- Company or Source:
- GIMP
- Skill Level:
- Intermediate
- Platform:
- Windows, Mac, and Linux
Requirement(s):
- Windows 2000 and later
- Mac OS X and later
- Gnome 2 or KDE 3.2 or later
- 128 MB of RAM
GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) allows you to create and retouch photos, and functions as an online batch-processing system, a mass-production image renderer, and an image format converter.
Average Rating: 
Based on 6 Ratings
- Rating:
- Pros:
- This software has all of the capability of PhotoShop and then some. For those used to working with PS's interface, you can even download GIMPShop (which used to be an addon but it may be a full-fledged derivative now...not sure) which will make GIMP look like PhotoShop. Still free.
- Cons:
- It does a few hookey things with layers that I'm not too fond of but I don't know if it's any different from PS...I haven't used PS in a long time and I never used it with layers.
I would certainly (and often have) recommend this product to those who need graphic manipulation whether or not they can afford PhotoShop.
- Rating:
- Pros:
- Versatile, powerful, free
- Cons:
- badly organized - not user friendly or intuitive, requires significant time and effort to learn / master
Photofiltre (the free version)- not as powerful, but, much much more user friendly without the learning curve: http://photofiltre.free.fr/
- Rating:
- Pros:
- Does everything you'd want an image manipulation program to do, plus it's free.
- Cons:
- It has a steep learning curve, generally requiring study of both the internal and some external documentation.
I couldn't live without it.
- Rating:
- Pros:
- Good substitute for Adobe Photoshop(tm), excellent substitute for the lite versions. I have used it to open files that Photoshop couldn't open.
Download it and give it a try.
- Rating:
- Pros:
- Multiple formats supported. Very full featured. I can do almost all graphic work with it.
- Cons:
- Complex with a learning curve. Not really suitable for graphics management, but that is not what it's for.
Use this for serious graphics work. Use simpler programs for light work.
- Rating:
- Pros:
- The GIMP can do just about everything that Photoshop can for working with images. It also comes with a number of canned scripts for creating Logos or flashy titles which can be embedded within documents.
- Cons:
- There isn't much documentation and are very few third-party publications, partucularly for the version 2. By the way, version 2 is not recommended for windows 98, rather you should use version 1.2. The interface is different from your normal windows application, I suggest adding the two plugins "Windows File Open" and the "Dewierdifyer" if you are not already familiar with the GIMP. See http://registry.gimp.org/ for plugins and http://www.gimpguru.org for tutorials.
Great, powerfull application. Steep learning curve, just like photoshop.
