QFX
Encyclopedia
- QFX could also refer to QFX Radio, for other uses, see QFX (disambiguation)QFX (disambiguation)QFX may refer to:*QFX , a computer image editing program*QFX , a Scottish techno band*QFX , "Quicken Financial Exchange" file format used by Intuit software...
.
QFX is an image editing computer program, developed by Ron Scott a Texan photographer and software engineer. The first version was released in 1990. At the time of its release, QFX was one of the most feature-rich image editing applications available on the PC platform (MS DOS, later 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...
). It was the software of choice for digital artists and image postproduction studios in the times when 1024x768 truecolor graphics were a luxury, far before Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop is a graphics editing program developed and published by Adobe Systems Incorporated.Adobe's 2003 "Creative Suite" rebranding led to Adobe Photoshop 8's renaming to Adobe Photoshop CS. Thus, Adobe Photoshop CS5 is the 12th major release of Adobe Photoshop...
could have been considered a serious professional tool. Its clean interface and clever workflow helped build a devoted fan/user base, some of whom continue using it, despite QFXs being long ago eclipsed in features and users by Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop is a graphics editing program developed and published by Adobe Systems Incorporated.Adobe's 2003 "Creative Suite" rebranding led to Adobe Photoshop 8's renaming to Adobe Photoshop CS. Thus, Adobe Photoshop CS5 is the 12th major release of Adobe Photoshop...
.
History
The first version of QFX was released around 1990. It ran on PCs equipped with AT&T Truevision AT Vista and Targa ISA bus framebufferFramebuffer
A framebuffer is a video output device that drives a video display from a memory buffer containing a complete frame of data.The information in the memory buffer typically consists of color values for every pixel on the screen...
graphics cards. Low end Targa cards were limited to 8 bits, but most were 24 bit with a hardware alpha channel; Vista cards were 24 bit, and capable of greater than video resolution. All could capture RGB video.
Early versions of QFX had no brushes; the program was used for image processing and color correction, rather than image creation, providing basic filters (blur, noise, glow etc.) that were a collection of MS-DOS
MS-DOS
MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...
programs that could be run from the command line and included in batch files. This functionality continued with all Targa and Vista versions of the program, and allowed operation on images with a resolution far greater than the graphics display device. Later Windows releases introduced an internal scripting facility that pre-dated Photoshop's actions by many years.
The early version ran on both Intel and DEC Alpha processors.
The program was popular with PC-based computer animators, who would often use QFX tools to composite multiple image layers for single-frame output to a video recorder or film recorder.
In 1991 the new version called Hires QFX priced around 3500 USD, provided additional features including brushes and expanded support for large image files. In that time the alternatives for professional digital image editing were over-200k-and-more-USD dedicated workstations like Quantel
Quantel
Quantel is a company based in the United Kingdom and founded in 1973 that designs and manufactures digital production equipment for the broadcast television, video production and motion picture industries...
's Paintbox
Paintbox
Paintbox may refer to:* Quantel Paintbox, software* Paint Box , the 1967 Pink Floyd song* Paintbox , graphics utility released for the ZX Spectrum 48K in 1983. Published by Print'n'Plotter Products Ltd in the UK and re-released by Erbe Software S.A. in Spain. Written by Joe Gillespie....
, Crossfield
Crossfield
Crossfield can refer to:* Crossfield, Alberta* Albert Scott Crossfield* Magnetic crossfield effect...
or Barco Creator
Barco Creator
Barco Creator was an image manipulation program targeted at the repro and print shop markets. It was developed by the Creative Systems division of the Barco Group from 1988 to the late 1990s, and ran on several generations of Silicon Graphics computers...
software running on expensive SGI
Silicon Graphics
Silicon Graphics, Inc. was a manufacturer of high-performance computing solutions, including computer hardware and software, founded in 1981 by Jim Clark...
Power series multiprocessor boxes. QFX was one of the first multiprocessor optimized graphics programs. When running on dual processor systems, it would split the image in two, running half on each processor.
The boom of DTP
Desktop publishing
Desktop publishing is the creation of documents using page layout software on a personal computer.The term has been used for publishing at all levels, from small-circulation documents such as local newsletters to books, magazines and newspapers...
and the rapid advances in PC hardware in the mid 1990s changed the market for graphics software. Photoshop, windows oriented, less technical and cheaper solution for anybody proved to be a winning approach. QFX continued adding new features including a windows-based interface and CMYK handling, but was unable to compete with the lower-priced and increasingly feature-rich Photoshop.
QFX were also a well known Scottish dance back in the late 1980s and early 1990s and are still touring at the present.