Software Reviews
Alien Skin's Blow Up 2.
Reviewed by d.a.w DESIGN
Blow Up 2 by Alien Skin is a Photoshop plug–in that produces enlargements sharper than any other software plug–in. Blow Up 2 uses an innovative algorithm that temporarily converts pixels to a vector representation which results in perfectly smooth, sharp, crisp edges. Simulated texture and film grain keep photos looking natural even in extreme enlargements. Blow Up 2 can even clean up JPEG compression artifacts and sharpen edges allowing enlargement of low quality source images. There are over 100 presets for common output sizes that make cropping and resizing easy to do. When you load a preset, Blow Up 2 makes an intelligent guess about where to crop the image using the Auto Crop feature. The Auto Rotate feature adapts the preset to match your photo’s orientation. Blow Up 2 applies the proper amount and sharpening based on the paper type you choose.
Using Blow Up 2’s built–in batch processing tool makes resizing many photos at once very easy in a single step.
Blow Up 2 provides more control over simulated natural texture and film grain. The most dramatic improvements to Blow Up 2 are in the new user interface that takes advantage of multi–processor and multi–core systems to make rendering as fast as possible. Presets for Cropping and resizing at the same time are easily handled for common output sizes. Blow Up 2 can handle, CMYK color space, 32–bits/channel HDR images. All bit depths are supported, including 16–bits/channel (for Raw images) and 32–bits/channel (for HDR images). Blow Up 2 is the only resizing plug–in that supports 32–bits/channel images. Blow Up 2 is the first major Photoshop plug-in that will work in the Windows 64–bit version of Photoshop CS4.
Figure 01 –Blow Up 2 Interface showing the setting tab.
Figure 02 –Blow Up 2 Interface showing the controls tab.
What’s New in Version 2
•Image quality is improved in many ways, resulting in sharper images for both upsizing and downsizing images.
•Noisy images are handled better.
•Improve simulated grain. The user now has control over simulated natural texture.
•Controls: for output sharpening. Just choose your medium (paper type or Web) and Blow Up 2 sharpens to the right amount.
•Slider for cleaning up overly compressed JPEG images. When a client insists on giving you a poor quality web image, you can clean it up during the resizing process.
•Batch processing version of Blow Up 2. This is easier than using a Photoshop actions to process many photos at once.
•The previewing system has been completely redesigned. Zooming and cropping are integrated for improved workflow.
•The Crop to Size Tool is an easy way to crop and resize to a specific output size at the same time.
•Settings Tab with over 100 presets. You can also save your own settings.
•Proper output sharpening is applied to match the paper type.
•Presets automatically rotate to fit the orientation of your image and find a suitable crop area.
•Previewing is faster on multi–processor or multi–core computers.
•Resize up to 300,000 pixels per side, the maximum Photoshop can handle.
Filter Menu
Blow Up 2.0.0 appeared in the File > Automate rather than the Filter menu, which confused some users.
Blow Up 2 (Version 2.0.3 ) is an automation plug–in, not a filter. In Photoshop, you can find Blow Up 2 in the menu File > Automate > Alien Skin Blow Up 2 (You will also see an entry for Alien Skin Blow Up 2 Batch...). Blow Up 2 (Version 2.0.3 ) also appears at the bottom of the Filter menu.
Figure 03 –File Menu.
Blow Up 2 Panels
•Blow Up 2.0.3 comes with two Photoshop CS4 panels that are accessed in the Window > Extensions.
•The panels can be moved and docked just like Photoshop’s built–in panels, such as the Layers palette.
Startup Panel
The first of these is the Startup Panel which makes common output sizes and paper types available with a single click.
The Startup Panel can also start Blow Up’s full interface with a single click rather than navigating into Photoshop’s menus.
Figure04 – Startup Panel.
Gallery Wrap Panel
The other Photoshop CS4 panel installed with Blow Up 2.0.3 is the Gallery Wrap Panel.
This panel prepares images for printing on canvas that is stretched around the outside of a wood frame. This popular mounting technique requires extending an image to cover the sides of the frame, which can be a confusing and tedious process. The Gallery Wrap Panel provides full control over this process while taking care of all the technical details. The resulting image is ready to send to professional printing companies such as APC (http://artisticphotocanvas.com).
Figure05 – Gallery Wrap Panel.
Note:
•Free update from version 2 to 2.0.3.
•Includes panels for use in Photoshop CS4 that provide single–click access to presets and the ability to create gallery wraps.
•Blow Up 2 now appears in the Filter menu for easy access.
For examples of Alien Skin’s Blow Up 2 http://www.alienskin.com/blowup/blowup_examples.aspx
Host Requirements
Blow Up 2 is a plug–in and requires one of the following: Adobe Photoshop CS2 9.0.2 or later, Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0.1 or later (Macintosh), or Adobe Photoshop Elements 5 or later (Windows).
System Requirements
Microsoft Windows users must have at least a Pentium 4 processor or compatible and Windows XP or later. Apple Macintosh users must have a PowerPC G5 or Intel processor and Mac OS X 10.4.11 or later. A monitor with 1024x768 resolution or greater is required.
Components
The results in Alien Skin’s Blow Up 2 are superior to any other image enlargement software. I was stunned how good you could take a very poor quality image (you know the one’s that clients give you) and turn it into a smooth high resolution image that had very smooth edges. I highly recommend Alien Skin’s Blow Up 2 for all Photoshop Professionals and Amateurs. This program will pay for itself the first time you use it. It’s great and worth every cent / penny. It’s a pleasure to use.
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