Luxology has announced the availability of imageSynth 2, the newest version of its image processing tool that can run as a standalone program or plugin for Adobe Photoshop. The release is claimed to offer speeds up to ten times faster than previous versions. The tool is designed for processing images into new seamless textures, synthetic images or backgrounds, and generating high resolution tile-able images from low resolution sources.

New algorithms take advantage of multi-threaded processing on dual-core systems. Memory management has been enhanced to support larger scenes, and controls have been added for chunk size and orientation. An eraser tool allows users to selectively remove areas of texture. More than one seed images can be processed, resulting in a finished image that blends both sources.

New images can be synthesized from several focused areas or "chunks" which can be rectangular or lasso selections. The ratio of inclusion from each chunk on the final product is adjustable by percentage. A pre-filtering option automatically smoothes image sources. imageSynth works with as a standalone program or as a plugin for Photoshop CS3 or CS4, on Windows or Mac platforms, and is available from Luxology for $100.