Gimp

[Jim Andrada]

I tried it a few years back and was unimpressed, but just for fun I decided to take another look at it. And except for the clunky text it's been vastly improved. I think PS is of course "slicker" and the monthly $$$ are pretty reasonable. But with a "little more" study and experimentation I think I could do pretty much everything I do in PS - except maybe for stitching. Anyhow I'll play with it more and let you know how it goes.

[Roger Thoms]

Jim, just downloaded GIMP today myself and played around with it a bit. I’ve been using Affinity Photo, but can’t figure out how to save Tif file that will open in Quadtone Rip. GIMP will save a Tif file that’s compatible with QTR so that’s a plus. Definitely keep up posted.

Roger

[djdister]

I've been toying with GIMP on Linux for years and the main area it kept coming up short was in having a good printer driver for the Epson 3880. But I will say the latest version of GIMP worked pretty well with my 3880 without any attempt to profile it yet, although not being able to select specific paper profiles is still an issue.

[Graham Patterson]

There are paper profiles (Preferences, Color management), but Photoshop almost certainly has more (it has more of everything else!).

I mostly use GIMP for rotating and cropping images and a bit of web clean-up, as I do not have a need for fine print output. I do like being able to use the same program on both Intel and ARM machines. It definitely has a different approach to Photoshop, as things are not always where you expect based on the Adobe way.

[Alan9940]

I played with GIMP many years ago, but quickly moved on because it didn't support 16-bit editing. Does it now?

[Oren Grad]

I played with GIMP many years ago, but quickly moved on because it didn't support 16-bit editing. Does it now?

Yes:

https://www.gimp.org/release-notes/gimp-2.10.html

https://docs.gimp.org/2.10/en/gimp-image-precision.html

[Jim Jones]

My most often used "editing" program is Irfanview. It is a simple and quick tool for cropping, rotating, resizing, minor color corrections, viewing histograms, and more. It is a free download. Photoshop Elements 7 and occasionally Photoshop CS6 handle more sophisticated tasks and might still be available secondhand online without any pesky annual fees. Long ago I found Elements easier to use than the then current Gimp. Neither programs nor cameras have to be up-to-date to produce fine photographs.

[Alan9940]

Thanks for the info, Oren.

[Corran]

except maybe for stitching.

Depending on what you're trying to do, there's a variety of free programs that can do stitching. I've used Microsoft ICE in the past with great results.

[Jim Andrada]

One thing I rather dislike is the name. I remember when "gimp" was a pejorative term for someone (well, sort of like me,) who can't walk or walks with a limp.

I use a RIP to print to my Epson P800 Big thing I'm worried about now is whether the printer will still function after being unused for over a year while I was in the hospital - it's still really hard for me to get into my office even after being home for a couple of months, so trying to resurrect the printer will have to wait a couple of more months.