Corel Paint Shop Pro X

Citation

(2007), "Corel Paint Shop Pro X", Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 24 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/jcm.2007.07724aab.001

Corel Paint Shop Pro X

Edited by Dennis A.Pitta University of Baltimore

In this issue we look at the newest release of an old friend. Years ago we took a look at JASC Paint Shop Pro. Over time its ease of use and functionality made it one of my favorites. Given the stiff competition from Microsoft and the high functioning image editing programs, there has been consolidation in the product category. Now, Paint Shop Pro is sold under the Corel brand name.

Corel Paint Shop Pro X

When JASC software designed Paint Shop Pro, the idea was to provide a feature-rich image-editing program at a price that users of high priced programs like Photoshop would envy. The program has remained one of my favorites with some features not found in Photoshop. I liked its ease of use and its moderate price tag. Now that it is a Corel product, it has become even easier to use and has been repositioned to satisfy the digital camera user. The old familiar tools are still there. Corel has added few new ones, but the most obvious change in version X is the helpful, task-oriented user interface.

The program is bundled with a photo organizer, Photo Album 6.0. It is a utility for editing and converting raw-format images. Corel is known for providing massive amounts of software in its suites and programs. This one is no exception. Paint Shop Pro also comes with, Pixmatec Raw Shooter Essentials and a two-hour training video on CD. As always, Paint Shop Pro is a pretty good deal. It’s far easier to master than Photoshop, and for a great price, you get a sophisticated image editor that can handle anything you throw at it, plus a nice photo organizer and raw camera support.

Corel knows how to promote and support a program. Its promotional literature highlights the new elements of the latest release. It lists the top ten reasons to upgrade to Paint Shop Pro X. Actually, they do it with style. The literature states, “Top X Reasons to Upgrade to Paint Shop Pro X”. Corel also uses the second person singular in describing the reasons. For example, the first reason is, “…the number one thing you asked for in a new version – make it easier and faster to get professional-looking results”. This feature resulted from consumer comments about what features they wanted in an upgrade.

They wanted smart learning tools that the ordinary user could actually use. So, Corel supplied a new feature, the Learning Center. Thus, Paint Shop Pro will actually teach users how to edit photos, remove objects from photos, create collages, and more. Ease of use was always a differentiator compared to Photo Shop. However, Paint Shop Pro had more features than people used. The Learning Center helps show how to do all the things users wanted to do with Paint Shop Pro, but never knew how.

Second, Paint Shop Pro provides an analysis tool. It can analyze a photo and lets the user adjust the corrections to suit his or her tastes. The tool, Smart Photo Fix, is the best way to correct color, exposure, and lighting problems. With a click Paint Shop Pro analyzes a photo and makes suggested corrections. Then, the user can choose the desired corrections.

The third new feature in Paint Shop Pro X is the set of Makeover Tools. The set allows improving the appearance of subjects in photos. It is easy to use and provides something like the airbrush tools used by professional magazine publishers. With the set of tools a user can remove blemishes, whiten teeth, brush on a suntan, and remove wrinkles. The nice thing is that the set of tools are grouped in one place and are easy to find.

Corel has taken pains to boost the program’s speed. Paint Shop Pro X is said to be up to 50 percent faster than previous versions. Various features have different rates of speed improvement. For example, the program has a 30 percent faster startup time. Large images used to be slow to edit but now one can work faster on large photos. Undo and redo functions are virtually instantaneous. The new Learning Center organizes tools so logically that the user will see a speed improvement.

Paint Shop Pro X is filled with even more Advanced Photo Tools

We might have made Paint Shop Pro X easier to use, but it’s still filled with the Advanced Photo Editing Options you’ve come to expect. Not only have we added 16-bit editing, the ability to work with raw files, save out to CMYK, and color management and screen calibrations options, but you’ll still find all the tools you’ve loved for years. And, not to worry, all your other old favorites (vector drawing, art media tools, preset shapes, etc.) are still there.

The next new feature is Photo Album 6 – Standard Edition. It is bundled free with the program. Including Photo Album 6 – Standard Edition in Paint Shop Pro X, makes it the most complete photo editor on the market. Corel states that Photo Album is the easiest way to manage photos.

Not all users will need the new feature, One-click Red-eye removal. However, inexpensive digital cameras tend to create red-eye, that red color that appears to reflect off the retinas of human subjects. Corel learned that nearly 95 percent of its customers deal with red-eye on a regular basis. To make things easier on users, they developed an easy one-click option, plus kept the advanced option for creative users.

To aid user learning, Corel bundled two hours of video tutorials at no cost. The video tutorials are from Lynda.com and are excellent. The tutorials are included when users buy the upgrade.

One of the most interesting items is typical of Corel. It has included more than 500 different Special Effects & NEW Picture Tubes™. Paint Shop Pro’s more than 500 special effects is greater than any competitor. They provide a nice selection of different looks for the creative editor. The Picture Tubes™ tool provides a large variety of frames to use with photos.

Pricing and availability

Paint Shop Pro is the most reasonably priced. The full program retails for $99; the upgrade from a previous version is $59.

System requirements

Minimum system requirements:

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  500 MHz processor;

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  Microsoft® Windows® 2000 (SP4) or XP;

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  256 MB of RAM;

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  500 MB of free hard disk space; and

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  1024 × 768 resolution display, 16-bit color display.

Recommended system requirements:

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  1.0 GHz processor or faster;

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  Microsoft® Windows® XP;

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  512 MB of RAM;

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  500 MB of free hard disk space; and

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  1024 × 768 resolution display, 32-bit color display.

Additional requirements for Photo Album 6 Standard Edition:

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  Macromedia® Flash Player 7 (included);

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  Microsoft® Outlook® Express or other MAPI-compliant e-mail software (to e-mail from the product);

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  Apple® QuickTime 6.5.2 or greater (to handle movie files);

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  Microsoft® DirectX™ 9 (to create PhotoSafe archive CDs and Quick CDs); and

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  CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, or DVD+R drive (to create PhotoSafe archive CDs and Quick CDs).