If reading through nearly 1,000 pages of Photoshop tools, tricks, tips, and errata is your idea of a good time, Photoshop 6 for Windows Bible is the book to get. Packed with everything a new user needs to know about the leading image-editing application, this book has much to offer and only a few drawbacks. Five main sections run the gamut from an introduction to the application and interface to basic and sophisticated painting, masking, layering, and text techniques. One of the most important sections is saved for last: "Color for Print and the Web." Color management and calibration for different output systems is never easy, but understanding how and why color is handled in Photoshop, and for different systems, will go a long way toward helping you become a real master.
A favorite feature, and one seen far too little, is a complete version of the book in PDF format on the accompanying CD-ROM. It has no color images, and items in the index and table of contents are not clickable, but it makes for far easier searching when you're looking for a specific command or phrase. The CD-ROM also contains four bonus chapters, third-party plug-in demos, 48 high-resolution stock photos, and a large, full-color gallery of artwork from 16 Photoshop artists.
The book itself is clearly written and cleanly formatted, but even though there are plenty of screen shots, none of them appears in color. This is disappointing, in light of the fact that the book is all about a color image-editing application. The 32-page color gallery and the wealth of color images on the CD-ROM make up for this somewhat, however.
If you've never bought a Photoshop book and you've just moved up to Photoshop 6, this book makes a handy reference and source of inspiration. Packed with more information than most Photoshop users will probably need, Photoshop 6 for Windows Bible makes an excellent Photoshop companion. --Mike Caputo
