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Corel Corporation's acquisition took me by surprise. Suddenly, Jasc was now part of the Corel stable of digital programs almost immediately after the release of the new Jasc Paint Shop Pro 9. For long time Jasc fans, this is a surprise. For Corel, this means a gap has been filled in their product line. Considering the great treatment given Painter, one can be optimistic about the future of Paint Shop Pro. If it will be continued as a separate program, or incorporated into a suite, remains uncertain. For now the program is available as an independent program. For Corel this is a wise move. Being that the excellent photo editing program that is part of the CorelDRAW Suite is only available as part of the suite, Corel now has a very well defined graphics image editing application among its offerings.
Having come a long way from shareware days, Paint Shop Pro has slowly evolved from being a basic editing package into a full fledged image editing powerhouse. The program has become so potent that Jasc offers, or rather Corel now offers, a slightly stripped down version, Paint Shop Pro Studio for those that could be intimidated by the very large reach of Paint Shop Pro 9.
Like Corel, Jasc has always been good about including written documentation with their premium program. Paint Shop Pro comes with a five hundred page guide that is complete, easy to digest and very accessible. Much like the available help menu system, Paint Shop Pro is very accomplished in the are of "user friendliness." Another strong area with Paint Shop Pro is that it does not force the end user to rely on wizards or step by step processes. Once you master a particular feature, you can for the most part go on your own.
A big and important new addition to this version of Paint Shop Pro is the History Palette. Like the one in Adobe Photoshop, this one can now save every step. For Photoshop users this is a feature that has existed for some time. It is great to see that Paint Shop Pro 9 witnesses the addition of this important new feature.
Another great feature is tabbed images. Images open in the program can be expanded to tabs that appear just beneath the menu bar. For those that need to keep multiple image files open, this is a real time saver and a real savings in precious screen real estate.
One area that truly surprised me were the assorted digital photography quick fix features built into Paint Shop Pro 9. I have seen these types of features before, but normally they are either under powered or simply not worth bothering with if you are interested in refined photography. To my surprise and amazement I saw for myself the quick fix button bring back to life a digital image that for all intents and purposes looked dead on arrival. Overall, the program has enough of these to merit it being considered a nice accessory for Adobe Photoshop. The power and detail here is nothing short of miraculous for a program within these price points. For pros that need RAW file support, that image file format supported by digital cameras is now welcome in Photo Shop Pro 9.
The big selling point, or rather the most salient, with version 9 are the new creative painter tools. While Corel Painter, also at version IX, still rules in the "software as artist's studio" class of applications, Jasc does an impressive job of offering that functionality here, although in a more limited manner. Given its limits compared to the vast array offered by the complex but so useful Painter, I cannot fault Jasc for trying to bring down to earth the feature set that Painter dominates.
In terms of ease of use, the much improved and excellent photography tools, there is much to admire here. For professionals, I can envision Paint Shop Pro as a good accessory for those times when tweaking in Adobe Photoshop takes too much time. As far as a replacement for the majestic Photoshop, that is not even a reality. For designers and professionals, the format, the program, the plug-ins and the layout are such that after gaining control of the Adobe behemoth, no one is really going to move to another program unless there is a major shift in software. For a plethora of reasons, power, detail and the fact that it is a standard, I don't see it being replaced. However, unless you are a professional, purchasing Photoshop can easily be overkill.
Just like every artist does not need Painter, not every user needs the power of the detailed Photoshop. For those working within restrictive price points, and those that do not need to confirm to the specifics of professional use, Paint Shop Pro is an excellent tool. For pros looking for quick fix solutions and work on the fly, this is an excellent program to have on hand.
Should you be new to digital photography, and you want to learn, this is the best place in the world to start.
Talk to Kurt in Graphics Unleashed Forums
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