PhotoGrav 3.0 upgrade

[Stanley Waldrup]

I was just notified of an upgrade to version 3.0. Any thoughts on the new version?
Stanley

[Jim Watkins]

I just hope they have more settings for wood. THey currently have only two and I would like to see at least pre set settings for Maple and Baltic Birch.

I don't find much use for the Walnut settings, but I use the Cherry alot. More would be good. I would love to hear about it too.

[Mark Koenig]

I talked to them on Monday... They said it would not be ready for a month or so...

[Kevin Huffman]

I am blessed to be able to be part of the beta testing for the version 3.0 of Photograv. They have made a TON of improvements. All of them in a good direction so far.
Some of the more major changes include the ability to import other file types, other than the standard 8bit grayscale bitmap. Full Color, Bitmaps, Jpegs, Tiff's and PNG's.
You can also resize the image once inside PhotoGrav.
They have even added a split panel view. You can view the original as you adjust your settings and see how the simulated image is going to be effected.
The work flow is more linear, so even the most novice users can pick this up and begin using it.
All in all the already great program is on its way to another great program.

[Bill Cunningham]

I sure hope they intend to give a break to those that bought their old, old, ancient version with-in the last year, so we don't feel like we've been ripped off.. If I had known a new version was coming, and that the version I bought had not had a update in 6-7 years, I would have waited and continued with the slower methods.. I sent a email regarding upgrades to them a month ago, but have not been blessed with a reply as of yet!

[Frank Corker]

On their website they say since the 1st August 2007 would be entitled to a free upgrade (Oh whoopee do). So be prepared to get ripped off again! The program is good but was way overpriced when I bought it two years ago and way overpriced for what it does. As it is a time saver we all know, as do Photograv, that we are a captive audience and it will be a case of having to upgrade despite the cost.
To incur another expense of the magnitude of the copy I bought, I will be expecting it to do an awful lot of song and dancing!

[Dean Novakowski]

We are also using the beta, very nice. You can also resize the pictures within photograv.
Rebates will be as follows:
C. Instant Rebate Coupon (these Coupons will only be honored by Imagelaz)

1. Current owners of Photograv 2.x are eligible for an instant rebate of $200.00. The final price is $195.00 plus the cost of shipping ($10 in continental USA)

2. Instant Rebate for 2007 Purchase (limited time only, expires 6/30/2008)
Customers who purchased Photograv 2.11 since January 1, 2007 are eligible for an additional rebate equal to 5% of the retail price times (x) the number of the month in which Photograv 2.11 was purchased.

Example for a customer who purchased Photograv 2.11 in May 2007:
5% x 395.00 = 19.75 x 5 (month of purchase) = 98.75.
Final cost: 195.00 – 98.75 = 96.26 plus 10.00 shipping = 106.26

[Wil Lambert]

On their website they say since the 1st August 2007 would be entitled to a free upgrade (Oh whoopee do). So be prepared to get ripped off again! The program is good but was way overpriced when I bought it two years ago and way overpriced for what it does. As it is a time saver we all know, as do Photograv, that we are a captive audience and it will be a case of having to upgrade despite the cost.
To incur another expense of the magnitude of the copy I bought, I will be expecting it to do an awful lot of song and dancing!

We have Photograv and yes it was little pricey but worth it in the long run. I personally can pull of what it does on Photoshop but my wife or partner can't. The software has been great for them. I use is sometimes because of the speed. Not always the best results but with a little tweaking it does the job.

The software may be pricey but not out of line with the size of the customer base they have. This is not Excel or Photoshop that has mass volume. I write automation software for the CNC industries and it is time consuming and expensive. Software is not cheap except when you sell it to the masses.

Alright off my soap box,
Wil

[Stephen Beckham]

Memory doesn't serve me - but what is the second software program that does what Photograv does? We talked about it in the Indy show. It retails in the high $1800 range?!?!?

