GIMP

• What is GIMP?
• Who uses GIMP?
• Features
• Requirements for Windows
• Download Information for Windows
• Miscellaneous Information for Windows
• Download Information for other Operating Systems
• Tutorials
• Summary
• Resources

What is GIMP?

GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is an open-source image editor that was originally developed for Unix/Linux. It was first released back in 1996.

GIMP is open source software which means that the source code is available at no cost to anybody that wants to download it, use it, and modify it.

To view what GIMP looks like, you can check it out the Screenshots.

Back to Top

Who Uses GIMP?

It is ideal for amateur photographers, web designers, and others who want to create and edit digital images, much like Photoshop. It can be used as a simple paint program, a photo-retouching program, an online batch-processing system, or an image-format converter.

Back to Top

Features

Name	What's it for?	Level
Acquire	Screen shot or TWAIN compliant device (e.g. scanner or digital device)	Advanced
Channels	Red, Blue, and Green Channels of an RGB image or saving a selection in an Alpha Channel	Advanced
Curves	Complex adjustments for Contrast & Brightness	Advanced
Filters	Blur, Sharpen, Edge Detect, Distorts, Artistic, etc.	Intermediate
Layers	Advanced Editing and for creating Collages/Montages	Advanced
Layer Blend Modes	Create wide variety of Special Effects	Advanced
Layer Mask	Creating Collages/Montages	Advanced
Levels	Adjusting the Contrast and Brightness	Beginners
Paint Tools	Paintbrush, Pen, Pencil, Smudge, Dodge/Burn, Clone	Intermediate
Selection Tools	Selecting a portion or portions of an image	Intermediate
Text Tools	Adding text to images	Interediate
Transform Tools	Rotate, resize, skew, reshape, or add perspective	Intermediate

Back to Top

Requirements for Windows

• Windows 98, ME, NT 4.0, 2000, or XP
• Minimum of 128 MB of RAM (more RAM is better)

Back to Top

Download Information for Windows

Download for Windows	Web Site
GTK & Runtime Environment	http://gimp-win.sourceforge.net/stable.html NOTE: You must install the GTK & Runtime Environment package BEFORE installing GIMP.
GIMP
Help Files
Animation Package
Documentation	The GIMP User Manual NOTE: It is available in several languages such as English, German, and Czech.

Back to Top

Miscellaneous Information for Windows

For Frequently Asked Questions, please refer to FAQ (for Windows).

Back to Top

Download Information for other Operating Systems

Downloads for Mac OS X and UNIX (and Linux) are available at:

• UNIX (and Linux)
• Mac OS X

Back to Top

Tutorials

• the GIMP Tutorials
• GIMP User Group Tutorials
• GIMP Image Editing Tutorials for Photographers
• GIMP Tutorials - Learning The GIMP
• Grokking the GIMP (online book)

Back to Top

Summary

PROS:

• It's FREE
• It works on multiple platforms (Windows, Mac OS X, UNIX/Linux)
• You can add plug-ins

CONS:

• It is volunteer-developed beta software, so stability and frequency of updates could be an issue.
• Installation process is clunky as you have to install things manually, one at a time
• Steep learning curve
• Floating windows and confusing layout which is somewhat unintuitive
• It is sluggish
• Cannot preview most things

Back to Top

Resources

Listed below are the resources that were used.

Title	Author(s)
Top 7 Free Photo Editors for Windows	Sue Chastain
The GIMP Hits 2.0
MacGimp Review
The GIMP 2.2.8

Back to Top