Creator offers an impressive array of tools and manipulations for designers, as well as a mind-boggling number of detail-oriented tools to meet prepress needs. The masking functions are particularly powerful. Unlike the marching ants that identify a masked selection in Photoshop, mask definitions in Creator recall more traditional techniques. Creator employs a transparent layer over images; you define masked areas within that layer, sort of the inverse of the old-fashioned method of cutting red Rubylith film to create masks. Masking by color selection (for instance, masking all 30 percent blue values on the canvas) can be extremely helpful for correcting many types of layouts, such as modifying clothing colors in fashion catalogs.
The Warp feature is my favorite: by selecting points on any object and twisting and turning paths over and through themselves, you can create truly bizarre effects. Text can be warped as a group, or letters can be manipulated individually but retain their group status, so you can still edit them as text.
Creator supports pressure-sensitive Wacom tablets, and I recommend you use one; I had problems controlling the cursor using a regular mouse. Packaged with its own color management system, Softmatch, Creator promises precise color output from monitor to proof to print. Its a complete, professional program particularly when paired with Strike that offers a wide range of creative manipulations. Because of its price, Creator is best suited to extremely high-end prepress and color work.