s understandable idea of streamlining the portfolio.
Well I consider data re-use just FUNDAMENTAL – in all Adobe apps I use. Photoshop files are my Master-files for about everything I do on pixels. I delete the RAW after I embed them as a Smart Object, the same goes with all sorts of other placed content. I can do this without any risk – the – psd holds everything neatly together, yet I can work on every isolated object. One can output in any thinkable way and combination from such a file or drop even its smallest sub-components into other files – which is awesome. Graphic Design is not my main business but even I have master files which I reworked dozens of times (and re-saved as child-psd’s) over the years because output demands differ from publication to publication. It sure happens less often, but it clearly happens that I need to go back to some of my Corel files I created before starting using Adobe products. As I still have a copy installed on one machine I still have the same fine grained control over this content and will have it for as long as I find an OS which runs this Software.
With CC as it stands Adobe completely removes the options I just explained for new users who at some point see good reasons to drop their subscription. Beginners may not yet be able to realize what this really means. But you should. In this context I don’t want to hear proposals to spend some a couple more bucks in order to re-gain full access to older files – why the heck should one? Professionals deserve instant access to applications they spent a lot of money for, even if they decided to no more contribute in the development of future versions. That’s how things work with 99.9% of Software available.I consider everything else unethical.
Finally, Adobe has come up with a reasonable price for Photoshop CC and Lightroom.
It is unfortunate that Adobe and other companies come up with bold, ridiculous, plans, and then end up humiliating themselves when being reasonable to begin with would have avoided these difficult situations.
I still remember from my basic economic classes during the late ’60′s that it is important to explore the possibility that profits may be able to be increased by lowering the price to a reasonable profit margin to attract more happy customers. I believe that this will work for Adobe, and Adobe stock seems to be responding positively.
Please correct me if I’m wrong, but on the “photoshop photography program offer” faq it says:
“This offer is available to customers who own a previous commercial version of Photoshop or Photoshop Extended, version CS3 or later (CS3.x, CS4, CS5.x, or CS6). SUITES AND VOLUME LICENSES DO NOT QUALIFY”.
I own the Creative Suite Production Premium CS4 which includes Photoshop CS4 Extended. So basically I’m not eligible for this offer even though I paid a lot more for the suite and still own the Photoshop CS4. If this is true then Adobe can kiss my..
Given the concern with being able to keep access to our psd files if we decided to drop the subscription, now that Lightroom is to be included in a CC package does the same apply? If we drop the subscription what happens to our Lightroom catalogue etc? WIll we have to export all our images?
[Lightroom is available as a subscription product via this offer (i.e. you’re not getting the perpetual copy). –J.]
Come on Adobe, having access after a subscription realy needs to be sorted before more people will sign up.
[Yes, we have more work to do here. –J.]
I just had the craziest idea ever. Why doesn’t Adobe just officially create a “Photoshop Viewer”, an app that is to Photoshop as Adobe Reader is to Acrobat? Have it open PSD files, let people switch on and off layers and export the visible image, but nothing else, no editing, no moving, no nothing.
This would not just essentially solve the “how would I open my files after I exit the CC train”. It would also be really convenient for professionals (who own some kind of Creative Suite or subscribe to the CC) to work with their clients (who only need to view the result).
Or is this so far fetched?
Well this is actually what the “cloud” part of Creative Cloud does… The content of PSD files that you put there can be intelligently viewed read-only at any time by yourself or others, layers can be turned on and off, the files can be displayed (and optionally downloaded) by clients, etc.
And so there is a free level of membership to the Creative Cloud that allows everyone to use this for life, even if they are not (or are no longer) a paid CC subscriber.
Now that’s online and not a desktop app, but because PSD is a published format, there are also desktop-based viewers already out there like XnView (free) that will read and write .PSD files plus opens Adobe Illustrator .AI files, or ADOView ($10) which reads and displays any InDesign or InCopy file plus reads Illustrator files, and so on.
Similar was suggested before but I don’t think such a viewer application was a technically realistic option. In order to give users export-access to everything a Photoshop file may contain, down to paths, channels, masks, patterns, custom shapes, embedded RAW-content and embedded as well as referenced Illustrator artwork one needed the full blown Photoshop.
More importantly: Why on earth should one be willing to accept such an incredibly poor deal?
All aspects of PS’s non destructive editing make an awesome promise: You are never determined, you can always return and tweak, you will never lose anything. And it used to be a correct statement. One even after years can develop embedded RAWs anew, change the overall composition and everything.
With CC Adobe for its new users break the promise the Software makes, through its licensing scheme.
Once again I feel that Adobe are carrying out a sleight of hand operation. I can’t help feeling cheated one way or the other. Disappointed.
Richard
Do i only get an upgrade for the PS license that i own on this offer? Or will Adobe provide a new license that i can use on another PC?
This comment is for the community. We all should realize several things:
1. Adobe needs revenue to support the product we all want
2. New licenses are not sufficient to support the company
3. We do not want Adobe to freeze in place like Corel has, or worse – go out of business.
4. Lightroom has very serious competition. Photoshop – much less so.
So Photoshop permanent licenses are unlikely to come back. Lightroom permanent licenses will probably be around at least as long as it has competition with a permanent license.
Adobe has now offered a reasonable compromise. For now it’s an experiment for a limited time. We must respond by signing up in droves to show them that we are serious when we say that we are willing to pay a reasonable price for a package that reflects our needs.
If we show that we are serious then they may actually keep the deal. If not enough of us show that we are serious then they will abandon us.
So sign up for the new deal as soon as it is out.
Horses**t.
I have CS5 Creative Suite, then upgraded only PS to CS6. Will this new offer possibly disable my currently-working Illustrator and Dreamweaver CS5?
[No—it should have absolutely no bearing on them. –J.]
Thanks.
“Essentially they don’t “expect” to raise the rate during the second year of a continuous subscription.”
Apparently the Adobe marketing department thinks they are all-powerful and they continue to issue Orwellian statements.
In reading the fine print of the offer, I discovered that customers like me who own Photoshop within a Creative Suite do not qualify for the new program.
I guess I have to give Adobe credit for their creative surrealism. As a customer, I feel like they hate me. Adobe needs to figure out how the marketing department can enthrall me like their engineers can with their fantastic software. If they would just stop torturing me, I will remain a loyal customer.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/amadoudiallo/2013/09/05/adobe-answers-photoshop-cc-uproar-with-low-cost-bundle/?utm_source=alertsnewcomment&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20130910
O.K…even though I will not be joining CC because of the never ending payment plan, if I reneged on my personal beliefs and decided to get this PS/LR offer, I now realize I am not even eligible!
What the heck is with that noise??? As time goes on this is getting more and more laughable…but not in a good way!
I am a teacher who teaches Lightroom and Photoshop. I have always gotten the programs through my school and have not owned a personal copy (or at least never had to pay for one). Now I seem to be unable to have a personal copy except for $20/month. Is there any way I can get this deal, as I can afford to pay $10/month personally but not $20.