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Repligator is a graphic software that can be used to add an innovative edge to a quilt! It is the 1999 winner of the Best Graphic Shareware Industry Award. Repligator is upgraded every year and each year adds new effects including many that are very quilterly in application. Check out Repligator using the , your quilts will never be the same!

1999 Winner of the Best Graphic Shareware Industry Award

Also: Microsoft, Pick of the Week for the week of October 10, 1999

Repligator & Gliftic

NOTE: SoftExpressions.com is Repligator & Gliftic software line is no longer available for purchase at Soft Expressions.com. Visit Ransen.com to purchase programs and see additional information.

Repligator

Gliftic

Repligator for the Innovative Quilt? Absolutely!

Review and images by Sharla Hicks © 1999-2000

Same Block manipulated 3 times in Repligator

Below is the original quilt created in another Quilt Program and then sent to Repligator to manipulate. Read on to see how easily Repligator changes a graphic, photo, or quilt into new and innovative ideas. More cool examples are shown below.

I knew I found a gem when I happened onto Repligator, then I downloaded the demo and tried it out -- wow, talk about ease-of-use and exciting new ideas to start my creative juices flowing. I was instantly sold on the value of Repligator for innovative quilt inspirations and just had to have it to add to my line of software tools for quilters.

Learning Curve and Operations found in Repligator:

One of Repligator's best features is the learning curve, its almost nonexistent. What a refreshing change from the learning curve usually experienced in the early stages of most programs. Repligator has a 2 minute, yes, that's right a 2 minute learning curve using the very short on-line help tutorials, tips-of-the-day and self-explanatory dialogue boxes. Simple keystrokes: F7, F8, and F9 do all the work. It is that easy! Nothing I have used yet compares to how fast and "easy" this little but very powerful design aide is to LEARN and use! With a single stroke, walla, you have instant gratification and more new quilt design ideas than can be used in a lifetime. The best part of the simple learning curve is that all you have to bring to the computer screen is your vision and imagination!

After getting comfortable with the keystrokes, start using the excellent intuitive dialogue boxes that make tweaking your current design "easy." Be sure to take the time to read the Tip-of-the-day -- it is an extra fast mini-tour of the program with some humor thrown in for good measure.

Repligator is truly a one-of-kind Design Aide! No wonder it was honored in 1999 with the Best Graphic Shareware Industry Award. This is a well deserved coupe for Repligator and that was before the current upgrade with its new features and speedier caching.

Repligator is intuitive in the best sense of the word!! Repligator's Menus, Toolbars, and Dialogue Boxes are very "easy" to use (there is that word "easy" again) and follow the standard Window formatting we are used to with the Windows operating systems.

In the example above, see the familiar open file, save file, print, and copy file to clipboard icons. The rest are program specific for simple, fast access to specialty features.

Bring your favorite graphic or quilt image to Repligator AKA Import and Export:

Repligator is a small program (no hard drive space hogging here) but what power behind the simple interface to help you with built-in manipulation for your quilts created in Bargello Designer, Creative Impulse, Electric Quilt, PCQuilt, Quilt-Pro, QuiltSOFT, and VQuilt. Many quilters scan photos and manipulate them in Photo Shop or PhotoPaint or use graphic programs like Window's Paint, Adobe Illustrator, Paint Shop Pro, Corel Draw, Freehand (to name a few) to develop their quilts. Most graphic programs have a few built-in special effects but nothing that rivals the numbers found in Repligator for a fraction of the cost. To add additional special effects to other, often pricey, graphic and photo programs, you must purchase extra plug-ins. Not with Repligator, Repligator does not use plug-ins, everything you see you get for one very reasonable price.

The simplest method and my personal favorite for bringing my favorite quilt, photo or graphic program image into Repligator is to use Window's Clipboard cut and paste options. Cut and paste eliminates the extra steps required to save and open a file. NOTE: You can save a file and open them in Repligator if you wish; see next paragraph.

