Graphic Converter, one stop conversion solution

Graphic Converter

This application is much like its name. Nothing fancy, nothing spectacular, clear and succinct. Graphic Converter was built to do one thing, and yes, you've guessed it, it's to convert images.

This program might seem redundant to those who have never used it before, but it is not. It can import a staggering 96 different image formats. The file type list alone takes 3-4 seconds to scroll through at max speed, and it can save in 38 different formats. Most of these are strange and obscure and I have never heard of them before, but it sure feels good to know they are there.

At a first glance over the look of the program, it resembles Paint, with filled and non-filled square, rectangle and circle buttons in its tool bar. In terms of image manipulation, it does offer a clone and stamp tool which function similar to those found in Photoshop, but obviously less impressive. Also, support for multiple layers in clunky and intuitive as is working with Alpha channels. But then you open the menus and it starts to get heavy. You can change bit depth and it offers a most functional option for minimizing the color table of an image in order to decrease its size. Resizing is also very good but it lacks the possibility to choose a pin point around which to scale. It hosts many other standard options common to this type of program including some effects and filters although few are really useful and some are just strange like the Color Permutation and Color Blindness.

Now, the batch functions were my next stop and along the way I discovered an integrated image browser, not the best out there, but not the worst either. The convert and modify interface is a reminder of days long gone and classic interfaces, unintuitive and strange after all these years of OSX but it's functional and you can get the job done.

As a last test I messed around with 32 bit images. Most high-end editing programs are notorious for their, personalized approach to transparency and alpha channels and the way they are interpreted. So I proceeded to convert from one image format to another and opened them up in as many other programs as I could find. And you know what? They were all perfect, and looked the same everywhere. During this I got to see the save dialogue which is another hidden gem. For formats that support compression, you can fiddle with the setting in real time and it gives you a preview as well as a file size. Last but not least you have the ability to save with/without preview icons and resource forks for web purposes.

The good

Unparalleled image format conversion capabilities. It has every format you can imagine and 60-70 more. It's fast and reliable and gets the job done.

The bad

Unintuitive and still bearing remnants of old Classic interface elements, unsuited for photo manipulation, and a bit simplistic in looks.

The truth

Best image conversion tool I have ever used, it puts everything else to shame in this aspect. Sure it's not Photoshop, or Corel, or PaintShop, but then again it was never meant to be. This is a Graphic Converter and by name and by nature, it is all that. It's shareware, but if you need this sort of tool, the 30$ are more than well spent. Yes it takes getting used to and even after a few hours you are still discovering options you did not see before, but it's the best I've seen at what it does.

Here are some screen grabs, click to enlarge: