onOne Software's Mask Pro 4 Available Mid-November
onOne Software, Inc., announces that Mask Pro 4 — the upgrade to the company’s popular digital image masking plug-in Mask Pro 3 – will begin shipping on November 18, 2006. Mask Pro 4 provides a complete collection of Photoshop® plug-in tools that allow users unprecedented flexibility when tackling the most challenging masking job. And this new version focuses on teaching the user how to best use each comprehensive toolset for masking a wide range of images.
And as in the previous version, onOne Software’s Mask Pro 4 uses the concept of “keep colors” and “drop colors” chosen by the user and then based on those user selections, the Mask Pro algorithm will remove only those selected colors from an image. One of the strengths of Mask Pro is that when a “drop color” is found in another pixel, Mask Pro will remove only that color value from the pixel, leaving that pixel (or pixels) semi-transparent. This allows Mask Pro to minimize the edge halo effect often seen when masking a transparent object or edge.
“The process of masking or isolating an object from its surroundings is easy for most photographers and graphic artists to understand,” said Craig Keudell, president of onOne Software. “However, in a real world image filled with overlapping colors and shapes the photographer needs powerful algorithms like those in Mask Pro 4 to help them keep up with the demands of a busy workflow.”
“I do a lot of product shots for catalogs and traditionally, making high-quality clipping paths was a very time-consuming, but important part of my work flow,” said Professional Photographer Jim DiVitale. “Incorporating Mask Pro into my workflow was a major change for the better as it has saved me hours of post-processing time so I can get back to shooting. What used to take me 20 minutes to do with traditional selection tools, I can now do in just two minutes with Mask Pro.”
Recognizing that masking digital images can be a time-consuming job regardless of the tools used, Mask Pro 4 focuses on teaching users how to effectively complete a masking job through built-in training videos that detail how each tool works and when to use it.
Additional new features in version 4 include:
* New Keep/Drop detail view showing users the exact color values selected by the Keep & Drop Highlighters.
* Support for Wacom Pen Tablets including pressure sensitivity. If a user presses hard with their pen, they will get a hard edge to their mask. If they press lightly, they will get a soft, subtle edge to their mask.
* Improved Navigator windows allow users to see several views while masking a subject. The different views include a composeite mode so users can see the new background appear as they mask allowing them to make immediate decisions on their mask and an Alpha channel view so they can see in black and white (and grey) how their mask will look.
Users who purchased Mask Pro 3 as of September 7, 2006 will receive the upgrade to Mask Pro 4 for free. A free update to version 4 adding support for 16-bit images will be available shortly after the initial 4.0 release.
About onOne Software
onOne Software develops time-saving software solutions for professional and advanced amateur photographers in the digital photography and graphic design industries. onOne Software solutions have been created to help photographers spend more of their time behind the camera taking pictures instead of the computer workstation. Such solutions include a wide range of easy-to-use plug-in enhancements for Adobe™ Photoshop™, Photoshop™ Elements and QuarkXPress™.
