Photoshop VS Paint Shop Pro

[usabilityfreak]

In the "Drawing a Line" thread I read someone had Paint Shop Pro, but had to use Photshop for some things and I got to wondering, what is are the differences between these two besides price?

[jhilgeman]

Hmmmm.... I haven't used PSP in a long time. I used to use it because I had no money and PSP was shareware (freeware to me at that time).

After moving to Photoshop, it seemed like Photoshop simply had more robust features. Photoshop's primary advantage was its numerous abilities and ways of adjusting things like hues, saturations, brightnesses, etc...

PSP has come a long way - adding features like layers, more filters, the fun PictureTube tool, etc, but I still think Photoshop is still the leader by far. As stated before, though, I haven't used PSP in a while, so I don't know what new features they have. They could be a lot closer than I think.

However, if it's price you're concerned about, here are a couple other decent programs that are somewhat comparable to Photoshop:

The GIMP
$$$: IT'S FREE! (Gotta love open-source)
URL: http://www.gimp.org/the_gimp_screenshots.html

Pixel32
$$$: $32.00 USD
URL: http://pixel32.box.sk/index.php?cat=Screenshots

- Jonathan

[jdiben]

PSP is a great tool. I use it often because I just dont have the time to learn Photoshop and PSP is easy and quick to teach yourself. It is has come a long way but it is still no comparison to Photoshop.

Joe

[JayDrake]

Personally I use Photoshop now. I learned to use Photoshop because it was the industry standard and at the time when I started to learn, more powerful by far than Paint Shop Pro. While Paint Shop Pro has come a very long way in bridging the gap in features, Photoshop has also had alot of work that had to be done to become easier to use. I would say that, all in all, Photoshop still has the upper hand both in capabilities and in being the de facto standard for professional graphic designers although PSP now has some interesting features of it's own that Photoshop would do well to emulate. I can't say much about these as I do not use PSP at all. Perhaps a devout PSP user out there might be able to expand on some of the unique features of PSP?

[ojo4max]

Photoshop is indeed a better program but PSP is a lot easier to use. Also, you get better jpg compression with PSP. I use both programs as they both have their good points but in the end I compress the pics with PSP for web use.

[httpman]

I agree with Olivier.

I use both, and most of my site designs are made with PSP because it is so fast and so easy to use. And also, it easily mixes bitmaps and vectors on the same design, with a very cool "node edit" function for vectors !! (with Photoshop, vectors are very bad and you should use Illustator, then import into Photoshop).

PSP can use most of PhotoShop filters. And it's very easy to convert a PSP file into a Photoshop one, and to "import" a Photoshop file in a PSP file (OK, in either cases PSP is doing the job !). Great when you have to work with a printer, as most of them in France only know/use/like Adobe products (and Mac rather than PCs !).

Now, if you look for the highest quality result, PhotoShop is the choice. The result of any work is always much better with Photoshop. Better transparencies, better special effects. An example ? The font anti-aliasing / horizontal spacing (PSP call it *kerning*) is a pain with PSP V7 and small font sizes (I don't know for other versions). Of course with PhotoShop, the result is perfect.

So, working faster or doing a better job ? Well, depends on the money I get for the job !

Jean-Pierre

[mm99]

I am a photoshop user myself. I have checked out just about all of the software of this type at some time or another.

The reviews of the latest version of psp are giving it a "10" saying that it has come a long way. In the English mags that I buy, they always have the latest demos and they included it in one of the disks. You might try their website. You can probably d/l a 30 day trial and make up your own mind. I know photoshop has a 30 day trial as well.

I have taken a look at it, but not in depth. For those of you that have used previous versions there is a huge difference. It has really grown up and for a lot less bucks than photoshop seems to have most of the right stuff.

On the same disk they had a 30 day version of the latest, and freeware for version 5. V5 could very well be the last version I used. It looked very familiar. I remember how easy it was to use but, (ha) it didn't do nearly as much back then.

