Serif Europe

Last updated
Serif (Europe) Ltd.
Company type Subsidiary
Industry Software
Founded1987;37 years ago (1987)
Headquarters West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom
Products List of Serif products
Number of employees
90 (2024) [1]
Parent
  • Vizacom (1996–2001)
  • Canva (2024–present)
Website serif.com

Serif (Europe) Ltd. (known as Roleage Ltd. before 1988), a subsidiary of Canva, is a British software developer and publisher, best known for its Affinity suite of professional graphic design, photo editing, and desktop publishing software. The company delivers products directly to consumers through its dedicated website and contact centre, as well as through various retailers.

Contents

History

Serif was founded in 1987 by a small team of software engineers, with the objective of creating lower-cost alternatives to existing Desktop Publishing (DTP) software packages using the Microsoft Windows platform. [2] [3]

The first Serif product to be released was called PageStar: a simple, low-cost advertisement layout program for Windows 2.0. This was expanded in 1990 with their follow-up, PagePlus (originally for Windows 3.0), [3] which would go on to win 'Best Software' at the Computer Shopper Awards 2014. [4] In subsequent years, this was accompanied by other software products in the 'Plus' range, including DrawPlus (1994), [5] PhotoPlus (1999), [6] WebPlus (2000), [7] and MoviePlus (2003). [8]

In 1996, Serif was acquired by American company Vizacom (formerly known as Allegro New Media); however, ownership was sold back to Serif senior management in 2001. [9] [10]

The successor to their DrawPlus product, Affinity Designer (a vector art & design package), was launched in 2014 for macOS. [11] It was Serif's first product for macOS, and had been written from scratch specifically for it. [12] This was followed in 2015 by the second Affinity product (and successor to PhotoPlus), Affinity Photo (a photo editing & design package). [13]

In 2016, following the release of Affinity Designer and Affinity Photo for Windows, Serif ceased development for their 'Plus' product range to focus exclusively on the Affinity product range. [14] Support for the legacy product range ended in July 2022. [15]

Affinity Designer is considered an Adobe Illustrator alternative and is cross-platform with versions available for iPadOS, macOS and Windows. It supports both vector and raster design artwork, with powerful tools and a budget-friendly price. [16] [17] [18] Affinity Designer was selected as the winner of the "Best Software For Designers" Award in the 2022 Creative Bloq Awards. [19] It was also one of the winners of the 2015 Apple Design Award. [20]

Affinity Photo has been described as an Adobe Photoshop alternative, and is compatible with common file formats such as Adobe's PSD (including Photoshop Smart Objects). [21] [22] [23] In 2023 Amateur Photographer presented Affinity Photo the Photo Editing Software of the Year award. [24]

Affinity Publisher, the successor to PagePlus and the third addition to the Affinity product line, was released in 2019. [25] It has been described as an alternative to Adobe InDesign, [26] [27] due to its primary focus on desktop publishing workflows for both printed and online media, including common features from this industry, such as master pages, OpenType support, linked text frames, and end-to-end support for the CMYK color model. [28]

Acquisition by Canva

On 26 March 2024, Serif announced it had been acquired by the Australian company Canva for approximately US$380 million. [1] [29] This acquisition was named as part of Canva's strategy to expand its global footprint and enhance its software offerings. Following the acquisition, Serif has stated that there are no immediate changes to its pricing model, and both companies have committed to maintaining Affinity's perpetual licensing model, along with offering free licenses to schools and nonprofits. [30] [31]

Products

The following are all software packages, for the following applications:

Current products

Discontinued products

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adobe Photoshop</span> Raster graphics editing software

Adobe Photoshop is a raster graphics editor developed and published by Adobe for Windows and macOS. It was originally created in 1987 by Thomas and John Knoll. Since then, the software has become the most used tool for professional digital art, especially in raster graphics editing. Owing to its fame, the program's name has become genericised as a verb although Adobe disapproves of such use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">QuarkXPress</span> Desktop publishing software

QuarkXPress is desktop publishing software for creating and editing complex page layouts in a WYSIWYG environment. It runs on macOS and Windows. It was first released by Quark, Inc. in 1987 and is still owned and published by them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PagePlus</span> Desktop publishing software for Windows (1991–2019)

PagePlus was a desktop publishing program developed by Serif for Microsoft Windows. The first version was released in 1991 as the first commercial sub-£100 DTP package for Microsoft Windows. The final release was PagePlus X9, which was released in November 2016. In June 2019 it was officially replaced by Serif with Affinity Publisher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adobe Illustrator</span> Vector graphics editor from Adobe Inc.

