Adobe Creative Suite 4 Now Shipping

This version of Adobe's product includes Adobe Creative Suite 4 Design Premium, Design Standard, Web Premium, Web Standard, Production Premium and Master Collection.

Adobe's Flash Player 10 was also released Wednesday.

"Creative Suite 4 and Flash Player 10 introduce vital time-saving features, new levels of integration and the jaw-dropping innovations our design and developer customers expect from us," said John Loiacono, senior vice president, Creative Solutions Business Unit, at Adobe. "CS4 continues to fulfill our promise to customers to break down more barriers in cross-media workflows, while also providing new services and collaboration tools that help them manage complex client demands."

Depending on the particular product customers wants to purchase in Creative Suite 4, prices begin at $1,699 and run all the way up to $2,400.

Adobe Flash Player 10 is available for free download on the Web.

Creative Suite 4 is being billed by Adobe as a large step up from previous versions, with more integrated features that will allow designers to tell better stories in the medium.

"Designers and developers are shaping the way that people consume information, share ideas, sell products, tell stories and create memorable experiences—in print, online and via mobile handsets," Shantanu Narayen, president and CEO of Adobe, said in a statement last month. "Whether you're creating a rich Internet application, a video or a best-selling magazine, Adobe Creative Suite 4 delivers powerful cross-media technologies that have the ability to elevate products, brands and ideas above the clutter."

Designers who work with Adobe Creative Suite 4 can look forward to a simplified workflow and streamlined design process and will find it easier to complete tasks. In addition, artists will no longer have to abandon a project when switching between mediums.

One other area where Creative Suite 4 offers an upgraded set of tools and design capability is in 3-D rendering. Creative Suite 4 allows designers to paint, composite and animate 3-D models. Animation also gets an upgrade. Flash Creative Suite 4 allows users to apply tweens, or generate intermediate frames between two images, to objects instead of key frames, creating more control of animation attributes. The new Bones tool, also a part of Flash Creative Suite 4, creates more realistic animations between linked objects.