fsoft have just released a new version of Resize Magic

A software designed to resize images with a high quality algorithm, using an algorithm similar (but better) to the popular Lanczos one.

The software is available as a standalone program and as an Adobe Photoshop plugin. Both create identical images.

The standalone program is available for free and it can be used to resize many images in a single step.
It is available for Linux, OS X (Intel only) and Windows.

The plugin requires Photoshop CS3 or later and it is available for OS X (Intel only) and Windows. It integrates perfectly with Photoshop and it works as a replacement for the Photoshop native "Image size" command. It can also be used in actions.
Resize Magic sells at US$ 25.

Resize Magic works well when enlarging images, but it is especially designed to downsize images with the maximum quality too. It's hard to believe, but Photoshop and similar programs are really weak when they reduce the size of images: if you reduce a lot you obtain a blurred image. Latest version of Photoshop add a "bicubic sharper" option, but it can cause artifacts and create an over sharpened image.

Their web pages contain some examples that show how Photoshop is really bad with some images. The difference can be less visible with other images, but the more you reduce, the more will be the difference.

With modern digital cameras that create very large images it is more and more common to downsize a lot, for example for web presentation. They believe that there is an opportunity for a software that can resize a 20 Mpx image to a small size without degrading its quality.

You will find Resize Magic at the following web address:
www.fsoft.it/imaging/en/default.htm You can download the free standalone program and a trial version of the plugin.

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