Sunday 5 July, 2009

How can anyone not love the GIMP?

Submitted by Rodney Gedda on Thu, 21/08/2008 - 16:29

A recent comment on this TechWorld blog post sparked some fiery debate over the suitability of the GIMP for “office-level” graphics needs.

An anonymous commentator wrote:

“Spare me please. I'd happily use OpenOffice but GIMP is named pretty well – something you'd better keep locked in your cellar and not let out when nice folk came to visit.”

Okay the GIMP may have a funny name, but it does what it’s designed to do very well. A rose by any other name perhaps?

I’ll have you know that TechWorld is a proud user of the GIMP for image manipulation work – on Linux and Windows!

That’s right, don’t forget the GIMP is cross-platform and retains the same look and feel regardless of which operating system you use it on.

I love the GIMP because, like Perl, it makes the easy jobs easy and the hard jobs possible.

It’s not a watered-down, freeware version of a professional-grade graphics applications. The GIMP is the real deal.

That’s not to say it doesn’t have any limitations, it does, but for what it’s designed to do the GIMP is fast, reliable and easy to learn and use.

So unlock the GIMP and start playing with it today – it’s not a tool you want to keep in the closet!

comment

Comments

Mon, 25/08/2008 - 22:29 — James Pyles

GIMP is ready for the office

I know this because I use GIMP daily for all my image creation and manipulation needs. I work as a technical writer for a software company. We're an "open source" shop, so I develop all my user manuals and technical guides on a Linux platform. GIMP's interface is difficult to get used to, but once you get past the first awkward phase, it becomes a very powerful graphics tool. The one thing it lacks is good documentation (which is right up my alley).

Sat, 23/08/2008 - 04:39 — Rambo Tribble

Some adjustment needed

The GIMP has a unique interface. It makes perfect sense, unless you've become accustomed to the more common Photoshop genre of approach. Then it can be hard to learn.

The GIMP is one of the best tools for web work; it is not so strong in the print world. Current implementations do not address the higher bit depth colorspaces needed for high-end print. GIMP 4 should address some of that by implementing 16-bit color depth.

That said, the results with the scaling and jpeg compression algorithms consistently outperform even the most highly touted Photoshop plugins. Those who dismiss the GIMP display only a lack of professional acumen.

Fri, 22/08/2008 - 05:52 — Anonymous

Well, I do like it

I like GIMP because of its user interface. I, personally, find it intuitive and easy to use and therefore, I use it.
Krita, I haven't used it so I don't know.

GIMP is a bunch of hi-tech, well programmed features all at the reach of a right-click. I used photoshop, corel photopaint and other less known tools, and this is different, but I get it.

A pile of taskbar windows? One toolbox, with as many docked tabs as I need, and one window per document. It is a matter of taste, but I hate the windows-within-windows interface.

It is even better when I just put all these windows in an exclusive desktop in Linux. Wish I could do the same in windows (no, it is not the same if you use one of those sad utilities that try to give WinXP multiple desktops).

Of course it lacks some features, CMYK colorspaces and things I heard are on the way, but it has become a nice tool I proudly use when it fits the purpose.

Fri, 22/08/2008 - 05:14 — Anonymous

Well, I do not like it

I do not like GIMP because of user interface. I, personally, find it confusing and difficult to use and therefore, I do not use it.
Krita is far more intuitive.

Bunch of hi-tech, well programmed features is pretty useless if you need to waste time finding them.
Some will say "please, use manual and learn to use GIMP".
Well, I won't. I have spent a lot of time learning Photoshop while back. Why would I spend hours learning something new, that does worse than what I already know, thanks to WINE.

One absoultely irrelevant thing for effectivness, that irritates me a lot, is a pile of taskbar windows.

Yes, it is a tool I will keep in closet.