May 7, 2013

Cloudiness

In the past 24 hours, we’ve gotten tons of emails asking, congratulating, and commenting about Big Brother’s new move. So I thought I should write a short note about it. As Pixelmator developers, we were quite (pleasantly) surprised by this move.

I must say our pricing, ownership, and development philosophy are completely different from Big Brother. We focus only on creating the world’s best image editing app. Nothing else. No distractions. Just this to drive us forward: the compulsive curiosity to see what happens after we have the perfect image editing app ready for you.

At the Pixelmator Team we believe that our way is the right way.

In fact, previous Pixelmator updates are the evidence of what I’m saying now. All of them come with a multitude of amazing new features and improvements that are completely free. But what’s even more important is that your feedback is unbelievably great about every single one of them.

We’ll prove ourselves again later on this week. On Thursday, we will storm the Mac App Store with a free Pixelmator 2.2. Blueberry upgrade for all of our existing customers. Don’t be confused by versioning numbers. This isn’t a minor update—it’s a MAJOR UPGRADE—and it’s great one.

Then, as I mentioned sometime ago, we are on track to ship layer styles later this year. We just wanted to complete this awesome Blueberry upgrade.

After Big Brother’s latest move, I am confident that our philosophy of pricing ($15), ownership (you own the app), and development (focus on creating the world’s best image editing app) are simply the right things to do.

Comments

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  • Tom

    This is well written and I am happy that I am using Pixelmator and nothing else. You guys are doing great and every update, even a small one is appreciated and welcome.

    Thumbs up!

    -Tom

    11 years ago
  • Chris Long

    As long as Big Brother continues on their current path of BLOATING every app to death with every stupid bell and whistle that their brains can dream up (BaconWare™), you folks at Pixelmator can rest assured that I’ll be a loyal customer forever. Keep it lean, keep it simple, keep it fast. Good luck, and keep up the great work!

    Chris L.

    11 years ago
  • Grumpy designer

    Please, please tell me this update will finally include an option to use a saner color scheme for the main UI!

    Thanks to my browser’s accessibility settings, I could read this page, despite its being rendered in small-grey text on a black background. Unfortunately, Pixelmator itself doesn’t (so far) let me make such adjustments to this design theme — the one HUGE usability problem that I keeps Pixelmator out of my everyday tool box.

    11 years ago
  • omni

    Great to hear! That Adobe moves to subscription-only is a very interesting move. It might work out well if you can save money and pay for great apps for just the time you need them. On the other hand: It never feels like “your” software. Therefore I look forward to the future of Pixelmator as it is a fantastic application and your updates are always great. Glad, you still offer major upgrades for free for current owners.

    Stay yourselves and we’re looking forward to 2.2!

    11 years ago
  • Coen

    @ Grumpy Designer – sounds like Photoshop is just the app for you

    11 years ago
  • Tom

    I just wish I Pixelmator had the tools for web layout.

    11 years ago
  • Marc Rivers

    Please include the ability to lock layers.

    11 years ago
  • Bershatsky

    Are you going to raise your price on Thursday?

    11 years ago
  • Greg

    Hope you do something with resize tools….

    11 years ago
  • Tom

    Cheesy, cheesy words. You should not compare what can’t be compared.

    11 years ago
  • grimaldo

    So, If I had pixelmator 2.0 i can upgrade for free? or I’ll pay extra bucks for it?

    11 years ago
  • Kay

    Pixelmator had to take over when Photoshop Elements priced me out of upgrading it, and am I glad it did– top-notch app, stupendous customer service and no take-over-the-world pretensions! Just good solid app, awesome tutorials, excellent –affordable — product! Thanks, guys!

    11 years ago
  • Saulius Dailide

    grimaldo,

    If you have Pixelmator 2.0 the new Pixelmator 2.2 is a free upgrade for you.

    11 years ago
  • Greg

    I would share your excitement but I was a Adobe’s client for 6 years – and I thought their support sucked….note it is not about low price and free updates – it is about good product in good price and great support. As mentioned your support needs upgrade – start with “Delivering Happiness”

    11 years ago
  • Mikeintosh

    I never liked Photoshop in the first place. Price was too steep for me as an occational designer. I purchased Pixelmator once it hit the Mac App Store (for the highest $29.99 price) and I was happy ever since. It was worth every penny and still is. I always felt Photoshop was overcomplicated. Pixelmator has much quicker learning curve. If Apple was making a graphic editor, it would be Pixelmator, I’m sure of that.

    Yes, there are few shortcomings in the Pixelmator, mostly I hate the resize-blur bug, still it’s the best graphic editor out there for common users. I even know people who bought a Mac to have this great app. I can’t wait for the upcoming update. Awesome job, developers.