My understanding is they are working a release that will be at the $450-$500 range of a scaled down version to compete with Photograv :confused:

Any body have the scoop? I'll try to find out the name again... The salesman (nod/nod/wink/wink) told me how much better it was than photograv - so much better there wasn't any flyer and I forgot the name to even research it...

Well you know what they say - you can always trust the salesman - no wait, that's a lawyer - no wait, maybe the politician - no... I'll guess we'll have to wait until the press-release - no.... Darn, who knows the truth anymore?

Steve

[Mike Mackenzie]

There is a plug-in for photo shop called Andromeda screens. This replicates exactly what photograv does but it has much more flexibility it is not as automated as photograv but it does a really good job.

[Frank Corker]

Mike I've just posted http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=65376 this uses Andromeda Etchtone

[Gregg Vaughn]

I bought my copy of PhotoGrav from Engraver's Network in June 2007. They are offering a graduated upgrade plan for anyone who purchased PhotoGrav from them ... my upgrade to 3.0, based on my purchase date, is $76.00.

[Vince Williams]

I bought my photograv in January 2007 my upgrade is $175.00. I will take this offer,as it has been worth the price for me.

[Mark Koenig]

I'm one of the people that purchased PhotoGrav in the last few months...

If they would have told me about the new version, I would have waited... Guess that's why they DIDN"T TELL ME about the new version...:mad:

What a BUNCH of augh!!! Turrets is starting to kick in so I better stop here...

[Bob Cole]

When I first got Photograv, I thought I had to load it on Win3.11. I also purchased my copy in June so hopefully what Gregg has stated is true.

[Uma Duffy]

We bought Photograve in the last year and a half and we, too would have waited for the updated version had we know it was coming. It is way overpriced and, as other have said, it needs way more settings for wood, etc.

Is this going to be a completely new version ( read: full price) or an upgrade ( discounted to current users)?

[Gary Hair]

Here is a reply I received from them when I asked about my cost to upgrade. I bought my copy over a year ago.

Thank you for your inquiry about Photograv 3.0.
You may purchase the new version from our distributors or directly from us. Current owners of Photograv 2.xx receive a $200 discount. Your cost will be $195 plus S/H.
However, it will not be released for several months yet. We will advise you when released or keep watching our website, www.photograv.com (http://www.photograv.com/).

[Bill Cunningham]

Before I buy it I would like to try it.. See if it's really worth the 175.00 It's going to cost for my upgrade.. If it's not going to 'vastly' improve on the output of the old one, (it would not be hard to improve on the interface, it looks like a old Win3.1 program) then I will not buy the upgrade..
The only plus I can see for me right now, is the Canadian buck is just about par with the U.S. buck, and will be at par in about a month by the looks of things.. When I bought the 'ooold' version I think the canabuck was down about 10-15%

[Bill Cunningham]

I bought my copy of PhotoGrav from Engraver's Network in June 2007. They are offering a graduated upgrade plan for anyone who purchased PhotoGrav from them ... my upgrade to 3.0, based on my purchase date, is $76.00.

I bought mine from them as well, and was supposed to get a bonus photograv presentation CD, but never did..

[Harry Radaza]

60% of our sales come from our mall outlets offering customized gift plaques which require us to use photograv to achieve great results consistently. yes it was a hefty price but well worth it. With the new update out, I was ready to upgrade until I read the thread with Frank's post on it.

I ordered Andromeda Screens filter plugin for photoshop and although we are still in the R&D stage, it has shown to be able to achieve the same results for less cost ($99).

And the biggest factor of all... I take several steps out of the processing stage. With photograv you have to save the file as a bitmap after processing in photoshop, open in photograv, process in photograv, save as bitmap.

with andromeda, you edit in photoshop as needed, go to filters, open andromeda, choose your settings and it renders right within photoshop.

All in all, we probably saved around 25% in processing for each photograph.

