Which graphics program are you using on the Mac
by Volker Weber
Marco asked me today which graphics editor he should use on the Mac. I am a bit dumbfounded, since I don't really know anything but Photoshop, which is way too expensive for the casual user. I am still on my old 7.0 version and have not upgraded.
OS X Preview is good enough if you want to convert file formats and crop images. I have also used Goldberg and Imagewell for minor edits. What is your choice?
Comments
I use GraphicConverter - which came with my PowerBook - a lot. It's an old application - I have used it on my LC 475 before - and it fits my needs pretty well.
Dont forget GraphicConverter. It can do anything, yet most functions are a bit hard to find. Some people report good results when using Gimp resp. GimpShop, a version that has Photoshop-like menus and shortcuts.
For illustrations, I use OmniGraffle
Photoshop Elements is pretty good, much cheaper than the full version.
Yesterday I stumbled over GimpShop, which claims to have a PhotoShop look & feel. I haven't tested it yet.
Another tick for Goldberg, although it's really just useful for conversion, cropping etc., not out-and-out editing.
The question re which graphics editor to use on the Mac is one I've been meaning to ask for some time. When I'm at work, I use Paint on the PC a lot -- don't laugh! It's actually just fine for the odd re-touch, so I've been looking for the equivalent on the Mac for a little while now.
The GIMP is just too much for most of my needs, but Imagewell looks like it could fit the bill.
Oh, and add a tick for OmniGraffle too -- I've been known to use that in preference to Visio on the PC on several occasions, and it is excellent.
I would also try Photoshop Elements. Cheap price, very good functionality and it has everything a casual user needs.
I am using The Gimp at home and Photoshop at work.
I've been using the shareware LiveQuartz (http://www.rhapsoft.com/), but I have limited needs. Most of the time, I just need to resize an image to 100x100 pixels to turn them into icons for my articles, and LiveQuartz makes that particular task easy.
Another useful tool is SmallImage, a freebie that resizes JPGs -- including in batch mode.
...instead of Gimp I prefer Seashore, which is a kind of Mac-Port of Gimp:
http://seashore.sourceforge.net/
since you don't need the X11-Stuff which is required by Gimp.
Seashore does indeed look good. That is what I was searching for. And it is available as universal binary.
The Gimp, OmniGraffle and PhotoShop Elements, depending on what I want to do. (The Gimp is definitely the one with the steepest learning curve and I only use it if PhotoShop Elements dones't seem to offer the functionality I am looking for).
I used GraphicConverter back in my OS 8 days, and picked it up again when I went back to the Mac a couple years ago.
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