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GIMP goes SVG
An anonymous reader writes "The GIMP developers released a new snapshot in the development series. Version 1.3.21 (aka the path to excellence release) features an improved path tool with superb path stroking and adds SVG support. You can now export your GIMP paths to SVG and the new SVG import plug-in not only renders Scalable Vector Graphics for you at the desired resolution, it also imports SVG paths as GIMP paths."
I checked the GIMP for Windows website, and it seems 1.3.2 isn't out yet for us poor non-Windows users. Does anyone know when it'll be available?
From this page which deals with telling "graphic designers" why they should switch...
"Gimp has a much smarter menu system that is far more efficient than theone present in Photoshop, or for that matter in all other image manipulation programs that we know of"
um. Wrong. Photoshop users 90% of the time also use Indesign, Illustrator, Imageready, Acrobat, or "some" other adobe product and all of them have a consistant interface with tools in the same or similar place, so moving to the GIMP could be a little confusing.
"Photoshop also has certain scripting capabilities, but it doesn't compare to the power of an advanced scripting language such as Perl. When it comes to scripting, we don't think it's unfair to compare Photoshop with a little baby and Gimp with a full-grown adult with 30 years of working experience. That's how big the difference is"
Graphic Designers are NOT programmers (usually) they are hired to make "shit look pretty" thats why most of photoshops scripts can actually just be recoreded like macros or scripted in simple text using simple "copy X - insert page - paste X" language
"Gimp can't handle anything other than 8 bit RGB, grayscale and indexed images. That's the big disadvantage of Gimp. Since Gimp doesn't support CMYK or spot colors such as PANTONE, Gimp can't compete with Photoshop in the prepress field.
Photoshop has more third-party plug-ins than Gimp. Yes, even though Gimp has around 220 real plug-ins at the moment and that number is constantly growing with around one plug-in every two weeks, there are still more plug-ins that you can buy as accessories to Photoshop, and they aren't available for Gimp.
Photoshop is also more effective (faster) when it comes to big images with a lot of layers (images bigger than 500x500 pixels)."
Are they really naive enough to think that a graphic designer would ONLY do webdesign and never be involved in the print area as well? Not to mention Photoshop also installs a program called Imageready which is what you use for webgraphics, if your using Photoshop by itself for webgraphics they are probably not animated and bloated in file size - Photoshop is more geared towards workign with print material where as Imageready is what we use for 500x500px type web stuff. Also my BIG pet-peeve with the GIMP is PANTONE! PANTONE! PANTONE! You know how many jobs for companies I get that use a specific pantone color in their logo? ALL OF THEM.
Sorry, I know some people here like the GIMP, but it's far inferior to Photoshop for Graphic Designers.
But what do I know - i'm not a programmer, not a IT monkey, and not a linux fan... I'm just a Graphic Designer. I'll just go back to my Apple and Windows machines now.
Ave Molech Setting