Well, here we are in the new year. The happy season of Christmas and New Year has passed and for many (myself included), it’s back to the grindstone.

So how best to start of the new year? We’re going to start this years blogs off by…. Reflecting back on something important that happened just as last year was closing. Yes, we are more than aware that we are meant to be looking forward, but trust us on this it’s well worth the digression.

We make no secret of our love for the Affinity team and their Photo/Designer products. However, we have always remained objective and have given (what we consider to be) open, honest and fair reviews. There is absolutely no denying that the suite is ridiculously powerful and in many ways competed well with Illustrator and Photoshop at the beginning. However, at the time of the previous reviews there were some improvements and features that needed to be tended to – to really stand up against Adobes powerhouses. So have they managed to do it? Did they listen to messages on the forum and the reviews/write-ups they received globally? You bet your ass they did.

Serif (The production house behind Affinity) have smashed it out of the park with the latest updates to both Photo and Designer. Not only have they listened and given us what everyone was screaming for… Press-ready output capabilities, but they have also gone so much further.

We wanted to wait until after the new year so we could have a month to play with both and give you an insight into what’s changed and answer the question on everyone’s lips… Is Affinity now a real substitute for Illustrator and Photoshop?

So below, we have both Photo and Designer and underneath each title are the latest and (in our humble opinion) the most important updates they have made. As an added bonus we have also included links to their Vimeo channels that show these updates in action. Let’s begin!…

Affinity Photo:

• STACKING – This feature allows you to stack a burst shot of images into one visible image. This is a very powerful resource for: Object Removal, Exposure Merging, long Exposure Simulation and Noise Reduction (to name a few).
• COLOUR FORMATS
• CREATIVE GRADIENTS
• HAZE REMOVAL
• VIEWPOINTS
• PANARAMA CREATION – We have to give a special annotation here as quite frankly we have never used or seen anything quite so powerful as this feature for creating panoramic images out of a series. The auto stitch feature alone generates amazing results with virtually no interference by you.
• PRESS-READY FUNCTIONALITY – That’s right it’s been done! You now have bleed parameters and export functionality, that will produce press ready Pdf’s which include all printer marks required.

Please do note that we have not commented against each of the new/updated features as we think it would be much better for you to see them in action yourself. To do so click this link: https://www.vimeo.com/album/3256246 , once you have done that click the date order and have a look through the latest videos. These videos are tutorials that show you how the new functions work and the way in which they can benefit your workflow.

Affinity Designer:

• ARTBOARDS – Create art boards from content, change their opacity and colour, group art boards together for exporting etc.. this really was one gripe that we had when Designer was first released, in that you could only have one art board per file. So not only have they given us art board functionality they have thrown open the door to many other functions for them.
• LOCK CHILDREN – This allows you to lockdown elements within a given group, meaning that any changes you make to that group will only effect on those that are not lockdown. Like us you are probably thinking where is the practicality in that? Take a look at the accompanying video (link below) and your eyes will be opened!
• PANTONE COLOURS
• EDITABLE ROTATION POINTS
• GLOBAL, SPOT and OVERPRINT COLOURS
• VIEWPOINTS
• PRESS-READY FUCNTIONALITY – As with Photo they have done the same for designer.

Likewise, we are not going to comment on each and every update/new feature as in all honesty you will more than likely lose interest in our ramblings trying to get the point across. Therefore, please click the following link and check out their tutorials showing how each one works and its practical usage in your own workflow. Here’s the link for the Designer Tutorials: https://www.vimeo.com/album/3062024

So have they done it? Is the Affinity suite really a contender against the might of Adobes Illustrator and Photoshop? Hell yeah!

In our opinion, there are a couple of little niggly bits that need addressing – such as being able to actually see the bleed area etc… but these aside, there really is no reason as to why you can’t switch.

There is always going to be some cross programme compatibility issues when importing PSD and Ai files into either of the programmes. But, in truth pretty much everything you can do in Adobe you can now do in Affinity…and then some. Not only that, but you have to remember the real jewel in the suites crown… IT IS NOT SUBSCRIPTION BASED and they haven’t hiked the price to compensate for that. The team at Serif really do have a lot going for them with this suite and with awards from Apple already being won (MAC APP OF THE YEAR 2015 – Affinity Photo & APPLE DESIGN AWARD 2015 winner – Affinity Designer), they showing no sign of sitting on their laurels.

For a full list of program features for each, please click here for Affinity Photo and here for Affinity Designer.

Affinity Suite Website

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