    11 years ago
  • Dane

    By far the best and greatest image editing tool I have ever used.
    It’s simplicity in approach, it’s professional look and it’s intuitive. Using Adobe Photoshop for me, was like moving from NotePad to Microsoft Word, and wondering what am I supposed to do now (with a myriad of buttons and functionality I don’t know how to use). My point – Pixelmator is streamlined, focused and packed with enough but simple enough for the lay person to get working.

    Keep up great product!
    THURSDAY woooooha!

    11 years ago
  • Kaky

    I’m very surprised to see such a weird post by one of the people from Pixelmator. I think you need a reality check or you are in some sort of identity crisis. You are starting to compare your product against Photoshop which is a product for a totally different niche than Pixelmator is. No way you can compare your product Pixelmator with Photoshop. Yes Pixelmator has some of the same functions but Photoshop is aimed at a totally different market segment.

    Photoshop is for the pro’s. The people who do huge projects working with lots of money. That’s why it seems so huge and bloated to the majority of people. The majority of people using photoshop to date and being dissatisfied with Adobe’s creative cloud change are the people who only used a fraction of what Photoshop is capable off. A large amount of these pro-sumers also got a hand on Photoshop in less legal ways.

    What Adobe has done is simply shaking off the part of the image editing and design market they aren’t interested in. This is in favour of Pixelmator and the other “Image editing for the rest of us” apps. The majority of people that are now switching to apps like Pixelmator are those who most of the time never needed Photoshop for their work. These are people who don’t need the capability to edit 12+ megapixel images in their full glory with 16+ bit support, CMYK and LAB channel mixing. For those who don’t need color-correction perfectness. The people who do need these features for their work are those that are now getting a less expensive Adobe product for their business. These are also the people who can afford Adobe’s licensing.

    And when it comes to licensing. This is the first time I hear a software company telling it’s customers that they OWN the product. If I own Pixelmator I can do with it what I want and really…. that is not what you as a developer want. Therefore your customers buy a LICENSE to use your app. That license also says, as far as I remember, that version 3 will be an upgrade we have to pay for. So all the free stuff you’re mumbling about is only for those who step from version 2.x to version 2.x.

    I hope this post was written by a developer and not one of the owners of Pixelmator because I am really scratching my head about this one. Pixelmator is a lovely and very good product and I use it with great joy, but you should not compare yourself to apps that serve a totally different market segment. Compare yourself to apps like Acorn or Gimp etc. Apps that serve the same market as you do. If you really want to go after Adobe you should have build your app in a totally different way. Your app is great for us who use it for small projects. And then I mean small in every aspect because Pixelmator has it’s issues when it comes to moving huge chunks of data around. Photoshop is for those who need the processing power and highly accurate results.

    So come from your high horse and get down to earth with both feet on the ground. Pixelmator is an amazing app. Make it the best imaging app in the world FOR THE REST OF US (not the whole world in general).

    11 years ago
  • hamsta

    @ Kaky – Wow, did you get paid by the word? You spouted off a bunch of stuff that could have been condensed to a few sentences. 😉
    Hate to break it to you but this “Pro” dumped Photoshop for Pixelmator.

    Looking forward to Thursday! 😀

    11 years ago
  • Imperfectlink

    Another Pro here. Love Pixelmator but wish it was on other platforms as well.

    11 years ago
  • Ivan

    A very good news!

    Congratulations to the development team, I just hope that includes support for OSX 10.6.8

    And then the waiting begins Thursday on the “Layer Styles”

    PS: I hope the comment of Kaky you take it for what it is “Constructive Criticism” and serve to nourish the future Pixelmator.

    11 years ago
  • Zaphodz

    And another pro here. I love Pixelmator too, I still use “that other app” to make selections from paths, once Pixelmator can do that I can ditch “that other app” 🙂

    11 years ago
  • Smitty

    I love Pixelmator, too, but haven’t totally weened myself off Photoshop (I am a working pro). However, I see the day coming and boneheaded decisions like Adobe CONTINUES to make helps. Bloatware? You bet! Going for a very confusing matrix of CS product packages and standalone app to a two-tier rental system is .. mental.

    I fear Pixelmator is TOO cheap at $15 and hope the developers can keep feeding their families. BY ALL MEANS charge people for the 3.0 product when it arrives.

    Now, if there was a replacement product by a similar company for InDesign I’d be set. Now that I do all Web production, and little if any print anymore, I need a page layout program “for the rest of us” to do my personal projects and replace my aging CS5 InDesign.

    11 years ago
  • Coen

    @Smitty – I second that. $15,- really is too cheap to be taken seriously. Selling at $15,- means reaching an audience that hasn’t got a clue about the basics of image editing so they’ll end up whining and complaining about every single tool that’s inside the package and every single word from it’s developers. Sure I’d encourage every one to start editing graphics, but at this price it’s getting pretty crowded with people complaining about problems caused by their own shortcomings.

    11 years ago
  • i sometimes post here

    @Mikeintosh – i use preview app to get around the resize/blur bug. Annoying workaround, but it does the trick.

