PaintShop Pro X9 Ultimate (PC)

Corel Paintshop Pro and Adobe Photoshop are the two most popular professional photo editing software available today. Both have been about since the 90’s and have been through several updates. Paintshop Pro is the cheaper of these programs requiring only a one off payment (whereas Adobe Creative Cloud requires a monthly subscription fee).

Of these two programs I opted for Paintshop Pro as it is the cheaper option and I found it to be more user friendly when looking at the trial software (available on the Corel website).

I experienced problems with installing this software (despite installing the trial without issue). I contacted Corel about this and received an immediate response. The next day I was provided with an offline installer that installed without issue.

Corel Paintshop Pro and Adobe Photoshop are the two most popular professional photo editing software available today. Both have been about since the 90’s and have been through several updates. Paintshop Pro is the cheaper of these programs requiring only a one off payment (whereas Adobe Creative Cloud requires a monthly subscription fee).

Of these two programs I opted for Paintshop Pro as it is the cheaper option and I found it to be more user friendly when looking at the trial software (available on the Corel website).

I experienced problems with installing this software (despite installing the trial without issue). I contacted Corel about this and received an immediate response. The next day I was provided with an offline installer that installed without issue.

I used this software to create and edit images for my blog page and so far it has served me well. The software is intuitive to use. It provides a navigation menu on the left, the image in the centre and image editing options on the right. There are not many new features introduced since the X8 version. These updates are noted on the product page as follows:

-Corel AfterShot 3

-Perfectly Clear 2 SE Live screen capture

-New from Template

-Screenshot featuring

-Smart Capture Gradient Fill tool

-Text presets

-Improved text tool

-Real-time photo effects

-Improved stylus and tablet support

-Batch smart photo fix

-Enhanced scripts

-New guided tour

-Export edit history

-Windows Server 2016 support

The ultimate version includes some nice bonus software: Aftershot 3, Perfectly Clear 2SE, Corel Live screen capture and Corel Creative Collection.

This is a highly versatile image editor at a very reasonable price. It would be ideal for anyone who requires an advanced image editing program for website design, graphic design, home photo touch ups etc. I would not recommend this software as an upgrade from the X8 version unless the new features are of key interest. If you are considering this software, then check out the trial version available from the Corel website. Overall I am pleased with this product as it suits my needs and is reasonably priced.