Desktop Publishing Comes Home With Three New Products From Microsoft and Hallmark Connections

REDMOND, Wash. – Sept. 16, 1998 – – Microsoft Corp. and Hallmark Connections™ , the technology brand of Hallmark Cards Inc., today introduced three new products to help people create professional-looking desktop publishing projects at home: Microsoft® Graphics Studio Greetings 99, Microsoft Graphics Studio Home Publishing 99 and Microsoft Graphics Studio Home Publishing Suite 99. These products make it easy for computer novices and experts alike to create personalized greeting cards, calendars, banners, party sets and even multimedia e-mail projects featuring animated graphics and sound. No graphic design degree or computer expertise is required.

According to Robert Bach, Microsoft vice president of learning, entertainment and productivity, the home desktop publishing experience now allows consumers to integrate photos, text, sound and the Internet.
“Consumers are eager to make their printed and electronic communications stand out from the crowd,”
Bach said.
“With our powerful and easy-to-use technology, people can unleash their creativity and feel confident that their projects will look great every time – whether in print or online.”

Microsoft Graphics Studio Greetings 99 makes it easy for consumers to create Hallmark-quality greetings at home. Mary McClure, vice president of consumer product technology at Hallmark, said,
“With help from the creative experts at Hallmark Connections, consumers will have the look and feel of a Hallmark product – except created at home!”
They will be able to do the following:

  • Create personalized greeting cards, invitations, announcements, stationery and
    e-mail greetings with designs and messages from Hallmark Connections

  • Choose from 3,500 predesigned templates or add their personal touch with 15,000 graphics, 500 photos, 126 fonts and more

Microsoft Graphics Studio Home Publishing 99 was developed after months of researching the needs of home desktop publishing users. This new product features sophisticated design tools and three CDs of content to help consumers do the following:

  • Create a wide variety of projects for all occasions, both printed and online, from greeting cards, calendars, banners and party sets to e-mail greetings, personal Web pages, photo projects and other crafts

  • Get started quickly with 8,000 predesigned templates or let creativity run wild with 70,000 graphics, 2,500 photos, 2,500 animated graphics, 1,250 sound and music clips and more

  • Add personal photos – from a scanner, digital camera, CD-ROM or their Internet site – to projects with Microsoft Picture It!® Express personal imaging software

  • Use smart correction tools to fix red-eye, tint, and brightness and contrast, making any photo perfect for a greeting card, calendar, newsletter or other creative project

  • Create personalized multimedia e-mail projects that spring to life with animation, music, sound and voice-recorded messages

Microsoft Graphics Studio Home Publishing Suite 99 combines the flexibility and features of Home Publishing 99 with Microsoft Graphics Studio Picture It! 99, Microsoft’s award-winning photo editing software. With Home Publishing Suite 99, consumers can do the following:

  • Create a broad range of desktop publishing projects and crafts, as well as personalized multimedia e-mail projects

  • Use basic photo-editing tools to fix red-eye, adjust tint and brightness, and restore old photos by eliminating scratches and dust

  • Have fun with photos, using Picture It! 99 tools, to swap heads and bodies, erase 10 pounds instantly, add fantasy backgrounds and more

Availability and Pricing

  • Greetings 99 is available now for an estimated retail price of $29.95 (U.S.).

  • Home Publishing 99 is available now for an estimated retail price of $54.95 (U.S.).

  • Home Publishing Suite 99 is available now for an estimated retail price of $84.95 (U.S.).

System Requirements

  • Greetings 99 requires the Windows® 95 operating system or later version, a Pentium 90MHz or faster microprocessor, 16 MB of RAM, 55 MB of available hard disk space (140 MB required for full installation), a quad-speed CD-ROM drive or faster, a 256-color Super VGA display, a mouse or compatible pointing device, a Windows-compatible color printer, an audio board and speakers for sound, and a modem and Internet access for Internet functionality. More information is available at http://Home-Greetings.com/ .

  • Home Publishing 99 requires Windows 95 or later, a Pentium 90MHz or faster microprocessor, 16 MB of RAM, 60 MB of available hard disk space (145 MB required for full installation), a quad-speed or faster CD-ROM drive, a 256-color Super VGA display, a mouse or compatible pointing device, a Windows-compatible color printer, an audio board and speakers for sound, a microphone for voice recording, and a modem and Internet access for Internet functionality. More information is available at http://Home-Publishing.com/ .

The Microsoft Graphics Studio line offers a wide range of desktop publishing, imaging and graphics software products. All of the products deliver professional-quality results, project ideas, templates, clip art and powerful functionality developed for specific customer needs. For home and business users alike, the Microsoft Graphics Studio line is the premier line of graphics products and includes Microsoft Graphics Studio Greetings 99, Microsoft Graphics Studio Home Publishing 99, Microsoft Graphics Studio Home Publishing Suite 99, Microsoft Graphics Studio Picture It! 99, Microsoft Graphics Studio Publisher 98 and Microsoft Graphics Studio Publisher 98 Deluxe.

Kansas City-based Hallmark, the leader in the personal expression industry and virtually synonymous with consumer’s preferred brand of greeting card, was founded in 1910 by entrepreneur Joyce C. Hall. The company has 20,100 employees worldwide, including the

world’s leading in-house creative staff, numbering more than 740. Hallmark continues to expand its product formats and services and the way it distributes products through licensing, joint ventures and emerging technologies.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.

Microsoft, Picture It! and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.

Hallmark Connections is a trademark of Hallmark Licensing Inc.

Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/ on Microsoft’s corporate information pages.

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