Adobe Photoshop is an amazing tool. It lets business owners edit the images they need to produce professional-looking brochures, pamphlets, and marketing materials. However, Photoshop is far from inexpensive. A quick online scan will show that newer versions of this image-editing program can run higher then $600. For small business owners on a budget, this program isn’t practical. This doesn’t mean, however, that these small business owners do not have photo-editing options. In fact, businesses can pick from a number of alternatives that are not only cheaper but are actually free.
These programs might not contain all the elements that Photoshop boasts, but they have more than enough photo-editing features for most small business owners. Here are three of the highest quality free photo-editing programs now available:
GIMP, which stands for GNU image manipulation program, is the choice of many a cost-conscious designer. That’s because this free program contains many of the most important attributes of Photoshop. The GIMP website even offers a version of the program—cleverly named GIMPShop—that features a screen layout that is a virtual twin of Photoshop’s.
Remember that old MSPaint program that came with your Windows program? Paint.NET is the successor to this, and it’s a remarkably powerful—and free—photo editor. Paint.NET comes with its own special effects, an unlimited undo (a nice feature for those designers who are far from perfect), and an online forum packed with users who aren’t shy about sharing their favorite tips and strategies for using this program. The only negative of Paint.NET? It only works with Windows-based systems.
Picnik is a free program that works on Mac, Windows, and Linux operating systems. This program has some really fun effects such as blurring, darkening, and lightening images. It’s one of the most popular free editing programs, as you don’t have to download files to use it.
There is no need to purchase the expensive Photoshop program to produce professional looking pamphlets. For the small business owner on a budget, any of these programs will do the trick while keeping standards high.
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