Adobe Illustrator is a vector graphics editor and design software developed and marketed by Adobe. Originally designed for the Apple Macintosh, development of Adobe Illustrator began in 1985. Along with Creative Cloud, Illustrator CC was released. The latest version, Illustrator 2024, was released on October 10, 2023, and is the 28th generation in the product line. Adobe Illustrator was reviewed as the best vector graphics editing program in 2021 by hpMagazine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adobe Creative Suite</span> Discontinued software suite

Adobe Creative Suite (CS) is a discontinued software suite of graphic design, video editing, and web development applications developed by Adobe Systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graphic arts</span> Art genre

A category of fine art, graphic art covers a broad range of visual artistic expression, typically two-dimensional, i.e. produced on a flat surface. The term usually refers to the arts that rely more on line, color or tone, especially drawing and the various forms of engraving; it is sometimes understood to refer specifically to printmaking processes, such as line engraving, aquatint, drypoint, etching, mezzotint, monotype, lithography, and screen printing. Graphic art mostly includes calligraphy, photography, painting, typography, computer graphics, and bindery. It also encompasses drawn plans and layouts for interior and architectural designs.

A number of vector graphics editors exist for various platforms. Potential users of these editors will make a comparison of vector graphics editors based on factors such as the availability for the user's platform, the software license, the feature set, the merits of the user interface (UI) and the focus of the program. Some programs are more suitable for artistic work while others are better for technical drawings. Another important factor is the application's support of various vector and bitmap image formats for import and export.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adobe Lightroom</span> Photo editing and management software

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, usually called Lightroom, is an image organization and processing application developed by Adobe. It is licensed as a standalone subscription or as part of Creative Cloud. It is supported on Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and tvOS. Its primary uses include importing, saving, viewing, organizing, tagging, editing, and sharing large numbers of digital images. Lightroom's editing functions include white balance, presence, tone, tone curve, HSL, color grading, detail, lens corrections, and calibration manipulation, as well as transformation, spot removal, red eye correction, graduated filters, radial filters, and adjustment brushing. The name Lightroom is a play on the darkrooms used for processing film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DrawPlus</span> 2D vector graphics editor and animation software

DrawPlus was a 2D vector graphics editor and animation software developed by the UK-based software company Serif, also responsible for PhotoPlus, PagePlus, WebPlus, Digital Scrapbook Artist, Affinity Designer, Affinity Photo and other titles.

Serif have a range of software products, which are listed below.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CorelDRAW</span> Vector graphics editor

CorelDRAW is a vector graphics editor developed and marketed by Alludo. It is also the name of the Corel graphics suite, which includes the bitmap-image editor Corel Photo-Paint as well as other graphics-related programs. It can serve as a digital painting platform, desktop publishing suite, and is commonly used for production art in signmaking, vinyl and laser cutting and engraving, print-on-demand and other industry processes. Reduced-feature Standard and Essentials versions are also offered.

The following is a comparison of major desktop publishing software.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Serif PhotoPlus</span>

Serif PhotoPlus is an image editing program for Microsoft Windows. The latest version is Serif PhotoPlus X8. Presently Serif refers to this package as part of their Legacy range, meaning that no future updates will be released.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nik Software</span> Software development company

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Affinity Designer</span> Vector graphics editor

Affinity Designer is a vector graphics editor developed by Serif for macOS, iPadOS, and Microsoft Windows. It is part of the "Affinity trinity" alongside Affinity Photo and Affinity Publisher. Affinity Designer is available for purchase directly from the company website and in the Mac App Store, iOS App Store, and the Microsoft Store.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Affinity Photo</span> Photo editing app

Affinity Photo is a raster graphics editor developed by Serif Ltd. for iPadOS, macOS, and Windows, alongside Affinity Designer and Affinity Publisher. Development of Affinity Photo started in 2009 as a raster graphics editor for macOS. Its first version reached general availability in 2015 with the Windows version launched a year later. It is a successor to PhotoPlus which Serif discontinued in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Affinity Publisher</span> Desktop publishing application

Affinity Publisher is a desktop publishing application developed by Serif for iPadOS, macOS and Microsoft Windows. It is a part of the Affinity product line along with Affinity Photo and Affinity Designer.

