How much better is potoshop than paint shop pro, gimp?

Photoshop does CMYK color separation and deals with spot color and Pantone colors. The others don’t. Proper color calibration may also be an issue.

So if all you’re doing is editing RGB images for the web, whatever program you’re happy with is best. If you want to do any kind of print work that requires color separation or sending files out to be printed, you’ll want Photoshop.

^^ Seconded.

^^Thirded.

Its just like AVID and Sony vegas. You cant even compare these, photoshop is just top.

PhotoShop is way more powerful. But, do you need that power? To paraphrase from Spiderman, with great power often comes great complexity.

PSP is a great bargain. I used it for years, still like the way it handles some functions better than PS. I’d advise using PSP until you start discovering things that you want to do that PSP will not do.

Photoshop is the best, but can you believe still no customisable autosave feature? If you ever need to do pro work go with photoshop if not go with the cheaper software.

You don’t realize how great Photoshop is until you’re forced to not use it. It’s had so many years of development put into it that no other software can compare to its ease of use and documentation levels. That said, if you’re not going to use the features it offers, there’s no point in upgrading to using it. If all you do is crop and touch up your shots, you’ll be fine with Photoshop Elements or even sticking with PSP or the Gimp. But if you want to start doing some interesting effects and really playing with your photos, then Photoshop will open a world of new avenues to explore.

I learned all my graphic design on PSP way back in version 5 and 6. When I went to university we were taught the Adobe suite. After getting over the initial transition, I now love Photoshop and use it whenever I can. But I will note that I had won many online art contests using PSP when other competitors were using PS, and had many a discussion over which was better (again, note this was 5–6 years ago). What matters most is determination and dedication to learning all the features your program has, and how to use them to your advantage.

I use Photoshop everyday at work and it is by far and away the most powerful and most complete suite available. As the other guys said it’s all down to personal choice, and each tool is suited to different level of task.

The pro’s choice will always be Photoshop, however for simple tasks like cropping, photo-manipulation and touch-up any of the three will do the job.

Photoshop’s price tag is always the turn-off, but if you’ve got the money, you’ll find no better program. As I said any three of the programs will do simple tasks but with a little knowledge and practise Photoshop will do those tasks a lot better with a lot less effort.

One footnote, the learning curve is not nearly as scary as it first looks. I recommend the Peach-pit Press Visual Quickstart guides they were really easy to follow and completely invaluable to me when I was starting out in graphic design.

As a creative professional, I’d have to say “very” without writing a small book on why.

Thank you all for your input, it looks as if I will become a member of the Photoshop Users. I have ran into walls using PSP at times that PS will take you past, in addition there are more options and at times simpler paths for tools and effects.

I think this site is one of the most interesting I’ve found, the members are gracious, glad I came and look forward to possibly lending a hand to someone.

Pekenoe

photoshop has ample plugins and filters that PSP doesn’t. That being said, I still think PSP was easier to use

photoshop all the way! I use it for editing photos just as a little hobby. Don’t even post them on the internet or show them to people but even so, Photoshop is best. It has way better options (like walls that you can get past).

If you love post-editing (and I do,too), you will love having a color-calibrated monitor. Get a Spyder or an Eye-One device, calibrate your monitor, then crank up PS and get those colors right!

I have PS CS4 on the way, will have to save a bit again for the calibration device. The next step will be to set the laptop aside and configure a desktop with wireless keyboard n mouse and a swing away wide screen monitor so I can still edit while watching HNN in my easy chair. Laptop screen isn’t the best for editing :-)

I’ve really liked PSP for the ease of the learning curve, tried Corel, that was a maze. I’ll keep PSP loaded I’m sure.

Thanks again for the input everyone.