With loads of tools, effects, and filters, GraphicConverter does much more than you may expect.

Just about every Mac user has heard of GraphicConverter, and likely used it at some point or another. It’s one of those little sharewares that has come installed on some Macs in the past and has been indispensable for doing exactly what its name says (and a lot more).

Thorsten Lemke at Lemkesoft has been making and updating GraphicConverter for years. His commitment to it is clear in the constant updates (every couple of months!) and personal email support. The app license costs $35, but you can give it a try for free, and most of the updates are free as well. That said, the 6.0 update will cost you ($35 new, $20 if you have a previous version)… but is it worth it?

First, let’s take a look at what GraphicConverter does, and has done pretty much all along: convert graphics from the most bizarre and obscure formats you’ve ever heard of (DeltaVision? Dr. Halo? KoNTRon?) into something you can actually use. And I don’t just mean convert to JPEG or GIF. You can save in around 80 different formats, from the common to the esoteric.

The conversion tools are downright essential if you work with clients whose image assets are still in the dark ages (”Can you make a logo from the 1-bit ART file?” “Sure!”), or if you work in very specialized fields like television broadcasting (Chyron, anyone?) or certain sciences.

But GraphicConverter is no one-trick pony. As soon as you open the application, you’ll see a toolbox mimicking Photoshop’s in many ways, meaning you can perform tons of simple image edits right here in GC. Add to this the ability to create a slideshow, apply tons of filters, optimize a JPEG for the web, and batch process files, and you may just move some of your typical Photoshop tasks to the speedier, simpler GraphicConverter. You may be surprised that many GraphicConverter users also use Photoshop—GC is not meant to replace your favorite digital imaging app, just do some conversion tricks that it can’t and speed up some processes that can be a little clunky in Photoshop.

So now how about that 6.0 update? Is it worth it? Well that depends on what you use GraphicConverter for. To someone who has used the app for years and has a pretty well-defined workflow with it, upgrading now isn’t essential. The improvements are many, but the major ones lie in web design (the Save for Web feature is new), Google Earth (some cool features here), RAW (better RAW support is touted, though I haven’t tested this out myself), and measurement (rules and measurement tools are nice additions). Read up at the Lemkesoft site before deciding. And don’t forget, if you’re a fan of this shareware app, purchase a license to help support this developer’s work.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 17th, 2007 at 5:34 am and is filed under Web Design. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.