Shapiro Consulting Group, Inc., (SCGI), in Austin, Texas, has developed a revolutionary sharpening and softening plug-in for Adobe Photoshop. The plug-in is currently in the beta test stage and release is expected in mid-July.

The new plug-in, called Asiva Sharpen+Soften, is the first in a series of plug-ins the company plans to release for Adobe Photoshop over the next few months. The Asiva Sharpen+Soften plug-in is based on SCGI's innovative Asiva technology, which allows unmatched control over how an effect is applied to an image.

The plug-in (Mac-Classic/OSX, PC-Win 2000/XP) supports 8 or 16-bit, RGB or CMYK files. The user may choose to sharpen or soften on or more of these channels. In addition, HSL components may be selected for sharpening or softening. This provides precise control over not only the quality but also the quantity and distribution of sharpening or softening applied. A built in Sampler Tool allows for the easy selection of a color range where sharpening or softening should occur, often eliminating complex masking. Asiva's technology allows the user to generate natural looking results effortlessly.

Asiva's patented technology has been used extensively in broadcast video editing work in the past six years and is embodied in the company?s 16-bit per component Asiva® Photo color correction and image enhancement application. Asiva® Photo has been very popular with high-end digital photographers, graphics artists and visual information specialists in the government, military and medical sectors.

SCGI was formed in April 1994 to act as a technology incubator for Richard and Esther Shapiro Entertainment, Inc. (RESI) in Los Angeles, California.

For further information, please visit www.asiva.com or call 1-888-800-5508.