Sierra Print Artist
Encyclopedia
Sierra Print Artist is a computer program
from Sierra Home (part of Sierra Entertainment
, which is owned by Vivendi SA). The software allows the user to make cards, calendars, stationery and other assorted crafts and then print them with their printer. The current version is 23.
version was written by Christopher Schardt. The original Windows
version was written by Mr. Schardt, and Ferdinand G. Rios and Tracy Elmore of SAPIEN Technologies, Inc.
. Vince Mills handled later versions.
The program was first published in 1992 under the name Instant Artist by Autodesk
. After half a year or so, Autodesk decided to abolish its consumer products division. Maxis
then published the program under the name Print Artist. In 1995, Sierra On-Line purchased Pixellite Group and the rights to the software and it became known as Sierra Print Artist. It was published under Sierra's "Sierra Home" label and continues to be today despite several purchases and mergers of Sierra On-Line beginning in 1996.
The underlying vector-graphics/font-effects technology was developed by Dane Bigham and Christopher Schardt. It was first used in BannerMania, published by Brøderbund
, also written by Christopher Schardt. Steve Hales wrote the Macintosh
version of BannerMania. Marty Kahn (the author of the original PrintShop) wrote the Apple II
version. The technology also found its way into what would eventually become the WordArt add-in for Microsoft Word
.
A popular feature of the program was the Graphics Grabber, developed by Vince Mills, which enabled the program to handle a catalog of thousands of vector and bitmap graphics, organized by keywords. Sierra Home also publishes Hallmark Cards
-licensed versions of the program as Hallmark Scrapbook Studio Deluxe and Hallmark Holiday Card Studio.
Computer program
A computer program is a sequence of instructions written to perform a specified task with a computer. A computer requires programs to function, typically executing the program's instructions in a central processor. The program has an executable form that the computer can use directly to execute...
from Sierra Home (part of Sierra Entertainment
Sierra Entertainment
Sierra Entertainment Inc. was an American video-game developer and publisher founded in 1979 as On-Line Systems by Ken and Roberta Williams...
, which is owned by Vivendi SA). The software allows the user to make cards, calendars, stationery and other assorted crafts and then print them with their printer. The current version is 23.
History
The program was originally developed by Pixellite Group in the early 90s. The DOSDOS
DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
version was written by Christopher Schardt. The original Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
version was written by Mr. Schardt, and Ferdinand G. Rios and Tracy Elmore of SAPIEN Technologies, Inc.
SAPIEN Technologies, Inc.
SAPIEN Technologies is a privately-held software company based in Napa, California. Founded in 1986, the company has produced a number of commercial software products under contract from various publishers, as well as its own commercial software products....
. Vince Mills handled later versions.
The program was first published in 1992 under the name Instant Artist by Autodesk
Autodesk
Autodesk, Inc. is an American multinational corporation that focuses on 3D design software for use in the architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, media and entertainment industries. The company was founded in 1982 by John Walker, a coauthor of the first versions of the company's...
. After half a year or so, Autodesk decided to abolish its consumer products division. Maxis
Maxis
Maxis is an American company founded as an independent video game developer in 1987. It is currently a subsidiary of Electronic Arts . Maxis is the creator of one of the best-selling computer games of all time, The Sims and its first sequel, The Sims 2...
then published the program under the name Print Artist. In 1995, Sierra On-Line purchased Pixellite Group and the rights to the software and it became known as Sierra Print Artist. It was published under Sierra's "Sierra Home" label and continues to be today despite several purchases and mergers of Sierra On-Line beginning in 1996.
The underlying vector-graphics/font-effects technology was developed by Dane Bigham and Christopher Schardt. It was first used in BannerMania, published by Brøderbund
Brøderbund
Brøderbund Software, Inc. was an American maker of computer games, educational software and The Print Shop productivity tools. It was best known as the original creator and publisher of the popular Carmen Sandiego games. The company was founded in Eugene, Oregon, but moved to San Rafael,...
, also written by Christopher Schardt. Steve Hales wrote the Macintosh
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...
version of BannerMania. Marty Kahn (the author of the original PrintShop) wrote the Apple II
Apple II
The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977...
version. The technology also found its way into what would eventually become the WordArt add-in for Microsoft Word
Microsoft Word
Microsoft Word is a word processor designed by Microsoft. It was first released in 1983 under the name Multi-Tool Word for Xenix systems. Subsequent versions were later written for several other platforms including IBM PCs running DOS , the Apple Macintosh , the AT&T Unix PC , Atari ST , SCO UNIX,...
.
A popular feature of the program was the Graphics Grabber, developed by Vince Mills, which enabled the program to handle a catalog of thousands of vector and bitmap graphics, organized by keywords. Sierra Home also publishes Hallmark Cards
Hallmark Cards
Hallmark Cards is a privately owned American company based in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 by Joyce C. Hall, Hallmark is the largest manufacturer of greeting cards in the United States. In 1985, the company was awarded the National Medal of Arts....
-licensed versions of the program as Hallmark Scrapbook Studio Deluxe and Hallmark Holiday Card Studio.
Trivia
- Prior to the mergers and purchases in 1996 and beyond, Sierra On-Line often inserted photographs of their own products in the folder which contained assorted JPEGJPEGIn computing, JPEG . The degree of compression can be adjusted, allowing a selectable tradeoff between storage size and image quality. JPEG typically achieves 10:1 compression with little perceptible loss in image quality....
images for use with the software. For example, version 4.0 contained photos from ShiversShivers (computer game)Shivers is a single-player horror-themed PC adventure game, released on CD-ROM by Sierra On-line on September 30, 1995.-Plot:The Player steps into the shoes of a teenager who is dared by his friends to spend the night in the grounds of a haunted museum - Professor Windlenot's Museum of the Strange...
and Cyber Gladiators.