    Looking forward to the upgrade…

    11 years ago
  • Mikeintosh

    @ISometimesPostHere I know about this workaround but it’s simply too annoying since I resize a lot to get the perfect dimensions. Anyway a fix is just one day away.

    11 years ago
  • Greg

    @Mikeintosh: I still have a hope it is – but I tried 2.2 yesterday and it doesn’t work – still blurry – but they still have one day to fix it – guys I count on you (really!)

    11 years ago
  • Matteo

    I cannnot forgive you the way you handle the NVIDIA incident. If I remember correctly you never bothered to write on the Mac App Store description that the app didn’t work with certain Macs. Or the colour incident, when users found out that Pixelmator slightly changes the colours and you guys went in “Steve Jobs full mode”: -You’re doin’ it wrong!

    But let’s talk about Pixelmator: the text engine is awful (fonts that perfectly works in PS are completly broken in Pixelmator, like “Yikes” -kerning totally broken); automator actions, hello? basically no batch operations (I cannot save for the web multiple images in batch, for example); healing tools worked fine, then you broke them, then you fixed them, now they’re broken again.

    You’re lucky Mac blogs like MacRumors or The Verge or MacStories review your products without even trying them (no one reported the “new” broken healing tool, for example).

    About “Big Brother”: even Marco is surprised by how good of a deal it is http://www.marco.org/2013/05/06/adobe-goes-subscription-only.

    Autodesk (famous for its AutoCAD softawares) went to the subscription way a long, long way ago and it worked and it’s working really good for them.

    I sincerely hope “Big Brother” and Acorn will teach you a lesson or two.

    11 years ago
  • Greg

    @Matteo: I think subscription is one of the greatest way to show you support the product – for most of the time there is a constant pressure on developers to work on product – it is a kind of agreement – you pay each month – we work each month to improve. Owing the product has completely no value. As for me I would be glad to pay e.g 5Euro a month to Pixelmator to make sure they develop the software all the time. I am looking for good tool – not the cheapest one.

    And as for Adobe – 30 euro/month for Creative Cloud it is a bargain – if someone need it.

    11 years ago
  • Tim

    Will you ever introduce an option to turn the interface to default (grey/silver) Aqua? I’ve seen multiple people request this on several occasions, but never saw any form of response from the Pixelmator developers. All the black is really heavy on the eyes.

    11 years ago
  • Stefan Hemmes

    Me like! Will be waiting to see the update!
    Btw, big fan of the app. Keep up the good work!

    11 years ago
  • Jonny

    ooo sooo excited 😀

    Bring it on! … now, not tomorrow!!

    11 years ago
  • Ed Glasheen

    Great app! I use it for most all of my photo and web designing needs. I agree, the price is too low, just my opinion. Looking forward to the new update… Please keep the dark interface!!!! Ed

    11 years ago
  • Fede M.

    Looking forward to testing the new version!

    I think your way is the right one!

    What Adobe does seems stupid for me, all the way. You can buy software for 100 $ and reach nearly the same results, or just Pixelmator for 15 $ and be happy about a team that is working hard on their product in order to make it better and better.

    Then you don’t need senseless additional software and newsletter subscription and to be millionaire just to use a picture editor.

    11 years ago
  • Riccardo 54

    Pixelmator is the best image & photo tool I’ve found on Mac, it’s light, easy and powerful.

    I believe the team maybe ask a bigger price (as in the beginning) for this wonderful software. On my next MacBookPro it will be the only one image & photo editor (I own about 20k photos).

    Thank you staff !!!

    11 years ago
  • Tiago

    I moved to Pixelmator for many reasons, and one of that, is the fact that I OWN the app. I’m a illustrator of a small animation studio in Brazil and there, we use the Big Brother app at full time, but I aways want to have my own way to make my personal works and, I dont have money to pay for that big ones, so, I found in Pixelmator exactly what I need. Of course, using adobe’s apps all the time, i found some difficults to adapt with pixelmator and some features that I use most in Ps, but I believe in Pixelmator team and this philosofy. Ps now can even edit videos, and, really we need this in a image editing app?
    So, keep the good work!

    11 years ago
  • Gary

    @Coen –
    I agree. I bought Pixelmator when it was $59 … actually I bought 10 licenses and gave them away to folks as gifts … all at $59.
    When they moved to the App Store then I bought another copy of the app. I think it was at $29 then.
    Now it is set at $15 which is way too low.
    For this app, I think $49 is a great price. It helps to keep out the whiners and complainers … the people who write bad reviews because they don’t like the color scheme or something.

    I’m looking forward to 2.2 and ultimately “layers” later in the year.

    Keep it up devs!

