[UPDATED POST]
PaintShop Pro is a photo editor that offers a wide range of professional-level tools for design graphics, advanced editing, and artificial intelligence-based technologies designed to save time. In addition to these main tools there are also tools for free drawing, painting, adding text, masking and much more. The interface is quite intuitive and easy to navigate, making it possible to find the right at the right time, making the overall working experience rewarding.
The software is also suitable for those working in the field of graphic design. It offers tools for layout, image composition and creating graphics for various purposes, such as advertising, web design and printed materials. Its intuitive interface and customizable functions make it accessible to both beginners and professionals.
Latest updates of PaintShop Pro brought a number of improvements and new features that have greatly enriched the user experience. Highlights include significant performance enhancements to the software, which now starts up faster and handles zoom and crop operations better. The addition of the haze removal feature gives users a new tool to improve image clarity.
Other optimizations include improvements in the Brush Tool and in the use of the Frame Tool, which now makes it easy to replace images in an existing frame.
The update also expanded support for Camera RAW formats in AfterShot Lab, allowing greater flexibility in processing RAW images from different cameras.
New features in PaintShop Pro include the following:
AfterShot Lab: a powerful and comprehensive RAW file editor, there is no need for third-party applications or parallel editing. Editing RAW images is now quite simplified;
Focus Stacking: allows multiple images of the same scene to be merged when shooting at different focus distances. The end result will be a final composite with a depth of field (DOF) greater than that of the source images;
Snap to Objects: allows you to align objects with great precision, avoiding additional steps during the editing process.
On the editor’s main screen you may find in your aid links to guides, webinars, and much more top-quality training material, as well as direct access to work areas-essentially several simplified interfaces that allow you to tailor the software to your needs.
Paint Shop Pro offers several workspaces: Essential, Complete, Photography, and Sea-to-Sky. The Essential and Photographic modes are designed essentially for users with basic or intermediate knowledge in Photo Editing, in fact the interfaces are very contained and limited to essential tools. The Complete mode is designed for more experienced users, providing professional editing tools. Real difference between the two modes is the presence, in Complete mode, of the Management module. Thanks to Management it is possible, from the left column, to browse photos by folders or by Collections. There is no shortage of Intelligent Collections, which means that the contents of the disk can be browsed according to some classic criteria (keywords/labels, people, places, classification…) defined in them. The last mode (Sea-to-Sky) is geared toward those who want to do underwater photography, providing tools to give more emphasis and editing to their creations.
Analyzing PaintShop Pro, there is no shortage of the Skin Smoothing and Makeup tools, as well as Spot Repairer, Brush (whitening effect in photos where teeth are shown), Eye Sharpening, Tanning, Tighten (deforming-diming effect). These are tools to be used sparingly, on pain of incurring unnatural or even grotesque results, but they make it very easy for you to achieve effects of acceptable quality in the amateur sphere.
One aspect that makes Paint Shop Pro a complete program nonetheless: the considerable extension of the toolset, which comes to include some typically exclusive to RAW converters, such as those related to perspective correction and chromatic and geometric aberrations, white balance, the Fill Light and Backlight tools, and the aforementioned noise reduction tools.
Paint Shop Pro can be considered an alternative photo editing program to Photoshop. This solution is available in various licenses, the regular version may be suitable for those who are photographers by profession or for amateurs intent on pursuing their career. The Ultimate version may be of interest to another target audience such as companies in the industry, which produce the illustrative material they need in their offices, or otherwise schools, thanks to the possibility of multiple installations on multiple devices and specific licensing programs.
This editor main advantage lies in its combination of a wide range of features with an intuitive interface and affordable cost, making it ideal for amateur or semi-professional users. It offers a simple and straightforward user experience, with effective tools for editing photos, creating graphics, and digital painting. Its AI-Powered functionality and broad support for file formats, including RAW and HDR, make it versatile and capable of handling a variety of editing projects.
However, despite these strengths, PaintShop Pro also has limitations. Because it is not considered the industry standard, some advanced users may find that it lacks some highly specific features available in more expensive software. Also, while it is designed to be easier to use than some alternatives, this may also mean that users with advanced professional needs may find its range of tools somewhat limited. Support and updates, while adequate, may not match those offered by more popular software solutions. Thus, this software proves to be an excellent choice for users seeking a good balance between functionality, ease of use, and cost, but it may not fully meet the needs of professionals with very specific demands.
PaintShop Pro proves to be a good choice for those seeking versatile and easy-to-use photo and graphics editing software without the need to invest in expensive professional solutions. While it offers a wide range of features suitable for amateur and semi-professional users, it may not fully meet the needs of industry professionals, particularly those who require highly specialized features available in programs such as Photoshop. Ultimately, it represents a good compromise between capability and affordability for a wide range of users.