Paint Shop Pro Description

Paint Shop Pro (PSP) is a bitmap graphics editor and vector graphics editor for computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system that was originally published by Minneapolis-based Jasc Software. In October 2004, Corel Corporation purchased Jasc Software, and with it, the distribution rights to Paint Shop Pro.

Originally called simply Paint Shop, the first version, 1.0, was released in early 1992. Paint Shop was originally distributed as shareware, but is now sold in the United States for US$99.99, or US$59.99 for an upgrade from version 7 or higher, which is considerably lower than the price of its main competition, Adobe Photoshop. International prices vary but there is always a price advantage over Photoshop.

Its functionality is easy to learn and its user base is large due to the fact that many mid-range scanners come with PSP as their acquisition tool and image editor and many OEM have been, or are, bundling it with their systems.

rom version 5.01 to version 9, Jasc bundled Animation Shop, an animated graphics editor, with Paint Shop Pro. Animation Shop is now available separately for US$40.

With version 8.0 of PSP Jasc made some major changes to PSP. The most obvious change was the new look of the program through the use of all new GUI elements. Version 8.0 also introduced the ability to control most elements of PSP via scripts or macros. Some changes, however, were not welcomed by all users. Some users complained that the time to start version 8.0 was tens of seconds, whereas the previous version started up in a few seconds. Some users also complained that the changes made to the brush and other tools rendered them much less precise than in the previous version. This has caused some users to stick with version 7.0 of the program. Version 9 later solved some of those issues.

Major changes in version 10 included a revamped Learning Center that helps new users to get started, Makeover Tools (Blemish Remover, Toothbrush/whitener, and Suntan Brush), IR film simulator, and a Black and White film converter that includes color filter effects. One of the most anticipated additions to version X was 48Bit (16bits per channel) color support, which unfortunately was not completely supported. In version X, 48bit color images were limited to a handful of digital image correcting features, but not full blown photo editing, where the real benefit could be realized. On the surface 48bit color is merely as good as 24bit color. However when the image is manipulated, 48bit color allows more precise color data to be maintained providing less image artifiacts after significant manipulation.

Since its eleventh version released in September 2006 the program bears the name "Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo XI". This has introduced a new "Organizer" that replaces the previous file browser and a number of new filters and effects. There have also been new "One-step photo fixes" introduced.

The versions listed below are all trial versions and intended for research purposes only.