Corel Paintshop Photo Pro X3 vs. Photoshop Elements

Hi-

I am looking for a software to create "artistic" designs, etc., probably mostly for cards, and be able to store my images.

I've been looking at Corel Paintshop Photo Pro X3 and wondered if anyone has used it and what for?

Also, am wondering if Photoshop Elements would be a better choice?

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

I having been using Corel Paint Shop since version 7. I now use version X3
I personally prefer it over versions of Elements that I have used. I do also use
Photoshop CS4. I have used for all kinds of editing as well as scanning & restoring old photographs.

Ken Johnson
Rogers, Arkansas

Like Ken, I have been using Paintshop Pro since it's inception when it was produced by Jasc Software. I currently use X3 and although the file manager/browser leaves something to be desired, everything else works very well and it can do almost anything Photoshop can do for a whole lot less money. It even runs many Photoshop plugins. I have a couple versions of Elements but it wasn't near as powerful as Paintshop Pro and for me it was more difficult to use so I didn't even bother to load either of them when I bought my new computer recently.

Hi Allen,
I use Corel Draw Graphic Suite X5 for some artistic design works, it consists of several sotware, but usually I need only Corel Photo-Paint (rastor graphics) and Corel Draw (vector graphics). It covers everything that I need. For editing RAW I use Phase One product (Capture One 4 and 5 versions: http://phaseone.com). For photo enlarging - BenVista Photo Zoom Pro 3 (it's very helpful software for poster size photos: http://www.benvista.com/). There are also excellent software Helicon Filter and Helicon Focus (http://www.heliconsoft.com/).

Roman

Hi!

Thanks for the information. I forgot to mention one point, I can get Photoshop Elements at work at a discount near the cost of Corel Photo Pro. Would that make a difference in your decision which to purchase or use?

Thanks,
Allen

In my experience with past versions of Paint Shop Pro and PS Elements the Paint Shop Pro software is far more powerful than Elements. In fact it has been called "the poor man's Photoshop" and it does do most of what Photoshop does though not as elegantly in terms of interface (IMO). I actually started out using PSP many years ago and didn't come to Photoshop until CS was introduced. I continued to buy upgrades to PSP through the X2 version but stopped because I found myself rarely using it as I became more proficient in Photoshop (thanks to Lynda.com). I still recommend PSP to those on a limited budget.

Hi Allen

If you decide on going with Paint Shop Pro, there is a dedicated user group that knows the program inside and out. Here is the Home Page Here are the Forums . There is a lot of information there, and free downloads the users have posted.

Harold