I have the Adobe Creative Suite 4, is it imperative that I upgrade to the newest version?
Are the newer versions worth buying? Are there new tools that I should learn? It's a lot of money to upgrade, so I'd like to know if it's worth it!
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Feb 5, 2015
Yes. It is. I just recently, finally took the plunge and upgraded from CS6. I've invested in a Creative Cloud subscription. With CC, there are constant updates to InDesign, Illustrator and Lightroom (and all the other Adobe apps). It's $49.99 a month, but it's worth having the latest capabilities. For example, with InDesign CC, you can generate a QR code. You couldn't do that with earlier versions. I use InDesign, Illustrator and Lightroom a lot because I'm a writer-editor-desktop designer/publisher-photographer, and I'm finding it really is worth the monthly subscription investment. Especially when you get access to every Adobe app for that subscription fee.
Aug 5, 2014
It is now all through a Creative Cloud subscription. I think you might be able to upgrade to CS6 but I am not sure.
I use Illustrator and Photoshop. Last year I was able to subscribe to the entire Creative Suite for $20 a month for 1 year only. I decided to give it a try. At first I figured I would just go back to CS6 and dump the subscription after the year was up. In fact I saved files as CS6 files anticipating this. Well I did that for a couple of months...then I got hooked!
I LOVE some of the new things in Illustrator. My fave is the touch type tool that allows you to rotate, move, and scale individual letters and keep them as real fonts. There is also the type kit fonts available for free. I also like the draw inside tool which allows you to create content inside the mask directly without overlaying the shape and clipping the content in it. In Illustrator CC 2014 it opens with tutorials you can watch and learn from. Kind of fun.
I think it is worth it. It allowed me to do some tasks more efficiently and create new things because of it's capabilities and new brushes and tools.
You can try a trial version and see what you think. Be careful though-you may get hooked like me!
BTW there are deals for the first year on Creative Cloud which makes it less than $50 a month for the entire suite.
My year is up shortly and that deal is no longer available for me.
I only use Illustrator and Photoshop so it isn't too bad to subscribe to just those 2. Illustrator is $19.99 and Photoshop with Lightroom is specially priced at $9.99 a month.
If you are a new user the entire suite now is $29.99 a month.
Hope this helps you.
Jul 11, 2014
There are a lot of features in CC that I find save me a lot of time. However, you'll need to make sure your computer is up to spec because Photoshop now requires a lot of memory to run smoothly. If you can upgrade, I suggest you do. With Creative Cloud, you can get every Adobe product as part of your monthly subscription. I found it to be cheaper overall simply because of that fact.
Jul 10, 2014
Adobe Creative Cloud is amazing! If you are a student it is only like $20 a month. Even at the full price, it is an awesome value!
Jun 18, 2014
Hey Liz!
Since its debut last year, Creative Cloud has already added so many new tools and features to all of the programs that it's borderline imperative to get now. Yes you can technically still get away with CS4, but the new Creative Cloud is an extremely worthy investment. You get the entire creative suite at your fingertips for only $50 a month, downloading programs off the cloud whenever you need to.
Eventually you'll need to update to Creative Cloud anyways because Adobe is no longer distributing Creative Suite as it was before. Everything is on the Creative Cloud exclusively.
Jun 18, 2014
I would say keep the one you have, but if you like you can get the trial version of the upgrade and check it out. i still use version 4. good luck
Jun 18, 2014
Although it's not imperative that you upgrade, it will certainly help you grow your skill set. As the newer versions come with new tools and features that could ultimately speed up tasks, etc. I would suggest to not get to far behind. The cloud is a good option.
Jun 18, 2014
Hello Liz! I think its very important to stay on top of the current software as much as possible. Technology and software is changing so rapidly all the time that if you don't it becomes hard to keep up and learn whats new about the software.
Most important thing you need to keep in mind is that as the operating systems (Mac OS or Windows) upgrade and change the older versions of the Adobe software may no longer work and then you will really be in a bind.
From a cost stand point, the longer you wait the more its going to cost you. If you wait too much longer Adobe will not honor CS4 as an upgrade (which is cheaper) and consider it a new purchase.
I wish you well and hope that this has been helpful to you.
Sincerely,
Barry Rush
Jun 17, 2014
The answer is as always when this question is posed. It all depends on what you want to accomplish. There are some newer features in the later versions of the Adobe CS line of products. The more complex your requirements, the more you may need to consider an upgrade-if anything to simplify your workflow and expedite your production time on results. The cloud solution has worked nicely for me, i just haven't had the time the really make do with all it provides for freelancing purposes. Great suggestions throughout. Hope it helps and good luck!