    11 years ago
  • Kirk

    This is a great time for Pixelmator to move into the real professional market by creating a “Pro Level” app and price it at $250. Of course, I know this is easier said than done, but I think you’ll have customers lined up for a real photoshop competitor at this junction. Maybe the right time for some heavy investment into the right engineers. Who knows? Maybe there’s some disgruntled Adobe people around that would love to jump ship for an ownership stake in a new company.

    11 years ago
  • Leandro P.

    You guys fully understand my feelings about this like no one else. I couldn’t support you more than I do right now. Thank you!

    11 years ago
  • Arnout

    Just bought your app. Feels good to pay for your efforts, and ‘own’ this beautiful app. Keep it up!

    11 years ago
  • WebTread

    In a Steve Jobs kinda word… “Awesome”

    11 years ago
  • I

    say Adobe as ?big brother?, LOL, I like you~~

    11 years ago
  • Jo

    I stumbled upon Pixelmator a couple of weeks ago, just looking for a so-so replacement for Photoshop. Boy, was I surprised – you guys have created an absolutely fantastic piece of software that’s easy and fun to use.

    Really looking forward to 2.2. Thanks for your hard work!

    11 years ago
  • Andy M

    I found you simply after looking to see what else was out there after the ‘big brother’ announcement.
    I downloaded eval and then purchased through appstore within 30 minutes…. it was clear to me that you did everything I needed in a photo editing and retouching app. Similar keystrokes to I am used to and great tutorials on the website.

    Well done – I think this is going to be a good time for your company.

    11 years ago
  • Paul

    I bought Pixelmator on the Mac App Store. I intend to put my support behind Pixelmator.
    Count me in as one of the people who is tired of Adobe’s premium pricing on their Bloatware.

    The one item that is critical to me is 48bit (16bits per pixel) editing support. To edit 48bit TIF’s produced by my RAW converter.

    11 years ago
  • None Given

    Guys, please add 16-bit support so we can ditch Photoshop once and for all.

    11 years ago
  • Albert Kinng

    Did you see what Adobe is offering now with their products? They are just throwing bits of low budget magic to keep going. They don’t have nothing more to do. They are done. Their apps are bloated, slow and I always used them for the same workflow ignoring all those features nobody care. I switch Photoshop back in CS3 and been a Pixelmator user when Pixelmator was cool but far away of professional use. Today I’m glad I can do anything on Pixelmator and this time you nailed it!

    11 years ago
  • Ian Westcough

    I’ve just switched platforms to iMac and have purchased Pixelmator as my version of Big Brother’s product cannot be transferred to a Mac platform.
    What a great piece of software you have and at an amazing price!
    Please consider support for 16bit editing, HDR merge and panorama stitching in the near future then you will have a more than viable competitor.

    Congratulations keep up the good work

    11 years ago
  • Tim

    @ Kaky – I’m a pro illustrator and designer and I was happy to find a program that let’s me do most of what I need to do without opening either Photoshop OR Illustrator.

    11 years ago
  • Foobar

    @ Kaky: You’re confusing the needs of a small subset of Pros with the needs of all Pros; Surprisingly these days, not a whole lot of professional graphic designers work in hyper-high-res data files for special, print-specced color spaces – nor do many professionals work with non-square pixels, photoshop’s video support, or photoshop’s 3d support. These are quite niche features which only a few high-end publications/magazines care about (especially the case with the 3d/video tools which were made for only a tiny, tiny group of video post-production houses.

    The rest of the world – all of whom are fulltime professionals spending 40hrs a week in photoshop, don’t care about this stuff due to the nature of what we do. The vast majority of us work at roughly “retina” resolution doing mostly web-targeted images, and occasionally print materials; web stuff overwhelmingly outnumbers actual print work by several orders of magnitude. Furthermore, we tend to use only a small subset of photoshop’s tools. There are a few we need that pixelmator genuinely doesn’t have yet, but update by update, the list is getting smaller and smaller.

    We are professionals; it’s insulting to question the validity of our work just because we don’t use some extreme niche features of photoshop. We are also photoshop customers, or at least we used to be, because no other product was able to accomplish what we needed – certainly so for the last 20 years. This is only now being cast into doubt. We’ve been stuck with Adobe because we had no other choice to do basic graphic design work with. Now we do, and we’re more than happy to leave such an abusive relationship.

    11 years ago
  • Antonio

    I love overpaying for software, so Adobe is pretty much my favorite company.

    My retouching workflow has been pretty much finalized since CS3, but now with this Creative Cloud I can pay a monthly fee forever for new features that I won’t use!

    Thanks Adobe. Keep raping me!

    11 years ago
  • Ronald

    @Foobar: nice post and i think you do a great analysis. Same could be said about Final Cut X and iWork. Many people who considered themselves being pro, are happy users of those packages. Pixelmator is also a very nice package that will have many happy pro users.

