There are times when you want to make a quick change to a photograph or a picture you found online, changes that require a few more features than what basic programs such as Microsoft Paint can offer. Unfortunately, some graphics manipulation programs can be very expensive, especially well-known software such as Adobe Photoshop. Thankfully, when it comes to basic graphics manipulation, Photoshop does not have to be an end-all solution. There are several free or low-cost programs available for handling most graphics manipulation tasks, such as resizing and cropping photos, as well as more advanced tasks such as changing the DPI or saving it in another file format.
GIMP is a very powerful alternative to Photoshop. Developed for Linux-based operating systems, this software is also available to both Windows and Mac users, offering over 2/3rds of the capability of Photoshop and other big-name graphics programs. It has a rather different interface that requires a little time to get used to, with individual windows for most tasks. However, there is gimpShop, a version of GIMP that is designed to mimic the interface found in Adobe Photoshop. The best thing about GIMP is that it is free. All you have to do is go to gimp.org and download a copy of this free software.
Pixelmator is another inexpensive graphics manipulation solution, this time for the Mac OSX. For $59, you get most of the capabilities of Photoshop in an attractive package that features a slick, easy-to-follow interface. Pixelmator has both a normal window mode and a full-screen editing mode, with a wide selection of filters available for you to play around with. Pixelmator is excellent for quick photo editing tasks such as cropping, rotating and minor color effects.
Last but not least, Fotografix offers most of the capabilities one would expect from a small-scale graphics manipulation program, but with a twist – this program is only less than 1MB in size when unzipped, meaning that you can throw it on your USB drive and always have an image editing program at your fingertips whenever you need it. It lacks some features that you would expect – for instance, there are no grid and ruler options, but this software manages to get the job done. And it comes at a rather affordable of…free.