References

  1. 1 2 Bonyhady, Nick (March 26, 2024). "Canva's billion-dollar bet on a 37-year-old Nottingham company". Australian Financial Review . Retrieved March 26, 2024.
  2. ↑ "About Serif". 2012. Retrieved 2012-01-04.
  3. 1 2 PagePlus 10.0 Companion (PDF). Serif (Europe) Ltd. 2004. pp. 5–6.
  4. ↑ "PagePlus X8 wins 'Best Software' award at the Computer Shopper Awards 2014". Serif Blog. November 28, 2014. Retrieved 2015-08-27.
  5. ↑ "Serif DrawPlus X8 Review - Pros, Cons and Verdict". TopTenReviews. Retrieved 2018-08-06.
  6. ↑ "Serif PhotoPlus X8 Review - Pros, Cons and Verdict". TopTenReviews. Retrieved 2018-08-06.
  7. ↑ "Serif WebPlus X8". www.comparedandreviewed.com. Retrieved 2018-08-06.
  8. ↑ "MoviePlus Video Editing Software (for Windows) Review". TopTenReviews. Retrieved 2018-08-06.
  9. ↑ "Vizacom Sells Its Software Operations Company to Receive $1,137,500 From Serif". Vizacom release, dated 2 April 2001, from the PR Newswire archives. The Free Library, by Farlex website. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
  10. ↑ "Software Publishing Corporation - The Personal Computer Museum, Brantford, Ontario, CANADA". pcmuseum.ca. Retrieved 2018-08-06.
  11. ↑ "Affinity Designer is a new graphics design suite available for Mac". iMore. 2014-10-02. Retrieved 2018-08-06.
  12. ↑ "Serif reveals its best-kept secret – Affinity Photo for Windows is coming". TechRadar. Retrieved 2018-08-06.
  13. ↑ "Serif releases Affinity Photo". ArtStation Magazine. 2015-07-10. Retrieved 2018-08-06.
  14. ↑ "Digital Craft: Serif discontinues its Pageplus, Drawplus and Photoplus designing software to focus on its(Serif) new Affinity range of Professional graphic design software - ANINO". ANINO. 2017-08-10. Retrieved 2018-08-13.
  15. ↑ "Information about the Legacy Plus Range - Affinity Forum". 2022-07-05. Retrieved 2022-07-05.
  16. ↑ "Best graphic design software of 2024". Tech Radar. 1 March 2024. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
  17. ↑ "Best graphic design software of 2024". Tech Radar. 1 March 2024. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
  18. ↑ "Serif Affinity Designer 2". Tech Radar. 11 November 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
  19. ↑ Daniel John (2022-09-29). "Adobe Photoshop 2022 wins software of the year in the Creative Bloq Awards 2022". Creative Bloq. Retrieved 2024-02-11.
  20. ↑ Panzarino, Matthew (June 8, 2015). "Fantastical 2, Workflow, Robinhood Among Winners At Apple Design Awards". TechCrunch. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  21. ↑ Zhang, Michael (9 February 2015). "Affinity Photo is a New Pro Photoshop Alternative for Mac Users: Get It for Free". PetaPixel. Retrieved 2016-06-16.
  22. ↑ Hillen, Brittany (10 February 2015). "Serif launches Affinity Photo, a Photoshop alternative for Mac". Digital Photography Review . Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  23. ↑ Benjamin, Jeff (2020-02-26). "Affinity Photo, Publisher, and Designer updated to version 1.8". 9to5Mac. Retrieved 2020-03-07.
  24. ↑ Waller, Joshua (2023-02-23). "AP Awards 2023 - Best Software and Accessories". Amateur Photographer. Retrieved 2024-02-13.
  25. ↑ "Affinity launches professional desktop publisher for Mac with integrated vector design and image editor apps". 9to5Mac. 2019-06-19. Retrieved 2018-06-21.
  26. ↑ Antunes, Jose (2018-08-31). "Affinity Publisher: an affordable alternative to Adobe InDesign". ProVideo Coalition. Retrieved 2019-08-17.
  27. ↑ Sartain, JD (2019-08-27). "Alternatives for Adobe Acrobat, Photoshop and more". PC World . Archived from the original on 2020-02-01. Retrieved 2019-11-21.
  28. ↑ Endicott, Sean (2019-06-19). "Affinity Publisher is now available from Serif". Windows Central. Retrieved 2019-08-17.
  29. ↑ Miller, Ron (March 26, 2024). "With Affinity acquisition, Canva should be able to compete better with Adobe's creative tools". TechCrunch.
  30. ↑ Weatherbed, Jess (2024-03-26). "It didn't take long for Canva's Affinity acquisition to feel ominous". The Verge. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
  31. ↑ Weatherbed, Jess (March 27, 2024). "Affinity users won't be forced into paying subscriptions following Canva acquisition". The Verge . Retrieved March 27, 2024.
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