    11 years ago
  • roxana

    I think I am in Love, awesome interface. Everything works great. I got the 30 dial trial, once those are up I will buy your product <3

    11 years ago
  • roxana

    By the way I don’t mind paying a little extra, just to see you grow!
    I am a graphic designer and would love to see more updates 😉

    PS: I don’t mean get into subscription mode.

    11 years ago
  • Jack

    Full IPTC support? As a photojournalist that’s the one feature I must have that Pixelmator lacks. Can’t be that hard to include. Can it?

    11 years ago
  • Mika

    So, when are you bringing back the filter menu? As long as Pixelmator is acting like a “Instagram on steroids” I lean more and more towards the Big Brother.

    Quoting you: “We focus only on creating the world’s best image editing app.” So, let’s focus. Give us even an option to use filter menu for filters instead of this palette which consumes screen space. I’d like to use Pixelmator but if the usability is going down the drain because you want to be “hip”, it’s not good. Give us semi-pro’s an option, that’s all I ask. I’d be happy to get the next big update which I paid for – or a new major update which I would pay for.

    11 years ago
  • Steve

    I dunno… I wanted Pixelmator to have the ease-of-editing vectors like Adobe Illustrator and the coloring model of Corel Painter, and the brush strokes of SAI Paint. This would make it an excellent product for digital painters.

    I am still hoping. Until then I hardly touch Pixelmator : (

    Thing is, Corel Draw seems to have all these.. but they don’t have a version for the mac : (

    Pixelmator… there’s heaps of customers to be made still!!

    11 years ago
  • Ryan

    Oh my god. I can’t believe there are people here who are willing to pay monthly for software. No no no! You give too much control of your workflow to the developers! Also it is now easier for Adobe to jack up the price if it wants too. Looking their past pricing scheme, I won’t be surprised that it will slowly increase its subscription prices in the future and there will be nothing its customers can do about it.

    In perpetual licensing, if you don’t like to upgrade because you don’t like the changes or don’t think the increase in price justifies upgrade, you can still use the old app you bought. In CC, if you don’t like the changes then tough luck! You still have to pay for you can’t use your software anymore. Please consumers THINK!

    With this new development I have really high hopes for Pixelmator to become a viable professional Photoshop alternative someday. Oh yeah, for now Photoshop is indispensable because of work but I still bought a copy of Pixelmator and will gradually incorporate it into my pro workflow.

    11 years ago
  • Phil D

    I applaud you sticking to your current model. If you become big, don’t be like Adobe.

    How about a Windows version?

    11 years ago
  • jesse

    I’ve found that I can do the work I need to with Aperture & Pixelmator. I use the “suite” as a part of my day job, but after what just happened, we’re all seriously considering looking for alternatives. To those who think this isn’t for pros: I’ve been an Adobe user since 1999, and I use their apps to make a living. Yeah, there’s a lot missing from pixelmator that’s in photoshop, but c’mon! Pixelmator is pretty damn impressive, and getting better all the time! Adobe seriously needs this competition to keep them honest, and I intend to support that competition. They need it if we want alternatives. If it wasn’t for Tumult’s “HYPE”, we may not have adobe edge, and they’d probably still be pushing flash. Double edged sword there…because when “big bro” copies the competition, it has to hurt their business, but these smaller innovative competitors bring new standards to market, and force adobe to stay current…like we saw with the flash debacle. We need to help smaller devs gain enough traction that they can make a living with their work. We all win as a result.

    Best of luck to you. This is a great time/opportunity to grow your base and please new & existing users with true innovation. Smart move with the sale, and I look forward to what’s in store down the road! Thank you!

    (Sorry if this is full of type-o’s…in a hurry and no time to look back at what I wrote…)

    11 years ago
  • Jeff

    First….. Why do you insist on the grey on black background? I am visually impaired and have extreem difficulty reading the letter and comments..

    Second, I have CS6 and that is the last version. I refuse to support a subscription only model. I will have to migrate to Pixelmator. I can say however, that your pricing models over the years has not been the best to your existing customer base. I purchased Pixelmator back when, upgraded, and got screwed like a lot of prior owners when you decided to go MAS….

    11 years ago
  • William Allbrook

    I used to have Photoshop but couldn’t justify it because I am not a designer or graphics professional. That said I use Pixelmator almost everyday in my work and smile knowingly to myself when I come across users of Gimp. Please keep up the good work. Pixelmator is a stunning app and I will continue to support it.

    11 years ago
  • Tak

    Thanks for new palettes again! So many different floating things around screen… I hope you will improve UI for next release.

    11 years ago
  • Adobe-refugee

    Sirs,

    Adobe have shown great contempt for their client base and the result of this is that the creative imaging field will look dramatically different in years to come, I wonder what percentage Adobe will have. So Pixelmator listen to these comments lift your game, a lot of us are saying your too cheap listen………………. we are already getting used to voting with our feet !

    Here’s a new one I can’t even edit this comment window………not a good start.

