Making Pictures Easier

As a small business owner, you need a competitive advantage. One way to do that is with the power of pictures. Digital cameras are abundant now and offer serious competition to their film-based counterparts. Once you've taken the picture, you need to touch it up, enhance it, print it and perhaps put it on the Web.

The latest edition of PhotoSuite 4 Platinum from MGI software provides a package that small businesses can use. With the recently released package, you can take pictures from your digital camera and touch them up, print multiple copies and send them to the web.

The package provides you the ability to create web pages and upload thumbnail images of pictures. These smaller-sized images will upload faster (better for you) and download relatively quickly (better for your visitors). You can then also upload full-size images once a website visitor clicks on the thumbnail. This can be good for a business that wishes to display multiple products in an on-line catalog. If you'd like to add some animations to your website, you can do it with this package. The animated GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) file editor lets you compose content for your website.

Another feature I found interesting is the enhanced stitch engine. You can take several pictures of a scene and then let the software stitch them together. This can be useful for a real estate agent showing a 360-degree view of a property or a designer showing a very wide angle of a room.

The package supports web-based e-mail so you can send pictures to those on your e-mail list. As bandwidth increases, this will continue to be a popular format for sending and receiving pictures.

I never cease to be amazed at the power of sending someone a picture of themselves at a recent event. What better way to stay in your prospect's or customer's mind than send a tasteful, well-done photo of a recent event that makes them smile? This package can make it easy and affordable to market better and easier.

There are many technical enhancements in this package. For the price, it is hard to beat. A small business should look into this package to gain a competitive advantage and have a stronger marketing presence.

PhotoSuite 4 Platiunum, MGI Software, www.mgisoft.com, 905-764-7000, $49.95 retail.

We are a video generation. Most Americans get their news from television. For good or bad, we want to see things done in a video format. New tools provide the ability to create your own video and then distribute that over the Web, via videotape or on DVD.

The Dazzle Digital Video Creator II (DVC II) allows personal and business computer users to capture, edit, manage and publish DVD-quality video, CD-quality audio and still images. For a small business or mobile professional who makes presentations this can be a robot salesperson that helps you boost your presentation quality.

This new system provides MPEG-2 quality. That is the Motion Picture Experts Group standard that is used for DVD and some digital satellite. The quality is very high and before now was limited to $10,000+ units. With a camcorder and this system installed a mobile professional can grab video footage that can provide an advantage in sales presentations.

A strong benefit of this package is the ability to add video to PowerPoint presentations. In any competitive sales situation, you want to have the tools that give you a competitive advantage. Since PowerPoint presentations are no longer unique, you need something to set your presentation above the competition. Video is the key. I often use personal interviews with audience members in my PowerPoint presentations. The "razzle-dazzle" is profound and the audience always appreciates the highly pertinent content.

The system comes with DVD-it! From Sonic. DVD-it gives you the ability to create DVDs that can be distributed to prospective customers to show your products in a professional light.

One disadvantage is that the package is only available for desktop units now. A version that will work on a laptop is on its way according to company officials.

If you are looking for a way to create presentations that give you a solid advantage, this is a package to investigate. Don't forget the benefits of having product catalogs and training material available in a video and/or DVD format. You know that video will be the predominant way to communicate in the future. Why not get there now and have the advantage?

Dazzle Digital Video Creator II, Dazzle Incorporated, $299.00, 510-360-2300, www.dazzle.com.

Terry Brock is an internationally recognized professional speaker, consultant and author in the fields of business productivity, technology and marketing. His is a regular columnist for the American City Business Journals and can be reached at 407-363-0505 or by e-mail at terry@terrybrock.com.