On the Web (for
example, here), you can witness some hot discussions on what graphic app to
select - Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, or Paint Shop Pro. Very often people
say that Photoshop is the industry standard, while the two other programs are
not. Well, perhaps that's true and if you make your living in the printing industry
or professional web design, Photoshop is "musthave". For home use
though, you may find Photoshop much too expensive, and that its low-cost
equivalents can easily cope with your tasks. Let's try to summarize the main
differences from this point of view.
1. Interface. Some
users say that Paint Shop Pro has user-friendlier interface than its
competitors, the others hate anything but Photoshop. I think it's just the
matter of habit and personal taste. All the 3 programs allow us to customize
their layout to a certain extent. Paint Shop Pro's interface is the most
flexible - you can change almost anything here (see example); you even can make
PSP mimic Photoshop.
2. Color and Tone.
Leaving alone "one-clicks" (automatic and semi-automatic correction
tools), Photoshop and Paint Shop Pro offer almost identical sets of adjustment
commands. In Photoshop Elements, you won't find "Color Balance" and
some other useful commands. All the 3 apps support adjustment layers
(non-destructive correction method).
3. Retouching. All the
3 programs offer great retouching tool sets. In Photoshop and Photoshop
Elements, personally I love the Healing Brush and Patch, in Paint Shop Pro -
the Scratch Remover. For extensive retouching though, I prefer Photoshop.
4. Layers. Again, all
the considered programs support layers. Photoshop offers the richest
functionality here. Paint Shop Pro's approach to layer handling is a bit
different from that of Adobe's apps. However the most often used techniques are
about the same.
5. Selections. In
Photoshop Elements, you use the same selecting techniques as in Photoshop,
while in Paint Shop Pro some commands work in a bit different (not worse
though) way.
6. Masks. In Photoshop,
a mask always belongs to a layer; in Paint Shop Pro, masks are separate raster
layers. However, the work principles and achieved results are very similar.
Photoshop Elements only supports adjustment layer masks, but the raster layer
masking can be unlocked.
7. Transformations. All
the 3 programs allow you to transform, rotate, and distort images. For
selection or layer transformations, the Paint Shop Pro's Pick Tool plays almost
the same role as "Transform" menu in Photoshop and Photoshop
Elements.
8. Automating tasks.
Photoshop and Paint Shop Pro allow us to record command sequences and save them
for later use. IMHO, Photoshop macro commands - "actions" - are a bit
more stable, while Paint Shop Pro "scripts" are more flexible - even
painting and retouching operations (not recordable in Photoshop) can be saved
and replayed. Photoshop Elements can play some pre-recorded actions (available
in the "Effects" and "Filters" palettes), but it can't
record user's command sequences.
9. Tutorials, plugins,
etc. No doubt, Photoshop is the champion here - 9 of 10 third party resources
on the Web are devoted to this product. Although some Photoshop plugins can
work with Paint Shop Pro and some actions (very few) can be played with
Photoshop Elements, Photoshop users win here. In the meantime, the essential
work techniques in all the 3 applications are alike, and after learning your
program's basics you may be able to translate a Photoshop tutorial to Photoshop
Elements or Paint Shop Pro terms. BTW, for this purpose I composed a tiny
Photoshop to Paint Shop Pro dictionary.
Conclusion. For a
photographer or amateur-designer, Paint Shop Pro offers almost the same
capacities as Photoshop does, while some Photoshop Elements' functions are
striped down - no automation, missing adjustment commands, etc. My personal
impression is that Photoshop feels the strongest, Paint Shop Pro - the fastest,
Photoshop Elements - the simplest. Anyway, before making your choice, I'd
recommend you testing tryout versions.
Free tryouts of Adobe
Photoshop and Photoshop Elements can be downloaded here:
http://www.adobe.com/products/tryadobe/
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