PaintShop Pro, from Corel, has long been a low-cost alternative to Photoshop. And while it performs a surprising number of the whiz-bang functions Photoshop is famous for, it's clearly not the real McCoy, in terms of feature set and performance. That said, PaintShop Pro X6 is a fantastic value, especially when you consider that the Ultimate edition includes some powerful plugins you'd pay hundreds for on their own. The interface has been tidied up from its predecessor's confusing array of buttons and menus, though it still falls short of Adobe usability. It's true that you get what you pay for, but PaintShop Pro is still a viable low-cost alternative, and the new version adds some enticing features of its own, along with a tidied-up interface and 64-bit performance.
Install and Setup
PaintShop runs on Microsoft Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista or Windows XP with latest service packs installed (32-bit or 64-bit editions) comes in the standard $79.99 Pro edition as well as a $99.99 Ultimate edition. Both editions include the faster new 64-bit processing engine, new auto-selection tools, and other enhancements, but only the Ultimate edition includes the Perfectly Clear auto-correction and some other retouching and drawing tools. A free 30-day trial download is available for each of the two versions.
After you agree to the license, you choose whether to install the 64-bit or 32-bit version (or both). The reason for the last choice is that you may sometimes want to use 32-bit plugins. Unfortunately, the installer still tries to install unrelated third-party software, a practice I take exception to in paid software—even when it's as affordable as Paint Shop Pro.
The installer checks for updates, then, on first run, for an email address to register and create an account. This account gives you access to a wealth of tutorial videos in the online Discovery Center.
New Features
Two new selection tools, similar to Photoshop's magic wand, now are available in PaintShop Pro X6: Smart Selection and Auto Selection. The first is similar to Photoshop selection tools, and it did a decent job of letting me brush to create an edge-detected selection. The Auto Selection is more impressive, resembling Photoshop's Magic Wand: you draw a box and the tool selects an object inside it. This only worked with fairly uniform backgrounds and objects with well-defined edges. Still a useful tool for plucking a head off and using it against a different background, and, in the right circumstances, it worked quite well.
One of PaintShop X6's most anticipated new features—by me, anyway—is the Perfectly Clear auto-correction tool. Even in the best of photo apps, auto-correction is one of the most used features (though photographers may deny they actually do use it), yet it's one of the most hit-or-miss features. I was eager to see if this Perfectly Clear (mind you, it's a $200 plugin if bought standalone, and weighs in at 54MB) could really get my pictures looking better automatically: the verdict, yes, it could.
The plugin software uses a combination of lighting, color adjustments, and sharpening to make your photos simply sing. It does let you refine its effects, with tint correction, exposure, contrast, vibrancy, fidelity, sharpening, noise, and skin tone sliders. A default preset is joined by presets for portrait, landscape, noise removal, and more. In general, my photos looked noticeably better after running them through Perfectly Clear, though it often added a tad too much contrast for my taste.
Another new tool for PaintShop Pro X6 Ultimate is the FaceFilter portrait editor from Reallusion. This one is a much bigger download than Perfectly Clear, at 245MB—almost as large as the main app. And there's a reason for that: It's really a full-fledged application in its own right, and doesn't actually integrate with PSP as a plugin. It can't import raw camera files, so you'll need an app like PSP for that. It also limits file size to 1920 pixels on a side—something you probably don't want for photo printing.
FaceFilter takes you through each eye one by one, and then deals with the nose, mouth, and jawline. Next you apply a makeover—male, female, healthy, smooth, and so on. You can also reshape face or body convincingly, and apply Instagram-style filters like Lomo, Sepia, and Vignette. I was surprised not to find blemish correction in FaceFilter, but it does smooth out skin problems automatically, as well as offering lots of "makeup" options.
With the unending popularity of Instagram, most every photo app has taken a page from that photo sharing app; in particular, the instant effect filters are showing up everywhere, and PaintShop's Instant Effects are the latest incarnation of this trend I've seen. But in Corel's editor, you can create custom filters for your instant effect sidebar. Another cool feature here is that your most recently used effect filters pop to the top.
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