Archive: Business & Technology

	All the pictures in this article were made using two originals taken from our Lansing Harbor Festival article, then manipulated using Repligator.

Using Repligator is a lot like partying -- it can be a lot of fun when you are out of control.  Repligator is a graphics program that manipulates pictures with a seemingly endless menu of effects.  And while you can use it for serious graphic manipulation, it is very easy to use -- if you can click a 'Next' button and find the F7 button on your PC you don't need to know much more to come up with some stunning effects.

First, the fun stuff.  Use File > Open to pick a picture file, just as you would in any Windows program (sorry- no Mac version).  The program takes you through a simple wizard that lets you adjust the original picture for brightness and contrast, or to crop it, or rotate or flip it.  Now the fun begins. 

	Same Picture, Many Effects

You pick from 120 filters that include beads, bevel, stars, snowflakes, 'mad painter', Andy Worhol, old film -- turn your picture into a puzzle or a line drawing or an old fashioned sepia print.  The list gets longer with every version of the program.  I have used the program on and off for many years now, and can tell you that while the early versions were plenty complete, the current version 14 is endlessly addicting.

That number 120 is very misleading, though.  The reason is that you can tweak each effect endlessly, either manually or by just letting Repligator do it for you.  Press the 'Experiment' button or F8 to get different settings using the same effect.  It would be impossible to count them all, but there must be millions of effects if you include all the ways you can use the core 120.

And then there's the F12 button -- Multiple Images.  Warning!  If you press this button you may become hypnotized, because it creates picture after picture using different effects each time until you click the Stop button.  Repligator has VCR-type buttons so you can scroll back through all the pictures it creates, saving the ones you want to keep.

Automation like that is one of the really fun aspects of Repligator, but if you want to take control of how you apply an effect to your picture the program lets you take the wheel.  Each effect has its own 'Fine Tune' screen that you use to adjust the number of stars or snowflakes, for example, or the area that is affected by the effect.  For instance you can define a central oval's size and the effect will surround that area, leaving the original picture in the middle.  Or you can make the effect happen in the oval and fade to the picture along the sides.  A 'Magic Framer' button creates framed versions with all kinds of surrounding effects.

The program itself is deceptively plain -- a standard Windows window with a button bar and a menu.  All the power is under the hood.  Your own pictures and the versions Repligator creates are what will dazzle you.  I've used Repligator to create holiday greetings, but also to create eye-catching images in this publication.  I have a rule about not using it when I am on deadline, because it is just too much fun.

Repligator comes in Home and Pro versions, both with 120 effects built in.  The Pro version adds control over the quality of your finished masterpieces, such as an option to reduce an extra-large picture in (file) size -- the larger the picture the longer it takes for the effects to be applied, but the better quality print you will get.  Pro adds a 'Twiddle' key for further fine tuning.

Pro also has a plug-in that the program can automatically install in an impressive list of popular graphics programs, including Paint Shop Pro 5, Paint Shop Pro 8, Paint Shop Pro 9, Paint Shop Pro X, (Corel) Paint Shop Pro XI, Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, Photoshop Elements 5, and Photo Brush.  Doing that installs the 'Effects' window and gives you access to all the filters and adjustments available in the stand-alone Repligator.  Pro also lets you save your presets so you can repeat favorite effects on other pictures, can output vector graphics, works on larger images, and a special feature that lets you resize the picture as you are pasting it.

The Basic version sells for $29.95, while Pro sells for $49.95, and Ransen Software offers a no-penalty upgrade -- you can upgrade from Basic to Pro for $20.  You purchase the program on-line at www.ransen.com and the company sends you a link to download it. 

Ransen Software is actually an Italian-based company that specializes in visual effects programs.  You can download a free trial of the program to see for yourself what it can do before you decide whether to buy it.  My sense is that you will want to buy it.  Once you try it, you'll love what it can do.

In writing this review I didn't heed my own policy.  I am on deadline today, but of course I had to run the program to write about it.  Now I want to spend the rest of today pressing F7 to see what stunning effect will magically appear next.  That picture of the twins with the eyes painted on their forehead -- whoo hoo!  They're surrounded by bubbles!  Now they're a puzzle! ...

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