eCommerce: Xara Xtreme Pro review

Professional graphics software for under £150? David Bradforth takes a look

Xara Xtreme Pro is the latest development of a program that started in the early 1990's as ArtWorks - a Corel-beating application for RISC OS computers. Essentially Xara Xtreme Pro is a graphic design package, with particular strengths at producing quality vector artwork as well as Flash animation for use on web pages. Or that's how it started. Xara Xtreme Pro adds a little further on that.

For the first time, Xara Xtreme Pro supports multi-page documents. This allows for simple DTP-style layouts to be produced, of both single or double-page spreads. Producing a magazine such as the one you're reading is very much possible, and you can flow within the text any vector or bitmap images you so chose.

PANTONE spot colours are supported; so if you don't find the exact could you require within the usual CMYK range you can opt for one of those - and the end result will include the PANTONE definition for printing. (The problem with PANTONE colours is you will have to pay extra to a printer for a fifth colour out of the CMYK ranges to be printed; the advantage however is that you can print gold using this technique).

The export features of Xara Xtreme have been improved, so you can both import and export XPS and RAW format images; ensuring consistently high quality whatever your end purpose is.
When it comes to professional print output, native export in PDF/X format ensures that what you see on the final printed page is as you'd expected from your screen-based proof.

As an added freebie, Xara3D 6 has been thrown into the bundle. As a very capable program in its own right, Xara3D is a welcome addition allowing you to focus on producing attractive headings for your documents and websites before manipulating the end files.

If we were to compare Xara Xtreme Pro to Adobe Illustrator CS3, we'd probably do neither program justice. Xara Xtreme has always been the faster program to use, both in rendering speed and overall time to produce final product; the creative potential for which has been greatly extended by the addition of basic DTP functionality.

What we liked most about Xara Xtreme is still here in Xtreme Pro; and at a price that's more than justified. The trial version is available on the Xara website so that you can experience Xara Xtreme for yourself - make your own mind up. It's good though.

Available from Xara (http://www.xara.com) at $249