    Yes I have just purchased your product to evaluate it.

    11 years ago
  • RJ

    Now, all you have to do is come up with a replacement for After Effects.

    11 years ago
  • Alex

    +1 for windows version.

    11 years ago
  • Fluk3

    Needs CMYK support, or nobody in print can use it. Soft proofing is nice but it’s no replacement. I would really like to see you offer that. Right now, photoline is the real contender for that reason.

    11 years ago
  • Gw

    Pixelmator needs a Scott Kelby-like evangelical. What makes Adobe products decipherable are outstanding 3rd party resources. Kelby and NAPP are the major players. Pixelmator can keep this in-house or someone from outside can do it, but we need “Classroom in a Book”-type self-training guide, a Lynda.com title, and a site dedicated to projects. Craft and Vision would be a great place for any motivated Pixelmator genius to publish- the cost of their ebooks is consistent with the price point that Pixelmator users expect.

    A new book has just been published entitled Learning Pixelmator- that’s a start.

    Take advantage of this opportunity to get many pros to switch. I have the app and will be steering clear of Adobe in the future.

    11 years ago
  • oreilly

    Kakey you are an Adobe Fanboy and part of the BS put out by Adobe. Good luck with that.

    11 years ago
  • Gw

    I’ve placed a request to Lynda.com for a Pixelmator training. Other fans should do the same- it’s a start to populating this program.

    11 years ago
  • Neil W.

    Scott Kelby, Deke MacClelland, Chris Orwig, Bert Monrooy, Anne-Marie Concepcion, etc. All great teachers. Would love to see them do something with Pixelmator.

    But…they have too much invested. David Blatner jumped ship as the champion of Quark to InDesign. It might happen.

    Here is my “but” to this idea.

    Do we need these very savy people involved at this point?

    As Chris L. said above “Keep it lean, keep it simple, keep it fast.”

    At the same time it would be fun to thumb our noses at Adobe with NAPP: National Association of Pixelmator Professionals with the “other” with no or little support. Sorry Scott Kelby, I have followed you from book to web and really like you and Matt K.

    Thank you Pixelmator for an alternative at such a reasonable price.

    Speaking of price. What does this say about Adobe Photoshop? What is it’s real value?

    LIke expensive real estate it’s value is what people will pay. Fair market value? Pixelmator at $15! They must be making a living at that price. Good on them.

    Don’t allow more management to bloat the price to feed more management, please.

    11 years ago
  • Ron

    This is a great program, and I’d pay a LOT more to have it fleshed out to the point where I could flush Big Brother’s product forever.

    11 years ago
  • Don

    I just purchased Pixelmator. To me it looks to be coming along just fine. It is what Big Brothers program should have been. It drives me crazy with all the c**p added to PS, including the PITA registration plus of course all the times it wants to check on you etc. Do they really think everyone is going to go along with the idea of subscriptions? They are doing everything possible to try to protect their revenue stream. They first stopped upgrading people beyond the last version, so you could no longer jump an upgrade cycle to save some money. Another silly thing is I previously upgraded to one of their creative suites and I cannot upgrade from my suite to just PS, they want me to either buy it outright or upgrade the entire suite which I no longer need. Of course they really want me in the cloud. Sure the price is reasonable right now, a special for a year for only $10/month, but next year it will be $20/month. The real problem is what about in 3 years when all of my images are on version x and my images will not open in my last owned version 5! Your stuck, so you need to keep buying it FOREVER! Oh, and do you really think they will not raise the price now that they have you locked in! I think they would solve a lot of complaints if they ran a owned version side by side as they do now so anyone could bail out and purchase the last version and be done with it, but nope, subscription only. I’m just hoping it comes back to bite them. I for 1 will NEVER buy a subscription based software license.

    On another note I really enjoy using Lightroom and have purchased a number of plugins for it, but… I’m scared. I’ve got a feeling they will follow through on this also with a subscription based service and discontinue the owned version. I just started to cover my base here as well and have started running Aperture alongside Lightroom just as a precaution.

    Enough about Adopey.

    So far I’ve only worked in Pixelmator for 30 minutes with one image where I was removing unwanted text from an object.

    For me the #1 thing you need to do is add 16 bit support, without it, it’s a no go.
    Other things needed:
    Shortcuts for all tools. Might as well as use the standard shortcuts the other program uses to keep it easy for switchers.
    The healing tool needs the ability to also pick from where you want the base information to come from rather than just the auto select.
    Not sure if you already have the following already as I have not worked in Pixelmator other than the 30 minutes above, so if not you need to add:
    Smart layers.
    Adjustment layers.
    Easy round tripping to/from Aperture.

    That should keep you busy for a while. Keep up the great work and you will become the new go-to photo editor on the Mac.

    11 years ago
  • Peter Russell

    With the great Adobe Creative Cloud debate we appear to have few, if any, viable alternatives to Adobe products at present. There is nothing on the market that evens comes close to the quality of Adobe applications; certainly as a group of products they are unbeatable. And therein lies the problem.

