Corel Releases PaintShop Pro X6, Boasts Perf Improvements, Better Plugin Support

For its latest PaintShop Pro release, Corel dug deep into customer feedback to ensure that it proved to be the best version ever. In the company’s research, it found that people wanted faster performance, a refined UI and of course, the ability to get more done, quicker. Remember that move to the cloud Adobe conducted this past summer? Yeah – that’s something else Corel’s customers have been vocal about: “Stick to perpetual licenses!“. I can’t disagree there, and apparently, neither can Corel.

Though a “simple” feature, the most noticeable one that PaintShop Pro X6 boasts is native 64-bit support. Finally. According to Corel, this helps deliver more stability, and of course, improved performance and responsiveness. In its tests, version 6 proves 78% faster than 5 – not too shabby. If only our CPUs could increase their performance that much over a single generation!

PaintShop Pro X6’s Auto Selection Tool

In addition, memory management has been improved, and if you happen to still be on a 32-bit OS, you should still see some performance boosts. What might entice you to move over to the 64-bit side though is the ability to churn through batches a lot more efficiently thanks to the increased capabilities.

Thanks also to its move to 64-bit, PSP X6 now supports many more Adobe Photoshop plugins, and in addition to this, Photoshop’s PSD file format is fully compatible, along with the ABR brush format.

Performance and compatibility aside, some workflow improvements have also been introduced, such as “Smart Selection Brush”, a brush that autoselects areas based on stroke, and “Auto Selection Tool”, where a marquee selection detects and snaps to the edges you (likely) want – saving time.

PaintShop Pro X6’s Smart Selection Brush

As before, an “Ultimate” version of the suite is also available, adding the “Perfectly Clear” image corrections plugin, the “FaceFilter 3” portraits enhancer and “Creative collection”, including dozens of brushes, textures and backgrounds.

PaintShop Pro X6 is being sold for an SRP of $79.99 (upgrade: $59.99), while the Ultimate version can be had for $129.99 (upgrade: $99.99). Availability is immediate, via Corel’s website.