If the program you are using does not support the Windows clipboard to transfer a file, then Export or Save your file as a jpeg, targa, pcx, bmp, or png. Repligator can open any file saved as a jpeg, targa, pcx, bmp, or png and you are ready to go. Bargello Designer, Creative Impulse, Electric Quilt, Quilt-Pro, QuiltSOFT and PCQuilt, VQuilt, Paint, Photo Shop, PhotoPaint, Adobe Illustrator, Paint Shop Pro, Corel Draw, Freehand and most graphic programs have the ability to export one of the file types accepted by Repligator.

Repligator Upgrades bring more Special Effect filters called Xforms and added features:

Repligator's magic is done by manipulating already created images using the Special Effects filters called Xforms. Each year Owen Ransen, the program developer, does an upgrade and adds more Xforms and features. The upgrade price to previous owners of Repligator is an amazingly low $10.

Repligator 5 added printing, supported more graphic file formats, added special effects as well as other must have options.

Repligator 6, brought larger thumbnail previews, a larger cache translating into faster file manipulation, and more special effects (shown in a list below.) Repligator 6 has added a real bonus for quilters, a new shaded background option can be selected for many of the Xforms. The shaded background can be created from a light to dark version of the same color or use 2 different colors. For quilters this means even more inspiration for new color studies.

Repligator 7 brings previews to image open dialogue box and several new mixing options for even more control over adjusting effects, and 11 New Effects listed below.

Many of the Xforms (special effects) are geometric in nature and appeal to the quilter who likes the geometric edge, cubic or pop art overlay, but there are plenty of options for the quilter who likes organic, soft edge, hard edge, transparency edges, brush strokes, lines, wood grain, tiling, or color changes. There are so many special effects that it is difficult to select a favorite, but for geometric quilt ideas, check out Futurist, Marilyn Warhol, Mosaic, Mondrian, Blue China, Cubist and Pop Art.

Many of the new images can be used as inspiration for fabric selection, quilt lines, or embellishment across the quilt surface. Some of the ideas are so good you may want to print them out as fabric using Bubble Jet Set 2000 to make the printout permanent.

I do find that the less extreme settings are better for those who want the original image/quilt to show up clearly in the manipulation. For those who want completely new ideas with only the structure of the image/quilt as the underneath guide -- go for the extremes. Another angle that adds even more fun and inspiration is manipulating your manipulations! The possibilities are endless! Try out the and see for yourself the inspiration unfolding before you eyes.

Initially I suggest the special effects can be left on auto pilot allowing the program to make the choices. This is good for the beginner wanting to see the wide range of variation possibilities. When more control of the outcome is wanted, access the dialogue box and tweak the image to your specifications. Quite a bit of control and an overlay of your own hand can be achieved this way. It takes a little practice to figure out what your tweaks will achieve, but soon you will be buzzing right along.

Each design session can create up to 120 versions of an image; if you are not done, then just start over with a fresh image and keep on going! (NOTE: The demo is limited to 16 versions, has demo evaluation written across the screen and has a some disabled menu items -- so ordering you own copy is a good idea.)

• Software requirements: Windows-95/98/NT/00/XP
  NOTE: Repligator does not run under DOS or Windows 3.x
• Hard Drive Requirements: 2 MB free space (very minimal)
• Hardware Choices:
  • Minimum -- runs very slow -- PC with INTEL 486 (50 MHz), 16 Mbytes of RAM, Color adapter (256 colors)
  • Better choice: Pentium 100 MHz with 32 MB of RAM or greater, Color adapter (16 bit, 32,000 colors)
  • Best Choice: PC with INTEL Pentium (200 MHz or better) 64 Mbytes of RAM or better, Color adapter (24 bit, 16,000,000 colors)
• Can manipulate/design with any image saved as a jpeg, targa, pcx, bmp, or png
• On-line help, tutorials and tips-of-the-day

for Repligator. Words just don't do Repligator justice, try out the demo then come back and order you own personalized version. Better yet, there is no shipping charges when you accept shipment via e-mail with your name embedded into the interface identifying you as the owner. If you want your own disks, add $8 and shipping costs. Either way, Repligator is a bargain software.