Healing Brush

Photoshop has the Healing Brush (which is different from the Spot Healing Brush). The PhotoImpact equivalent is the Touch-up Tool.

Missing Blend Modes

A number of Photoshop layer blend modes are unavailable in PhotoImpact. I have not found an equivalent for Color Dodge, Color Burn, etc.

The PS blend mode called Screen appears as Reverse of Multiply in PI.

The PS blend mode called Linear Dodge appears as Addition in PI.

The PS blend mode called Linear Burn can be created by inverting the background layer and then using the Subtraction blending mode in PI.

For a mathematical explanation of the various blending modes, see this detailed page.

Hue/Saturation/Lightness

The HSL control in PhotoImpact is a simplified version of that in Photoshop, but ends up being more complicated.

In PS, you can select, for example, just to change the HSL of the Reds. It looks like this is the same in PI as setting the Method to Range and then setting the 4 sliders to the red part of the range. What each of the 4 points does is not explained. In PS, the sliders are given a default setting, just by selecting the Reds.

One of the differences between PI and PS is the scale used for each slider. PI uses a range of -180 to 180 for Hue. PS uses a range of 50 to -50 for Hue.

To convert a PS value to PI, use this formula:
PI value = (-3.6 * PS value)

For Saturation and Lightness, PI uses a range of -100 to 100. PS uses a range of 50 to -50.

To convert a PS value to PI, use this formula:
PI value = (-2 * PS value)

L*a*b Color

Photoshop supports multiple color channel models. One of these is the L*a*b model. PS also allows the user to individually select channels and manipulate them.

PhotoImpact supports only the RGB model. There is not an easy way to access the individual channels.

One method for increasing saturation is the switch to the L*a*b color mode, and, on each of the a and b channels, increase the steepness of the diagonal curve. This can be done if the EasyFilter SmartCurve plugin is used.

Using that plugin, switch to L*a*b mode. Select first the a channel and then the b channel, and make the changes to the curves. Finally, accept the changes.

Transparency Versus Opacity

Photoshop uses the concept of Opacity for its layers. When a layer is opaque, it is completely visible and no layers below it can be seen.

The opposite of Opacity is Transparency which is what PhotoImpact uses. To convert from Opacity to Transparency, just subtract the former from 100%.

An opacity of 100% in PS is a transparency of 0%, which are the default states for all new layers. Similarly, an opacity of 40% in PS is a transparency of 60% (=100% - 40%).

In any PS instruction or tutorial you see on the Internet or in a book, it is very simple to adjust the instructions for PI.

Can You Load a Photoshop Brush in PhotoImpact?

Can You Load a Photoshop Brush in PhotoImpact?
No, PI cannot load PS brushes.

Here are two alternatives:

1. Preview the brushes using ABRviewer and export them in a form that can be imported to PI. It is located here. And here is a tutorial on using it in this manner, albeit to import to Corel Photopaint. I suspect a similar approach would work for PI.
2. If you have a copy of Photoshop LE that comes with many printers and scanners, you can use that to get an image of the brush and again work the output into PI. Here is a tutorial.

Can You Load a Photoshop Action in PhotoImpact?

Can You Load a Photoshop Action in PhotoImpact?

No, PhotoImpact cannot load Photoshop .atn files. You may be able to develop an equivalent recorded sequence in PI -- if you know the steps involved and all the steps can be approximated in PhotoImpact.

PI has Tasks instead, .tsk files. However, there are almost none in existence on the Internet. When I did a search using Google, I could count them on my fingers with many left over. Compare this to the number of actions available for PS.

PhotoImpact Versus Photoshop

Many people ask, "Should I use PhotoImpact (or another similar package) or spend the extra money on Photoshop?"

I would say that PhotoImpact (PI) can do quite a bit that Photoshop (PS) does. I would guess for beginners, PI can do 95% of what PS does, 95% of the time. So -- for the money -- PI is quite a bargain. For intermediate users, I would guess PI can do 90% of what Photoshop does, 90% of the time.

However, there is so much functionality in Photoshop that expert-level users would certainly use it on a regular basis.

Also, PI is well suited for the creation of web graphics.

So what to consider?

• Many PS functions have an equivalent in PI -- finding them can be quite difficult at first
• If the function from PS exists, it may have significantly more knobs and levers to adjust in PS
• Having fewer adjustments means that PI is often easier to use, especially for beginners
• To get some PS functionality in PI will require adding PS-compatible plugins to PI. However, this is not always possible
• Tutorials around the web are going to be developed for PS. Most of the PI tutorials I find are not for photography but for web graphics
• Very few resources are available for PI on the web -- tasks, brushes, etc.
  
• The large amount of PS resources available on the web -- brushes, actions, etc. -- cannot be used in PI. I will cover this in more depth in subsequent posts
• Almost all the PI tutorials that I have found on the Internet are for web graphics. Most of them are for much earlier versions of PI -- versions 4, 5, 6, and 7

As I think of more issues to consider, I will update this post.