[Luke Phillips]

Just got my upgrade and so far, I like what I see. Much better user interface and the additional features are pretty nice. It appears to process much better on problem images - and it's faster too. Now to see what the actual engraving looks like - tomorrow.

[Frank Corker]

Luke that's good news to hear, I'd be interested to hear how you get on with it, suprisingly not many people bragging about how much easier it has been to use. (I don't mean that to be a slight on those that have already posted in this thread, I appreciate their comments, but there really does have to be more than 4 or 5 people using the new version and I'd be interested to see their input).

I contacted my main dealer for my laser here in England, he is using a newer version of Photograv but states at the moment the upgrade in his opinion isn't worth the money. He's advising I hang on a bit longer and hopefully the price will come down. I doubt it will, they haven't moved in the past and I don't suspect they will. All said and done, I DO want a copy, I'm just not prepared to shell out just yet for something that is not going to improve my current practises if it doesn't do it in BIG amounts.

[Bill Cunningham]

I DO want a copy, I'm just not prepared to shell out just yet for something that is not going to improve my current practises if it doesn't do it in BIG amounts.

My sentiments exactly... I bought my (old version) almost a year ago, and just can't see putting out another couple of hundred bucks for basically the same thing with a more modern GUI... Converting to .bmp is not a big problem, neither is converting to gray scales.. You generally have to tweak your photos anyway if you expect the best results .. The only gripe I have with .bmps is the HUGE size compared to .tif

[Derek Kern]

I too have access to the Beta Version that they have released. I finally was able to use it today at work and there are many improvements from the previous version. There is a TON more material parameters in this version and you don't have to go digging for them in the photograv directory anymore, a easy table pops up and NO more difficult abbreviated names for the materials.

The buttons are in order as far as, open file, select material, resize, etc etc... very easy to use. There are alot more makes and models of systems in this version, so hopefully your system is on there.

Of course the biggest improvement as mentioned already is the abaility to import more file types, not just the grayscaled bitmaps. This saves heaps of time. Resizing is also allowed.

I believe the price is justified. Dean nailed the pricing down. I talked to Jerry today and that is what I was told the cost were.

If you have any specific questions about the program you can message me and I will check it out for you.

[Mark Sipes]

I'm looking for the 2.xx version of PhotoGrav if someone has upgraded to 3.0 and is willing to part with it for $$ I would like to talk. Why 2.xx, I'm still running 98SE and don't need to upgrade to xp or greater......and 3.0 is not recommended for use with 98SE..

Thanks, Mark

[Steve Eide]

I have 2.11 and manual. PM with your offer.

[Martin Boekers]

Price of software, is just the cost of doing business. If you are converting photos for engraving there should be an additional fee, if just for the time involved and nothing less. If you want to spend 15 minutes working out conversions that's fine. I find a couple minutes in Photograv has saved me many hours of work to modifiy or convert an image.

If you do 400 pieces and charge $1 extra for each piece then you pay for the software in a fairly short time.

This is how I justified buying Photoshop in less than a year it was paid for by slight surcharge.

These are our tools and how we make our money, desicions are our own but I would weigh the actual cost before making these desicions.

If I gain one new consistant client because I can do consistant images with Photgrav I think it's worth it.

Sometimes cheaper tools can do a simiar job, but how often do you see a certified mechanic using "Dollar Store" screwdrivers?

Marty

[Frank Corker]

Sometimes cheaper tools can do a simiar job, but how often do you see a certified mechanic using "Dollar Store" screwdrivers? Marty

I agree Marty, tools of the trade etc, unfortunately I can't back you up 100% about getting consistent results, because you don't. The program certainly seems to get the job done quickly but the later version has big issues, in my opinion, regarding the power settings and the overall finish. I just really believe they could be much better.

[Allen Isakson]

kevin, Hi, I have 3.0-3-1 and it does all that you mentioned in your post. I can resize, I have a split window to compare and i can put in color in any format i want and save in whatever formate i want. I have four choices for wood. It seems to do what you have discribed. I love the program its great.