14 DAY TRIAL // Whenever someone asks about a good image editor, the list of solutions will invariably contain Photoshop. Some other options would be Paint Shop Pro and Corel Draw. I remember when I first discovered MS Paint, ages ago. I was so enthusiastic about it that I refused to believe that there could be anything better on the market.
Well, I was wrong; as I soon found out that there are much better solutions on the market, as easy to use as MS Paint, but the results were much better. A long time has passed since then and the world of image editing took giant steps and new standards were soon imposed by the leading companies.
ImageEspresso is a very light application that comes to the help of newbies that want to quickly make an autobalance or apply a black&white effect. The price is $19.95 and the evaluation version allows a 40 days use. There are some important limitations to be mentioned here, like the incapacity of saving, copying or printing the end results without too much trouble.
The interface is as simple as can be and the developer focused more on the functionality of the application then on its looks. There are no complicated functions and everything is kept to the minimum. The toolbar offers almost all the options available in the menus. The exceptions are the Settings and the Copy function.
ImageEspresso can be used as a converter between BMP and JPG formats. The option is available upon saving the picture. The Settings box of the application includes options for optimizing the JPEg image (on a scale from to 100), setting the printing resolution (both dots per inch and dot size).
Upon saving the modified image the user can choose a personalized suffix for "Save As", for saving the 3x5 and 4x6 print sizes as well as for a custom print size. The latter can be set from the lower part of the Settings window (default is 9x12).
Regarding the printing resolution I encountered a very weird error message that prevented me from changing the default 300 dpi settings. On the second try the same happened. Taking the test to an XP machine the same Visual Fortran error popped up when trying to modify the dpi resolution (th only difference is that in Vista it looks better).
The application is not abundant in effects and filters as one would think, but some editing can be made. Changing the image to black&white within a mouse click is possible by simply pressing the corresponding button in the toolbar. Also, if you have the red-eye tool to remove the unwanted aspect of the eyes caused by the direct flash. The tool is very easy to use as all you have to do is to select it and move the cursor on the eye you want to correct. It may be necessary to repeat the operation a couple of times for a full effect.
Autobalance will automatically adjust the image quality based on internal predefined sets. Sometimes this tool can do an amazing job, but to be frank I would rather do it manually. Black and White is also an automatic option if you want to give an old touch to the image you are working on. All the modifications can be reversed at any time (either by undoing the last command or by returning to the original picture).
Unfortunately there is no multiple undo function available so you are allowed to either make only one mistake at a time or to start from scratch.
Selecting a part of the image and cropping it is a snap as all there is to the process is to select the area you need and adjust it by dragging from the sides of the rectangle/square. The next step is press the scissors-like icon in the toolbar. The selection will be brought to front and you can continue your work.
A very handy feature of the application are the "Fit to Window" and "Original Size" options. These allow you to load a large picture and set it to fit the window for a better viewing. "Fit to Windows" comes in very handy when you work with ImageEspresso in "Restore Down" mode.
The Good
The application is very easy to use and, if by any chance there is something to clear out, the help menu will definitely give you the answer.
The Bad
ImageEspresso has little to offer for $19.95. I was expecting at least a text inserting option or sepia.
The price does not justify the poverty in options and settings, especially with the error when attempting to change the dpi printing resolution.
The Truth
The few options available in the application work like a charm (except for the printing resolution change) and the software is light and simple to use. Adding a few of the professional tools used in image editing and making them work as smooth as those available will add much more value to the application.
Also, there are cheaper programs that do exactly what ImageEspresso does and more. Some of these softwares are even free.
I suggest trying it and decide for yourselves.
Here are some snapshots of the application in action:
