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If quality is more important to you than speed, then StuffIt Deluxe 10 is for you. Using a technology introduced with StuffIt Deluxe 9, but refined and improved for this release, Allume Systems provides a method for compressing JPEG photos by about 30 percent. In tests, a 17MB archive of 30 JPEG photos compressed down to 13.5MB. The same archive compressed to about 14.5MB using the OS X built-in zip archiving feature. However, StuffIt Deluxe 10 took about 33 seconds to compress the files on a Mac mini, compared to about 12 seconds for the zip archive.
The extra time for compression is due to how StuffIt Deluxe 10 works. For each JPEG file, the program first removes the JPEG compression from the image, then applies StuffIt "lossless" compression. When you de-compress a JPEG photo, StuffIt rebuilds the JPEG compression. There was no noticeable difference between a StuffIt JPEG and the original file, which you can now compare easily because StuffIt Deluxe 10 lets you preview compressed JPEG images.
Theoretically, the extra compression means anyone into digital photography or collecting JPEG files can save money on flash media disks and external hard drives, because the files won't require as much space. In practice, this one major feature in the new release is only attractive if you want to spend the extra time compressing photos. One massive archive of images—about 850MB of JPEG files—located on an external drive took about an hour to compress. Meanwhile, you can pick up a 1GB SanDisk SD card at Buy.com for about $70, and flash media disks work surprisingly fast in OS X—the 850MB archive transferred in less than eight minutes. Also, if you send a JPEG archive to a friend via email, your friend will need the latest version of StuffIt Expander. At press time, Allume Systems had released StuffIt Expander 10 for Mac (Free; www. stuffit.com), but not for Windows XP. That meant, when we tried to de-compress a StuffIt Deluxe 10 archive on a PC using Expander 9, we received an error message.
Of course, you get more than just better JPEG compression with the new version. This longstanding utility (that remains the preferred choice for Mac users even though OS X can create zip archives) now lets you create self-extracting archives with a splash screen using the included SEA Maker tool. Better integration with Tiger means that Spotlight now finds files in StuffIt archives, and you can create Automator scripts that automatically start file compression. The program supports a laundry list of compression formats, including TAR, ARC and TGZ. If you compress sensitive data such as your financial records, StuffIt Deluxe 10 now uses 512-bit encryption. Many features have not changed over the years; you can still create StuffIt files directly from Adobe PhotoShop and Microsoft Word, and the program supports automated backups using the included StuffIt Express PE program, which can use Finder Labels to back up files and be set to only back up recently changed files.
There's no denying the power of this compression tool, but whether you upgrade depends on a few factors. The JPEG compression will let you use more of your hard disk, but adding another flash card costs about the same as the program itself. The stronger encryption is fine, but StuffIt Deluxe 9 already had 512-bit encryption. Plus, better encryption just means waiting longer for an archive, and using 256-bit encryption is typically strong enough. Upgrading means losing some compatibility with your PC pals—at least at the time of this writing. If you are constantly making archives and sending them via email, or just prefer the more organized approach of using fewer disks, then StuffIt Deluxe 10 is a worthwhile purchase. Otherwise, built-in OS X archiving is probably sufficient.
–JOHN BRANDON
StuffIt Deluxe 10: 
Allume Systems | www.stuffit.com | 888-245-1723 | $80; $30 to upgrade
Pros: JPEG compression more powerful than OS X archiving, Spotlight and Automator integration when running Tiger.
Cons: Incompatible with Expander 9 for PC, JPEG compression is slower than OS X archiving.
Requires: OS 10.3 or higher, OS 10.4 required for Automator and Spotlight support
macHOME recommends: OS 10.4 or higher RATING
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