buying graphic deisgn software

apex_xepa

Hey Guys

Two questions.

1) Im in the middle of buying software for my graphic design company. My friend told me i should just download the software for free but i was telling him that there must be someway you can, as a graphic design company, get caught using illegal softare. Your accounts alone at the end of year will show that you have bought no software and surely make someone suspicious, no?

2) I found this link: http://soft-buy.net/buy-cheap-adobe-illustrator-cs3-at-low-price.php

The software is extremelly cheap, almost suspiciously cheap. They say that its cause they don't send you the cd and booklets..ect but surely thats not enough of a reason for adobe and the other companies to offer such cheap prices. Are these site illegal do you think?

docdolittle

Holy crap! that is unbelavably cheap :eek: I hope thats real If your looking for free legal ones just look up open-source software for the particular product your looking for.

If it's photoshop your looking for here are a few alt. http://www.osalt.com/photoshop

I heard Gimp is good (No jokes please) :P

What other type of programmes are you looking for?

Danbo!

Steer clear. These guys profit from people who are unsure whether to purchase software or illegally download it. Most people think that once they throw money in some direction that its legal. If you buy from a site like that, you are losing money and breaking the law. Buy from Adobe, or find a local re-seller. Trust me, if you're any good at your job, you'll get back the cost of the software in no time. If I was to start my own business it'd be tough shelling out for the software, but worth it for peace of mind.

EDIT: Taken from siteadvisor - I've highlighted the most important bit.

Posted at 11/26/2008-01:10:50 AM by trobbins, Experienced Reviewer , View profile [ Reputation score: 9 / 9 ]

Rating: Phishing or other scams

[spam gang]

[software piracy]


These sites deal in sofware piracy and are often home to
other
parts of this operation.

Report software piracy to any or all of these sites:
http://www.siia.net/piracy/report/internet_form.asp
http://www.spa.org/piracy/
https://reporting.bsa.org/usa/home.aspx

This is an Identity Theft and Credit Card Fraud ring.

NEVER GIVE ANY INFORMATION TO SPAMMERS!

samhail

docdolittle wrote: »

Holy crap! that is unbelavably cheap :eek: I hope thats real If your looking for free legal ones just look up open-source software for the particular product your looking for...

+1

I have looked at a few open source graphics programs and they do look complex, which only means that there is a learning curve, cant say if they are any good

might be an idea to check em out

p

samhail wrote: »

I have looked at a few open source graphics programs and they do look complex, which only means that there is a learning curve, cant say if they are any good

There's a lot of decent open source apps, but generally speaking they suffer in workflow and speed issues. You can achieve results in Gimp that you can achieve in Photoshop, but for a professional designer, there's really no comparison, particularly in terms of saving time & money by working faster. I'm a big fan of open source, but the same do go for many other open source apps.


To the original poster, the best thing is to just get a loan and pay it back over the year. Buying the design suite is really quite a minimal investment when you consider starting a company, so in the long run, it'll easily pay for itself.

thepotrovk

or you can download them and crack them. I have photoshop cracked and works brilliant

docdolittle

thepotrovk wrote: »

or you can download them and crack them. I have photoshop cracked and works brilliant

em... Thats a tad illegal, and you prob shouldn't say that on the boards :P

Hank_Scorpio

Bottom line is your breaking the law. If you're caught you're caught. It's best to buy the software because it comes with additional support for when it inevitably breaks down. It's the people downloading illegal copies and buying dodgy copies that keeps driving the price up.

Do us all a favour and buy the thing. If you're good at graphic design then it pays for itself. It's an investment, not a cost.

coylemj

So could someone please post a link to places which sell legitimate versions of Photoshop at a good price.

p

coylemj wrote: »

So could someone please post a link to places which sell legitimate versions of Photoshop at a good price.

Adobe.com - amazon.co.uk and in Ireland: www.micromail.com

There's very little difference in cost with Adobe software, it's all a fixed retail price.

Carpaydiem

If its a design company you're starting up, you'll need more than photoshop.

You'll need Illustrator & indesign too, at least (they'll only cover you for print design really).

You'll need even more if you'll be doing web work.

So go for one of the CS4 packages, design premium will get you Flash, Dreamweaver & Fireworks too, and is now the minimum CS package you can get (unless you buy the software individually, which would be madness imo).

Using the CS suite, your workflow is so much easier, and the time you'll save creating your designs will easily outweigh the initial cost of the software.

hitman76

apex_xepa wrote: »

Hey Guys

Two questions.

1) Im in the middle of buying software for my graphic design company. My friend told me i should just download the software for free but i was telling him that there must be someway you can, as a graphic design company, get caught using illegal softare. Your accounts alone at the end of year will show that you have bought no software and surely make someone suspicious, no?

2) I found this link: http://soft-buy.net/buy-cheap-adobe-illustrator-cs3-at-low-price.php

The software is extremelly cheap, almost suspiciously cheap. They say that its cause they don't send you the cd and booklets..ect but surely thats not enough of a reason for adobe and the other companies to offer such cheap prices. Are these site illegal do you think?

No, No this cant be !!

hitman76

Hank_Scorpio wrote: »

Bottom line is your breaking the law. If you're caught you're caught. It's best to buy the software because it comes with additional support for when it inevitably breaks down. It's the people downloading illegal copies and buying dodgy copies that keeps driving the price up.

Do us all a favour and buy the thing. If you're good at graphic design then it pays for itself. It's an investment, not a cost.

This is true.