    Individually, some might argue that perhaps Aperture is better than Lightroom, but I’m not sure what there is, if anything, out there that does what Photoshop and Bridge are capable of, for example. Similarly InDesign has usurped the Quark Xpress stranglehold of a few years ago to become the market leader, only for Adobe to transform themselves into the maligned Quark! Freehand was brilliant – until Adobe bought Macromedia and scrapped the opposition to Illustrator! Adobe has become the bully on the block and needs to be reminded that without us, the users, they would have nothing.

    However, when I purchase software I expect to have the right to ‘own’ it (within the terms of the current generation of licences) and continue to use it regardless of my internet connection, whether I have a year off work, whether I spend a year in the remote jungles of Brazil, whether I change my computer or whether I just can’t be bothered to check! I want to have the choice of when, or indeed if I update it. If money is tight for a time I don’t want to find that my software becomes unusable, thus perhaps not allowing me to do work that would enable my revenue stream to improve.

    On the opposite side of the coin, what happens to our ‘Cloud’ software if Adobe goes bust after granting us all a ‘limited lease licence’? You think that it couldn’t happen? Look at the rapid demise of Kodak, the icon of 20th century photography. Adobe already charge a great deal for their software, but this may well prove to be the tipping point for another company to finally offer a sensibly priced range of alternative applications and break the stranglehold that Adobe has over the industry.

    I suspect that if a stand is not taken, this new model of leasing software will be commonplace in a few years and we will wonder what all the fuss was about. I am astounded that Adobe state that buying the ‘normal’ package is considered ‘value for money’ at around £600 per annum! I guess that if you buy the whole Creative Suite – from scratch – then it’s not so terrible for the first three years of use, but it does overlook, quite conveniently, the fact that a huge number of users only need to make a significant upgrade every 18 months to two years and even then it may well only be to a few of the applications within the Creative Suite. This then makes it an incredibly expensive Cloud!

    I use two licenced copies of Photoshop on a daily basis (I note that Lightroom appears not to be incorporated in the Creative Cloud – or Fog as I call it), so at first glance the price of around £20 a month seems to be not so terrible, being around the same price as a mobile phone contract, but it’s still £240 a year, every year! This also ignores the fact that I already own InDesign, Illustrator and Acrobat Professional in earlier versions that do exactly what I want without upgrading and that I have fully paid for! It also ignores the fact that other software manufacturers will also feel the urge to jump on the Cloud bandwagon, meaning that there will be a great number of ‘only £20 a month’ licence fees. I want to pay a one-off fee and own my software and then have the choice of whether I need to pay for further upgrades on an ad hoc basis.

    There is also nothing to stop Adobe raising the prices when they feel like it, changing the terms of the licensing when they feel like it or even discontinuing the application when they feel like it. This is terrible for any business, but more so for the millions of one-man business owners who have had no choice but to put all their eggs in one Adobe basket over the years.

    The only plus side of the deal that I can establish is that the software is always up to date – providing you have an internet connection and continue to pay, and pay and pay. For a large number of users I suspect that it doesn’t really matter much if the software is up-to-date or lagging behind the updates and I bet this gets right up Adobe’s nose!

    With the normal model of software, once purchased you can continue to use it so long as your computer supports it or you don’t break it. Imagine having to buy a new car every time the road maps needed updating! I don’t see why both models of purchasing shouldn’t run side by side as Apple, for example, appear to sell well engineered software for a lot less and much more easily, so why can’t Adobe follow the similar route? I imagine that Apple decided that good but relatively cheap software with regular free upgrades was a much more successful route to ensuring that everyone had legally licensed software as well as ensuring a regular revenue stream, rather than Adobe’s route which has been increasingly to ‘encourage’ users to try to bypass the licensing because costs are so high.

    The trouble with Adobe’s greedy plan is that there is no real alternative, at the moment, and they know it! I recently tried to do everything that I do on a daily basis with Bridge, Photoshop and Lightroom using only Aperture. It’s nearly impossible to do the job with the same degree of precision, speed and quality, despite it being a great application. Unless a stand is taken early, I fear that I’ll have no choice but to go with the flow, however much I hate being coerced down that path.

    Put simply, I don’t want to put in front of an Adobe firing squad and told, “Pay up or else!”

    Governments always refuse to pay up, so they say, in hostage situations; so should we.

    11 years ago
  • mzocoh

    “Pixelmator” is not an option since it’s mac only – I have a computer with 30TB fast, internal storage, 64GB or RAM, etc. – something that would not be possible with a mac – I need software that will run on a powerful PC.

