Working With Graphics – Popular Software Packages Vs. Freeware Alternatives

The need for graphics software is something that has grown exponentially along with the development of modern day computers, the internet, and of course, the digital camera. The exact use for it varies not only among the different users, but from the different tasks one single user want to finish – it being photo retouching of the private family album, creating elements for your blog or website, or making a brochure for your private business. And we expect to finish up all these tasks in one program – two at tops. It goes without saying that we expect a lot from the graphics software we choose to utilize. Now, for many users, both professional and the semi-professional home users, Adobe Photoshop is the obvious choice. Some love and swear to Paint Shop Pro, the cheaper alternative from Corel, while millions of pc users are satisfied with what Microsoft and Apple ship with their operating systems. Now, those who fall into the last category, may not find this article as useful as those who belong in the first two, as the simple photo retouching tools they already have installed with their OS serves their needs. For the rest of you however, read on to see what other free software options you have, and why you should, or should not, choose to utilize them instead. I am going to split the article into categories, to help you draw your own conclusion as to what software will do the job, hopefully without costing you a buck.

1 Support
Many users of commercial software find this point very important when they’re deciding which package to use. Will the software support my printer/wacom tablet/camera import/scanner/OS – and if it doesn’t, will they offer me help to solve the problem? The answer with commercial packages is – yes and no. All major software developers offer support, usually over email, phone or chat, and as long as they have the answer to your question in their database, they’ll give it to you. For more complex problems however, the poor, underpaid technician may not be able to help you – and this is, contrary to popular belief, one of the big advantages of Open Source Software (OSS). OSS has the advantage of being followed by a strong community – not only with graphics artists that take use of the software, but also the programmers that actually helped develop the code itself. In other words, you may be able to get your answer directly from the source, and even have someone help you create a patch especially for you. That’s something Adobe, Corel and Microsoft would never offer you. On the other hand, getting those answers may be a bit more complicated than picking up the phone. It may take some forum browsing, a few emails, and some waiting before the problem is solved. Now, the last kind of software release, which is also free, is from professional software developers that release their software for free. They may have different reasons for doing this. Some release their older versions for free while the newer versions cost money – like a demo solution, only better (remember, that version was the newest just a year ago). Some do it just for the advertising – perhaps they have some other software that they’re selling at a higher price, and just want to get your attention. The backside of downloading these alternatives is that most of them offer none or very limited support – in other words, if you’re having problems, you’re on your own.
To sum it up, Open Source projects may actually offer the best support in the long run, even if it takes some research to find your answers, but professional software are tested for months before release, usually have support for most drivers and hardware built in, and may therefore remove the need for the support in the first place. If you need new software for a project quickly, to reach a deadline, you may be safer off going for a commercial package. If, on the other hand, you want to learn some graphics editing, perhaps do some retouching on your private photos, I would not let this stop me.