Based on what I can tell you from what I've seen and the reviews, if you are just getting into it, I feel that you'd be better off with psp givin the price differance and ease of use. It also looks like they have some real plans for future versions.

peace...Paul

[Reece]

When I stumbled into computers, I used MSPAINT to do simple images and thought I ruled! I used an old, second hand laptop and at some point downloaded PSP..... I was in heaven. I have no clue how I managed to use it on a p1 with 16 in ram. but I did..... *
When I finally decided I was serious about doing things online, I bought a Vaio and it came with PhotoShop.....
I tried. Honestly I did.... But I am one who must confess, I am in a rut..... Don't MOVE my water dish....
I know where everything is on PSP.. I have my plug ins and filters loaded, I know how to have it do what I want it to do.....

I feel bad for not giving Photoshop more of a go.. but the Vaio I love so much is a WinMe machine.... (can you say resource issues or is it the err.. over 900 fonts.. YES I need them, dont touch!!. that's a whole different issue!!) but when I load PSP, IT WORKS..... When I load PhotoShop, thats the end of that.... I am unable to do anything else..... I am a multitasker, sorry.

People have often sneared at me, because I admit to using PSP... THEY use Photoshop... I think what ever you KNOW well enough to get the job done RIGHT is fine.... And somedays it feels like a MAC/ WIN or Win/Linux discussion when you try to explain why PSP or why Photoshop....

I will confess tho that I am a little curious, and when I have some disposable income, I will have a machine dedicated to graphics, and will try to see the beauty of Photoshop :)

[alsoran]

I'm a satisfied user of PSP and all my websites are designed with it. The main reason I use PSP is the price factor. PhotoShop is awfully costly in Indian Rupees. I though do use PhotoShop at my friend's place, but he has version 5 and not the latest one.

Being comfortable in PSP, I find that it is easy to use, deals with vector images quite nicely, has node edit facility to easily convert straight image texts into curved lines, and more. Also PSP permits converting to .psd files (though in that case the vector image doesn't work) which for me is useful since I can offer both PSP and Photoshop layered images to my clients for my ready-to-use websites.

All in all, I vote for PSP, though for enhanced image editing (for experts), PhotoShop is a clear winner.

[matauri]

I use both programs, though I confess to using PSP more because of ease of use. I agreed with 'httpman' about the smaller fonts, but I have heard that the latest version has rectified that.

I think that PSP has evolved the most and is now comparable to Photoshop in most of its features, & it has still stayed user friendly, (though I am 2 versions behind in Photoshop). I look at the time factor as well as the quality. If something takes me an hour to do in Photoshop but I can do quickly in PSP, I will do it in PSP. If I want to play around with my graphics and have the time, then Photoshop is fine.

Is there anyone who has the latest versions of both? I am not interested in upgrading Photoshop if not a lot has changed, whereas I am interested in upgrading PSP.

[adposter]

I use PSP most of the time myself. With the release of it's latest Version which is V8. Most of the templates I have created are mostly done in PSP V8.

http://www.qworkz.net/index.php

Things have changed. There are more features on the package. Plus it is just as easy to use like the previous version. Though the only thing I don't like with PSP is that the move tool is just weird moving layers especially thin lines. With PhotoShop though well, I think it's still the industry standard the only thing about it is that it's pricy and tough to learn. For me, i'd vote PSP with ease of use, but when it comes to high quality graphics, PhotoShop is the best. I would say that PSP can do about 90% of the features in PhotoShop. And I hope one day, PSP can do all of it, because if PSP can do it, i'll stick with PSP for good.

[redcircle]

The GIMP
$$$: IT'S FREE! (Gotta love open-source)
URL: http://www.gimp.org/the_gimp_screenshots.html


The GIMP is compareable to Photoshop 5.0 which means it works allright but can be frustrating when you are used to PS7. (i.e. new text creates new layer not just a selection)