TCS - Extensis Mask Pro 2.0

Extensis Mask Pro 2.0

by Paula Sanders
Tulsa Computer Society
From the January 1999 issue of the I/O Port Newsletter

I have a few favorite companies whose products I really look forward to reviewing because they are not only good, but they work well. Extensis Corporation produces such programs. I wrote a review about Mask Pro 1 when it first came out and now Mask Pro 2 is available. Extensis's website is www.extensis.com. Mask Pro is a plug-in for Adobe Photoshop and Corel PhotoPaint that is used to create a mask or a selection so that a portion of the image can be separated from the rest of the image. It is structured so that even a blond hair on a yellow background can be separated from that background. In brief, the program works by allowing the user to select colors from the image to keep and colors to drop. One can have many groups of colors or can keep changing the colors almost pixel by pixel. This version has added other complementary features which will be listed in this article.

The window's requirements are: Adobe 4.0 or higher, Corel PhotoPaint 8 or higher, 32 MB or Ram with 64 suggested, 8MB available hard disk space, 256 colors or 24-bit colors recommended, and win 95, 98 or NT 4. (As an aside, most modern graphic programs require a lot of ram.). Mask Pro 2 comes with a good and detailed manual that one can physically look at and not have to print from a file on the CD. To me this is a big plus. I, personally, use manuals and third party books and do not like to have to print them myself.

This manual is detailed and also outlines step by step procedure for using this program. The following are some of the new features to version 2.

  1. EdgeBlender is used to eliminate the halos that can surround masked images.
  2. PrecisionEdge Magic Pen Tool fits the path created to the nearest edge.
  3. IntelliBrush and IntelliWand create the keep and drop colors automatically once one clicks on the background.
  4. Erase Only/Restore Only allows the user to erase or restore a specific color.

In addition to some of these new features, some of the older features have been enhanced such as Revert allows the whole image prior to masking to be restored; Clipping Path Generation allows the user to create clipping paths from either selections or masks. These listed only represent a few of the enhancements or new tools to be found in this program.

While the original Mask Pro was powerful, this one is even more so. While it speeds up the masking process greatly, especially if one does not use a digitizing tablet, it is unmatched when it comes separating fine lines in an image or colors similar to those in the background. Its street price is about $289 with the upgrade price of $79.

For examples of how Mask Pro 2 works, look on the TCS website in the January edition of the I/O Port at http://www.tcs.org/ioport/jan99/maskpro.htm



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