Hands On: Pixelmator 1.5 adds Trim, Send to Mail and iPhoto

One of my favorite applications will see a major revision next week, as the Pixelmator Team updates it image editor, Pixelmator. I’ve made no secret of how much I like Pixelmator, so I thought I’d put the new version through its paces and see how it works.

I’ve been using the beta version of Pixelmator 1.5 for a little while now on Mac OS X Leopard and Snow Leopard with no issues whatsoever. In fact, like most applications, I’ve found that Pixelmator is a bit snappier on Snow Leopard.

Even though the version I’ve been using is a beta, I haven’t had a single crash on Snow Leopard. That’s important considering a lot of people are wondering about compatibility issues with Snow Leopard’s recent release.

I’m not what you would call a professional graphic designer. Actually, I’m pretty far away from that. However, I have an image editor open all day, everyday.

Working on the Web, I often have to do simple tasks like resize images for stories, add layers to make an image look the way I want, or trim pieces of a picture that I want to use. While not the tasks of pros, it’s still important to get it done right.

Pixelmator does that and more. At 88MB, the application takes up almost no room on the hard drive, but it offers a lot of power. It also offers a very modern look and feel, and an interface that immediately seems familiar.

The tools palette on the lefthand side features common tools that you would expect to find in a high-end image editor like Marquee, Move, Lasso, Clone Stamp, Paint Bucket and Color Picker, among many others.

There are also palette’s for Tool Options, Brushes, Swatches and Layers, Masks and others that you can show and hide, depending on your workflow. Basically everything you need is a click away.

Version 1.5 adds many new features like Trim, a Slice Tool, the ability to send an image directly to Mail or iPhoto and a Save for Web option, among many others.

Pixelmator is most definitely a consumer-friendly app. Having said that, don’t think it doesn’t have a lot of power because it does. You can do masks and multiple layers, as well as over 100 filters.

What this application does well is offer a little bit for everyone. For instance, you can manually adjust the levels and contrast of an image if you’re used to those types of tools. However, if you’re not, Pixelmator offers an Auto Enhance option that will use its own algorithms to help you fix the image.

Now, you may be wondering what the difference is between Pixelmator and Photoshop. Well, there’s a lot of differences.

If there were one change I could make to Pixelmator, I would add the option to have a single window interface. Some people don’t like it, but I’m a big fan of it.

I don’t think the Pixelmator Team is positioning the app as a replacement for Photoshop, but it is a worthy alternative. Photoshop is still the king for the high-end crowd and always will be, but it’s nice to see an app built for Mac OS X that can handle simple and complex tasks.

I’ve been using Pixelmator since it was first released and it is still one of my favortie apps.

http://www.thegraphicmac.com Jim

I completely agree with you on the single-window interface. It’s one of the things I LOVE about Photoshop CS4. At the very least, the ability to group all the palettes like you can in Photoshop would be a nice addition.
nickweston

I’ve been using Pixelmator for a few years now and love it. It costs a fraction of Photoshop, and does the 90% of day to day stuff that most of us non-graphic designer types do.

Love the new features, ditto on the single-window interface. Logic 9 is a great example of a great use of single-window…
http://www.soundportstudios.com.au Adrian

I agree that Pixelmater is a brilliant program. I actually like the floating palette system though, mainly because I often use Pixelmator in combination with other programs, and it makes it easy to switch to and from another app. I’m in a similar position in that i’m not a graphic design professional, but have regular need for a good image editor for my business. The Learn section of their website is actually what sold me on pixelmator in the first place, it’s great.

It’s still missing photoshop layer styles though (drop shadow, emboss, etc). I think these are some of the most useful design features of photoshop and would love to see them in Pixelmator. I was hoping they’d be in this update actually.
msr

Does it have vectors yet? I’ve been waiting since it came out for that feature. Vectors and layer styles are extremely important to my workflow and I’d never be able to switch without them. I feel that Pixelmator started out right: They didn’t try to add every Photoshop feature at once. They’re slowly evolving to that point. The only complaint I ever had was that it was mind-numblingly slow. Has that been fixed?

Jim Dalrymple

I haven’t found it to be slow at all. Is it slow doing everything or just certain tasks?