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Why I Signed Up for Adobe Creative Cloud

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Adobe released Creative Suite CS6, updating its awesome creative software for professionals and serious enthusiasts. Instead of going out to buy a full version of CS6 or an upgrade license Adobe customers can do something completely different for the first time.

Every other year I update to the newest version of Photoshop taking advantage of my wife’s status as a teacher so our family can use the educational discounted version that normally costs about $200. This year Adobe raised the price to $249.99. I only use Photoshop, so that’s not a bad deal. I enjoy editing with it and love some of the new features they added in the last two versions, like the content aware fill in the last version and content aware patch in this one.

I use Photoshop and couldn’t wait to get my hands on the latest version. I downloaded the beta and use it for Photo editing and for creating slides I use in my weekly church services.

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As I perused the Adobe site making my decision about upgrading this year, I noticed something after logging into the site. They offered their Adobe Creative Cloud service, a subscription based access to the full Creative Suite CS6 for just $29.99 per month, a $20 discount. My credit card just popped out of my wallet.

You too can get this deal if you join by August 31 and you’re a qualifying Adobe customer. Owners of the last three versions of Creative Suite or any of the included single applications quality for the discount.

Adobe releases a new version every couple of years and I always get each new version of Photoshop at $200-$250 or about $8-10/month. A year’s worth of paying $30/month costs $360, That seems steep, but I like the idea of using the other apps and am willing to pay $20 per month extra for the privilege. I tried out a few of the new CS6 applications and loved them. Without the Creative Cloud subscription I would have never forked over hundreds or thousands of dollars to use them.

If you only use Photoshop then the subscription might not be worth the additional cost. Adobe will be sun setting the $20 discount over time, raising it up to $50 per month. Another down side is you must commit to a full year or pay half of the remaining commitment. In other words, if I cancel after two months, I owe them five more months at $30 each, which is half the remaining 10 months.

I’m excited about learning the new programs and using them in my various roles as an online writer, weekly communicator, and photo and video enthusiast. I know I will use Photoshop and Premiere all the time. My son wants to get into computer design so he wants to learn illustrator, the drawing and design app as well as Fireworks and After Effects for doing graphics and visual effects.

I’m also excited about the way I can access my content online through multiple devices.

Adobe Creative Cloud’s deal doesn’t fit everyone’s needs. Most users can enjoy the far cheaper Adobe Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements for less than five months of Creative Cloud and still not use all those two apps offer. If you need for want a little more and own a qualifying product, you will want to take a look at Adobe Creative Cloud, available starting this week for just $29.99 per month. You can download the applications to your computer and publish your content at Adobe’s hosting service or to tablets with Adobe Digital Publishing Suite. The Adobe Creative Cloud is still in pre-order mode, with services beginning on May 11.

Here is the full list of  Adobe applications and services including in the Creative Cloud subscription:

  • Photoshop Extended
  • Illustrator
  • InDesign
  • Adobe Muse
  • Acrobat X Pro for Creative Suite
  • Flash Professional
  • Flash Builder
  • Dreamweaver
  • Edge Behavior
  • Adobe Premiere Pro
  • After Effects
  • Adobe Audition
  • SpeedGrade
  • Encore
  • Bridge
  • Media Encoder
  • Business Catylist
  • Typekit
  • Story Plus
  • Cloud Storage and Syncing between devices and computers
5 Comments

5 Comments

  1. Patrick

    05/10/2012 at 2:41 am

    Why I don’t sign up for Adobe Creative Suit, nor will upgrade my Adobe Photoshop 5.5 …

    First of all, the $30/month introduction price is only valid for 1 year, then you pay the full $50.
    Second, in Europe, we pay 62% more for EXACTLY THE SAME product : the English download version.
    Tax differences can explain some difference, but 62% ?

    I yet have to read an official statement from Adobe why their products (those that have few competition) are extremely more expensive in Europe than in the US.
    I guess the explanation is that they think they can …
    The future will probably learn them, after the Flash-debacle, another lesson.

  2. DouglasB

    05/10/2012 at 2:53 pm

    Creative Cloud better and just as bad as OTS software. This Creative Cloud from Adobe DOES cost more then upgrading my 2 primary applications Ps & Dw even at the $29.99 per month special price. I decided to go this route because the difference is only a few dollars more and I will get to see and use all the other Creative Suite products for the year. Will I buy it again next year even at the $50.month price? Most likely not.

    Whether you decide on the “Cloud” which is really nothing more than a SaaS solution or opt for the retail box the biggest problem I see is the lack of a comprehensive manual/users guide. The software is complete because it can do so much but as a user if you want to take advantage of all the things this powerful suite of software can do you spend your self blind on training and books by third parties. So Adobe has me for 1 more year but I think it’s over after this. They get my $$ and I get poor service. Great software that can do a lot if you can afford to buy training.

  3. Pat

    05/31/2012 at 7:23 pm

    Signed up for upgrade to creative cloud upgrade from dreamweaver and they charged me $29 for both for the first month. Contacted customer service and they refused to pro-rate the first month of either.

  4. Linda Fer

    07/23/2012 at 5:29 pm

    If you use Adobe Acrobat anticipate problems with Creative Cloud. After updating my Acrobat version via cloud – which overwrote my older version – it has continually crashed. Tech support has been useless.

  5. Brandon

    10/09/2015 at 12:37 pm

    How were you able to sign up using your wife’s discount? My wife works in education as well and I am curious on how to do that.

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