I’ve recently come across a really good package for technical illustrations, graphics and publishing. It’s not a CAD package, but if you need to publish your designs, add notes and explanations etc, then Canvas may be for you. It is a cost-effective, integrated solution for the creation, enhancement, presentation and sharing of technical illustrations and graphics. You can directly import from over 100 standard file formats (including PDF, DXF, and DWG) and use Canvas’ tools and features to create stunning illustrations, graphics, and presentations that can be shared in a variety of formats. I’ve only had a short time to play around with it, but it would appear a far better tool for technical illustration than Illustrator or Freehand, which I used to use when I worked in publishing. Below is the technical information on the package, sorry it’s a bit technically worded, but some of it needs to be. It retails at £180 +vat and while I’m no expert, I’m impressed by what I’ve seen and it’s obviously a very good price.

It can be bought direct via Software Paradise Or I have a few copies in my office which I can post off a little cheaper.

Some of the features I’ve come across:

Create with confidence - Technical illustrations require accuracy and micron-level precision from concept to finish. Canvas’ flexible environment lets you draw in any scale, define custom units of measurement, as well as grids and rulers.

Import, view and save projects in 100+ file formats – This is extremely important as it should eliminate any problems concerning working with other designers, either in the CAD field or illustration. Canvas can open numerous file formats so you can edit, apply effects, and export to another format, RAW DICOM to Kodak FlashPix,  With the Canvas Print Driver (Windows XP only), ”print” almost any document – no matter the complexity – into Canvas for further enhancement and export.

Apply filters to images, text, and vector objects – With Canvas’ proprietary Sprite technology, illustrations, text, and graphics can be enhanced with both image and transparency effects without affecting the original object. Share your projects and ideas while ensuring security – At any point in the design process, you can save your Canvas documents or export as PDF, both with secure encryption and password protection.

Work with CGM files and study seismic data – Canvas boasts a CGM engine that is compliant with both the Aviation Transportation Authority (ATA) and Petroleum Industry Protocol (PIP) standards and offers the highest level of fidelity of the vital CGM data. The Canvas™ 11 CGM engine offers the highest level of vital CGM data fidelity and is compliant with Aviation Transportation standards (ATA). Geologists and earth scientists can import seismic data and study it with the integrated Seismic Traces palette.

Make the most of your data – Specialized imaging instrumentation within the medical and other related scientific industries often creates DICOM image files that contain 16 bits of data per grayscale channel. Canvas 11 offers DICOM and RAW import options that target the need to study, enhance, and apply visualization effects to specialized information.

Leverage advanced visualization features – A number of highly specialized filters enable users to visually enhance an image according to user-defined parameters thereby allowing users to see things that would otherwise be invisible to the naked eye.

Analyze with precision – To understand the results of a research or medical imaging project the vast amount of numerical data within each pixel must be accurately selected, gathered, viewed, and analyzed from within a precise environment. Direct access to numeric data makes the most advanced analysis tasks easy and accurate