14 DAY TRIAL // Although we rely on video files to 'capture' certain events, images can be a very good source too. Because of that, there's quite an large amount of software that deals with images. Starting with the little ones that have limited functionality, continuing with the medium size ones that have a reduced level of complexity and complete a limited number of tasks, and ending with the major ones that have lots of options to choose from and do require a number of hours to understand and learn how to work with them. On the top of the scale, I can mention Adobe Photoshop and continue with Corel Draw, Gimp too as a medium size editing software and at the end?.our good old Paint. I think the major difference that makes an editing software be 'good' or 'not sufficient enough' is the amount of features that it includes and the way the software lets you benefit from them.
ImageEspresso is a simple, easy to use editing software that includes the basic features that a digital image editor must have. It comes with an easy-to-use interface that has an intuitive buttons toolbar containing the main options of the software. Two arrow buttons on the left corner will help a lot when you deal with a large amount of images from the same folder. The same functions can be found on the File Menu. The basic operations like rotate, resize, crop a selection can be easily done with the help of buttons.
ImageEspresso comes with a 40 days trial evaluation period and with save, print, or copy images functions disabled. Along with these limitations, the software will allow you to undo only one mistake, modification that you do not like, or restore the image to its original state. In addition, ImageEspresso provides the user the possibility to view the differences between the original image and the modified image by pressing the correspondent buttons from the toolbar. Select to rotate the image or the selection with 90 degrees to the left or right by pressing once the correspondent button. Auto Balance is a simple function that will modify the image properties according to the settings made in a previous state.
The Settings window can be found at File tab. Here you can adjust the Printing resolution by modifying the DPI (dots per inch) value or Dot size value. You can adjust the JPEG quality factor too by entering a value between 1 to 100. A general set of option follows where the user can change the Default File Name suffix for general SaveAs, for SaveAs for print size 3x5, 4x6 or Custom print size. Adjust the default Custom Print Size and enter your own size. ImageEspresso has the possibility to reduce the image noise level from your pictures by pressing the Noise Reduction button. You can add a BlackAndWhite or Sepia effect to your images with a simple or double click on the BlackAndWhite/Sepia button.
A common feature of image editors is the red eye correction or remover. ImageEspresso comes with red eye correction filter. Manual Balance is where you can adjust the brightness, saturation, contrast, or dark area correction levels. ImageEspresso will help you select a standard 3x5, 4x6 size from your image to print. From the last version, the developers of ImageEspresso added Noise Reduction and Sepia to the list of features, and the possibility to select the next or previous image in folders, features that do improve the image editing quality.
The Good
I liked the interface that gives you direct access to all the options of the software, with just a mouse click. Adding new features like Noise Reduction and Sepia to the list improved the image editing process.
The Bad
You are allowed to make only one mistake in the process or you'll lose all changes that you made up to that moment. The 19.95 price is much higher than the one you expect after you have tested the software and seen what it can offer.
The Truth
Image editing can be fun too. With ImageEspresso even a kid can work with the editing menu. It's simple, easy to use, and intuitive. But simplicity and the lack of professional editing features will not make ImageEspresso a competitive software on the image editing market.
Here are some snapshots of the application in action:
