Corel Updates Paint Shop Pro, Photo Album
Corel on Tuesday announced new versions of both Paint Shop Pro and Photo Album, the first updates to either product since the company acquired the titles in October 2004 through the purchase of Jasc Software.
Corel says the focus behind Paint Shop Pro X is ease of use. This is evidenced by the addition of the "Integrated Learning Center." The tools included in this area will help to create professional-looking results regardless of experience level.
However, Corel also is aiming the product at professionals as well. Advanced photo editing controls will allow users with more experience to fine-tune their modifications to digital images.
Other new features in Paint Shop Pro X include Smart Photo Fix that analyzes photos and suggests settings to enhance picture quality, Makeover Tools to fix skin blemishes, whiten teeth and darken skin tone, and the Object Remover that can remove unwanted objects from images and replace them with the background surrounding it.
Photo Album 6, meanwhile, now allows for direct downloading of images from a digital camera into the application and automatically rotates and places images to a location specified by the user.
The new Photo Finder will automatically search a user's hard drive for images and at them to their library, and Photo Trays can be used to sort images to e-mail, print or share photos.
Users will also be able to find recently downloaded images through a list that shows the last ten groups of photos downloaded.
The new releases are available immediately through Corel's Web site and will be sold through retail in the coming weeks. Paint Shop Pro X comes with a standard version of Photo Album 6 and will retail for $129 USD. A Deluxe Edition of Photo Album 6 is also available for $49 USD, and includes three bonus software titles.
A 30-day trial of Paint Shop Pro X is available for download via FileForum.