The major graphic design programs provide excellent features and usually a price tag to match. Upgrading these programs when a new version is available can prove to be a financial challenge. The lure of upgrade features like new or improved drawing tools or better application performance can be tempered due to upgrade pricing. When weighing the pros and cons of upgrading, it becomes a matter of deciding:
- Should I wait until the bugs are worked out?
- Do I need the new features?
- Can my system work with the software upgrade?
- Is it worth the cost?
A Brand New Version Might Need Updating
One question to consider is whether or not the software has bugs to work out and will it cause issues in the meantime. I rarely ever purchase or upgrade to a new version of design software when it’s immediately released. Most software developers use extensive beta-testing to check if upgrades are ready for use, but real life use by designers and printers usually finds bugs to fix, prompting a maintenance release.
When this new maintenance release comes out, chances are most of the major bugs are probably worked out. That might be the better time to upgrade.
Do You Need the New Features?
Graphic design software upgrades always have new features and may have performance enhancements as well. These features include new capabilities dreamed up by the developers and improvements suggested by users. They could be features that substantially reduce the time to create artwork, or perhaps a nifty tool that creates an effect never seen before.
If you see that a new feature would save you significant time or provide you with some critical creative tools, you could find some immediate benefit from the new features. On the other hand, these improvements could simply fall into the category of “eye candy” that you might not really see a need for even though they’re “cool.” If a project requires a new feature so you’d be able to justify the upgrade cost based on the new work you’d obtain, it might be wise to upgrade. It just depends on your personal creative needs.
Can Your System Handle the New Version?
Upgrades can be a vicious cycle. Computers become more powerful so software developers push the limits of that power. This then prompts computer manufacturers to create more powerful computers which offers software developers more room to grow. And so it goes.
If you’re using an older computer setup, you might find a software upgrade requires more than what your system has or might be capable of. Then it becomes a hardware issue because you may be facing the additional costs of a RAM upgrade or even a new system in order to use the newer version of a program.
It might also be an operating system issue. Some upgrades rely on features of a newer operating system. So then it becomes an issue of operating software, which may or may not become a hardware issue.
When Skipping an Upgrade Might be Best
Although eventually an upgrade will be inevitable in the fast-paced world of technology, sometimes it will be best to “stay put” and keep with the current version as long as it keeps you productive. If your operating system is still widely supported, you may find it best to skip an upgrade until the next version.
One factor which has allowed older versions of design software to remain “current” is PDF output, which allows printers to receive files which are application-independent. Therefore it doesn’t matter whether a designer created a brochure in InDesign CS3 or CS5 since application-native files aren’t critical.
The prospect of a graphic design software upgrade offers the option of better, faster, newer features. Looking at your situation can help you decide if now is the time to upgrade. It all depends on your creative needs and your bottom-line at the moment.
David Borrink - David Borrink is a graphic designer who lives in Rockford, Michigan and is a partner with his wife in their design and writing business, ...
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