Cheap Macromedia Fireworks MX 2004 Commercial Version (Software) (Windows 2000, Macintosh, Windows XP, Windows 98) Price

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Customer Reviews of Macromedia Fireworks MX 2004 Commercial Version

Makes things easier and nicer
I was never particularly interested in graphic design. I'm still not. Even so, I realize the importance of graphics in presentation. A background as an engineer convinced me of this and my work (limited) in publishing and teaching just makes the point stronger. I have some limited experience with the Adobe line including PHOTOSHOPE and ILLUSTRATOR. Those are powerful tools but way beyond what I was willing to learn. For me, FIREWORKS fit the bill. <
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>Since it is a Macromedia product, FIREWORKS is well integrated with DREAMWEAVER. Using the two products in conjunction with each other has proved much easier than I thought it would be. As an added plus, FIREWORKS uses the PNG file format for its native work. This format can be comprised of a mixture of both vector and raster graphics. This means that PHOTOSHOP and ILLUSTRATOR files are understood and can be combined. The output can be in a variety of formats chosen by the artist. I am most pleased. <
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>I am still not overly interested in the graphic end of things but my production does look much nicer now. I know that FIREWORKS has many more capabilities that I have not yet tapped. I actually expect to enjoy learning about these. <
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Best when used with Dreamweaver
Don't get me wrong...its stands tall even when used seperately but what makes it better is its seamless integration with Dreamweaver. There aren't many studio apps. that provide this kind of flexibility.

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Moderately experienced, listen up...
...this review is more for you than the professional or even the newbie. I'm not a graphics pro, though I have a decent amount of experience on everything from Paint Shop Pro to programs no longer in use. I started using Fireworks as part of the Studio suite of programs included with Dreamweaver and the other Macromedia products. When I started using Dreamweaver, I wasn't aware of what Fireworks could do and held off using it. But when I needed professional looking graphic logos, and Corel Draw wasn't doing what I needed, I went to Fireworks and haven't looked back.

Fireworks does image manipulation similar to Photoshop. Whether it is as capable in that area is debatable. I haven't used Photoshop, but have ordered a copy to see the differences. I'm also not as skilled in image work as I am in things like creating graphics for web sites or business cards, so I'm not the best source of comparison. However, I have taken some original images I shot with my digicam and worked with them to get the results I liked. There are many features in Fireworks for this kind of work, and for the most part, unless you are doing something spectacular, you should be able to use FW for this task. Unfortunately, if you want a thorough discussion on vector and raster graphics and software, this isn't it.

As far as original graphics, I like the way FW works. You can set up a "canvas" the size you want, have the graphic sized by pixels, and change both easily. Also, perhaps like other programs, there is a great deal of use of X/Y coordinates, so items can be placed very precisely. Unlike PSP (or at least the version I last used), once an item is placed, you can still select that item (text, box, image, etc.) and put it somewhere else. The native PNG format that FW produces uploads to web pages directly without conversion to JPG or GIF, and I found that very worthwhile. For some reason, my logos in Corel Draw were coming out with fuzzy text, even at high resolutions. I drew the same or similar logos in FW and had no distortion problems. It may have been a graphic format conversion issue. Either way, its not a problem working with FW, DW, and the web.

FW is reasonably easy to learn to use. It will take you a while to get good at it, however. And you probably won't become a graphics pro just by buying this software. However, it is nice to have this program in my toolkit for general, advanced amateur use. Maybe you add Photoshop if you really need it, but for the most part, this just might get the job done.