Adobe Offers Upgrade Savings

Read on for details…

Life would be easier for Adobe customer support if Creative Suite users were mostly on the same page, obviously, and who doesn’t want to take advantage of cool new features? Accordingly, the company has a limited-time offer in place to encourage everyone to upgrade to CS4. Bottom line: you can save up to US$200 on upgrading to CS4 from pre-CS3 versions by acting soon.

The various editions of Adobe Creative Suite® CS4 (Design Premium & Standard, Web Premium & Standard, Production Premium, and Master Collection) are all priced differently and generally come with different upgrade prices, depending on which earlier versions of the software you may already own. For example, the least expensive CS4 package is Creative Suite® 4 Web Standard for US$999 (upgrade from US$399), while the Creative Suite® 4 Master Collection will set you back US$2,499 (upgrade from US$899). The least expensive upgrade options represent CS3-to-CS4, of course, the pricing currently also open for owners of at least some versions of CS1, CS2, and even Macromedia Studio 8 or MX 2004.

The details are somewhat more complex than the already-mentioned bottom line, and the place to go to learn everything there is to know about Creative Suite® CS4 pricing is here. From that page, you can compare suite editions, upgrade options, volume licensing, educational pricing, the works. The page you would-be upgraders are interested in lists several caveats, which I’m quoting here:

Upgrade pricing is available if you have one of the qualifying previous products listed above and can provide the serial number for that product during installation. When purchasing an upgrade, be careful to choose one you qualify for because the installer will not work without the serial number from an eligible earlier version. In addition, once you break the seal, your reseller may not accept a return. For volume licensing upgrades, contact your Adobe Licensing Center. For more information on upgrading, see the Creative Suite 4 policies FAQ.

My advice is to study the upgrade options carefully to make sure you qualify for the (up to) $200 savings, and I hope you have those old serial numbers! As for me, I’ll be installing the full Master Collection suite in just a few days and writing a review recording my initial impressions.

Good luck, and stay tuned!