3 ms·

Atleast for the photo/image editing part, GIMP is FOSS and, while it definitely has a learning curve compared to some other software, does a pretty reasonable j

Atleast for the photo/image editing part, GIMP is FOSS and, while it definitely has a learning curve compared to some other software, does a pretty reasonable job

gjsman-1000 1y ago
GIMP has been in development since 1996, and still can't handle basic features like CMYK; meaning any attempt to reproduce colors on a professional printer is doomed. We're not even talking Pantone yet.
- jordanb 1y ago
  People whined about CMYK until it became irrelevant (print died). I'd argue that GIMP was forward-looking by being digital-first. The reality is all those GIMP haters can either get over it or enjoy paying increasingly high subscription fees for their increasingly enshittified creative suite subscription.
  - forgetfulness 1y ago
    Well it has non-destructive editing finally this year, for all the claims that it was powerful that I had heard through the years, without it the Gimp was a wimp I may have to give it a go, is drawing a rectangle still a transformation done on a rectangular selection?
  - jkestner 1y ago
    So because I need professional print features, I’m a GIMP hater? It’s fine if you don’t want GIMP to change to meet the needs of a different group (after all these years I suppose the GIMP team agrees). But to people who want to be paid for their product, this is valuable feedback.
    - jordanb 1y ago
      Is Adobe responsive to their customers? Maybe at one point a long time ago. But this just shows the folly of tying your professional life to proprietary tool chains. Adobe's business now is to suck any blood left in their customers's veins while trying to obsolete them through AI intellectual property theft.
      - jkestner 1y ago
        Adobe sucks, but I need CMYK to make “dead” print projects, so I got the Affinity suite. Open source principles are nice but unlike Affinity, GIMP was not made with graphics professionals in mind. I don’t love proprietary formats but it doesn’t matter as much for print projects which have a lifespan and revenue. People are mourning Affinity because it was a great functional tool with no strings attached. We’ve seen this story before. It’s fine; someone else will step in with an alternative when necessary.
        jordanb 1y ago
        Prior to 2025, Affinity used a perpetual license model. In 2025, new owner Canva (which purchased. Serif in 2024) released a new version of Designer that integrates the functionality of Photo and Publisher into a singular application, and switched the program to a freemium model monetized by artificial intelligence features exclusive to Canva Pro subscribers. I guess that's better than Adobe
tene80i 1y ago
GIMP is a perfect example of how the plot has been lost. Go to the download page: https://www.gimp.org/downloads/ https://www.gimp.org/downloads/ - A mac user has FOUR equal priority download buttons to decide between, depending on chips and whether you want direct or torrent downloads. That is an absurd decision to put in front of 99% of computer users. For power users, no problem. But if the objective was ever to be mainstream, this is among the reasons why it isn't. There is just not enough focus on making it easy.
- sznio 1y ago
  i honestly don't care if someone gets scared away by too many buttons. might be better for them since GIMP contains a lot more confusing buttons. photo-editing software will never be mainstream. I expect a person that works with media to be capable of picking the right download.
  - dist-epoch 1y ago
    Photo-editing software is mainstream, except it's done by non-professionsls on phones.
    - ghaff 1y ago
      Or the phone just does "good enough" processing on its own without the user having to do anything else. I personally use Lightroom and have Photoshop as part of the same subscription but rarely use it. (And Lightroom can do most of what I need without a lot of intervention other than some cropping on my part.)
- RobotToaster 1y ago
  Sounds like an apple issue, there's only three for windows, one being the MS store and most people are used to the idea of app stores thanks to phones. (I agree it's probably best to deemphasise the bittorrent button though)
  - tene80i 1y ago

Atleast for the photo/image editing part, GIMP is FOSS and, while it definitely has a learning curve compared to some other software, does a pretty reasonable job

gjsman-1000 1y ago

GIMP has been in development since 1996, and still can't handle basic features like CMYK; meaning any attempt to reproduce colors on a professional printer is doomed. We're not even talking Pantone yet.

jordanb 1y ago
People whined about CMYK until it became irrelevant (print died). I'd argue that GIMP was forward-looking by being digital-first. The reality is all those GIMP haters can either get over it or enjoy paying increasingly high subscription fees for their increasingly enshittified creative suite subscription.
- forgetfulness 1y ago
  Well it has non-destructive editing finally this year, for all the claims that it was powerful that I had heard through the years, without it the Gimp was a wimp I may have to give it a go, is drawing a rectangle still a transformation done on a rectangular selection?
- jkestner 1y ago
  So because I need professional print features, I’m a GIMP hater? It’s fine if you don’t want GIMP to change to meet the needs of a different group (after all these years I suppose the GIMP team agrees). But to people who want to be paid for their product, this is valuable feedback.
  - jordanb 1y ago
    Is Adobe responsive to their customers? Maybe at one point a long time ago. But this just shows the folly of tying your professional life to proprietary tool chains. Adobe's business now is to suck any blood left in their customers's veins while trying to obsolete them through AI intellectual property theft.
    - jkestner 1y ago
      Adobe sucks, but I need CMYK to make “dead” print projects, so I got the Affinity suite. Open source principles are nice but unlike Affinity, GIMP was not made with graphics professionals in mind. I don’t love proprietary formats but it doesn’t matter as much for print projects which have a lifespan and revenue. People are mourning Affinity because it was a great functional tool with no strings attached. We’ve seen this story before. It’s fine; someone else will step in with an alternative when necessary.
      - jordanb 1y ago
        Prior to 2025, Affinity used a perpetual license model. In 2025, new owner Canva (which purchased. Serif in 2024) released a new version of Designer that integrates the functionality of Photo and Publisher into a singular application, and switched the program to a freemium model monetized by artificial intelligence features exclusive to Canva Pro subscribers. I guess that's better than Adobe

tene80i 1y ago

GIMP is a perfect example of how the plot has been lost. Go to the download page: https://www.gimp.org/downloads/ https://www.gimp.org/downloads/ - A mac user has FOUR equal priority download buttons to decide between, depending on chips and whether you want direct or torrent downloads. That is an absurd decision to put in front of 99% of computer users. For power users, no problem. But if the objective was ever to be mainstream, this is among the reasons why it isn't. There is just not enough focus on making it easy.

sznio 1y ago
i honestly don't care if someone gets scared away by too many buttons. might be better for them since GIMP contains a lot more confusing buttons. photo-editing software will never be mainstream. I expect a person that works with media to be capable of picking the right download.
- dist-epoch 1y ago
  Photo-editing software is mainstream, except it's done by non-professionsls on phones.
  - ghaff 1y ago
    Or the phone just does "good enough" processing on its own without the user having to do anything else. I personally use Lightroom and have Photoshop as part of the same subscription but rarely use it. (And Lightroom can do most of what I need without a lot of intervention other than some cropping on my part.)
RobotToaster 1y ago
Sounds like an apple issue, there's only three for windows, one being the MS store and most people are used to the idea of app stores thanks to phones. (I agree it's probably best to deemphasise the bittorrent button though)
- tene80i 1y ago