    11 years ago
  • hotmac

    I’m a pro, too but I won’t bemoan the loss of Photoshop. I was an Adobe Certified Expert in the past and I know PS right from the start. Like Pixelmator, Photoshop started with a bunch of useful things and evolved to an all-in-one device suitable for every purpose. Hope the developers at Pixelmator go their own way. Thumbs up for you, guys!

    11 years ago
  • RNKLN

    If i had a PC with 64GB of RAM and 30TB of disk space, i would be busy editing the latest hollywood blackbuster movie or searching for extra terrestrial intelligence, but not checking the pixelmator blog to find out if it also runs on PCs. By the way, the by many considered ‘stale’ Mac Pro lets you configure 64GB of RAM, if you need to.

    11 years ago
  • Chuck

    I really like Pixelmator, but I’d really like to use it as a photo editor instead of Photoshop. To do this I would need two features: 16 bits per channel support, and the ability to level individual RGB channels in the level tool. Without these, I can’t begin to use it for my large format color negative film scans. Of course, supporting Photoshop’s plugin architecture would be the icing on the cake, so that I could use my Nik plugins seamlessly.

    Somehow I don’t think I’ll ever see any of the above features…

    11 years ago
  • Paul

    Is Pixelmator going to commit to adding 48bit file support (16 bits per pixel)?
    do we have any date or future version when that might happen?

    This one feature could make Pixelmator a serious program for photo editing.
    Phtographers would like to edit the 42 bit RAW files from our cameras (as 48bit TIF) and output as JPG.

    11 years ago
  • logoped2

    Yes you into all-well done! I congratulate you on this!

    11 years ago
  • softwaretipsandadvice.com

    2 Peter 1:5-7 These lists of virtues are similar to the lists found
    in Greek literature of the time I was moving.
    It helps with cell formation, digestion, myelin production, nerve protection.

    As the name suggests, the diet that will yield better results.
    Inflammation is one of those eating 1800 calories a day mistakes that
    people make, it would probably seem a dubious weight-loss path.
    It is such a shame that celebrities must starve themselves in these extreme eating 1800 calories a day ways,
    in order to succeed.

    11 years ago
  • Skellington

    It seems quite clear that a majority of software users in general don’t like the idea of paying a lifelong rent to software companies, and I am one of them.

    Other than that, I find it very enjoyable and refreshing to hear from software developers themselves and not just their marketing team. To see their passion shine through, to get personal statements about what motivates them. That seems only realistic with small(er) companies like Pixelmator.

    While that argument does not necessarily have anything to do with the quality of a product, it has a lot to do with whom I am willing to support with my money. As long as the “cheaper” software does roughly do what I need (and PXM does) and I can be certain of further development (with devs actually listening), I am much more willing to pay the small company than a behemoth like Adobe where you never know what they are actually doing with the money.

    I agree that $ 15 is really too cheap. I would gladly pay $ 200 if that would mean development / upgrades would be faster. Maybe it would not work that well, maybe you can make more profit with many small purchases than with fewer bigger ones; but the higher price route would probably bring PXM closer to what it is prominently, and understandably, compared to. $ 50, I believe, would still work.

    Many thanks Pixelmator for bringing us a very usable and affordable product. Keep up the good work and resist the temptation to become a “big brother” yourself down the road. Your contribution is refreshing and much needed.

    11 years ago
  • Boutard

    développer c’est bien mais annoncer aux français que le logiciel est en français les faire payer pour constater que l’aide et les didacticiels sont en anglais c’est quoi du vol?

    11 years ago
  • Joni

    I love Photoshop. I will sing its praises from here to Timbuktu. I’ve been using it since University and scoffed at Pixelmator when I was told at work that that was what I would be using. Pixelmator has completely converted me. Pro-Shmo, if its easy to use and give 5 star results it wins. Thanks Pixelmator Team!

    10 years ago
  • lukis

    Wow! This program is amazing. Simple but perfect. When will be on windows?

    10 years ago
  • Puffdream

    Between the time this blog entry was posted (May 2013), and today when I started searching for an affordable replacement for the Macromedia Fireworks that was on my now-expired G4 iBook, the price of Pixelmator DOUBLED. Did the product’s services, features, etc. also double in a mere 6 months?

    10 years ago
  • Paul Keppel

    I saw a fellow student on this site while at uni, it looked really interesting. Is there a Pc version as I use mac’s at uni but PC at home?

    10 years ago
  • Ausra

    Hey Paul, Pixelmator is for Macs only.

    10 years ago
  • Bob Sennhauser

    Ausra, Why does Pixelmator have to have to be only for Macs? Use Mac at work, but PC at home. Would
    be simpler to use just Windows.

    I Do not (yet) have Pixelmator, and have a question. I have 10,000+ photos in Photoshop, can they
    be transferred to Pixelmator and be worked on?

    10 years ago
  • Ausra

    Hey Bob,

    Yes, you can open Photoshop files in Pixelmator, however, not all Photoshop features are supported. You might want to download Pixelmator trial and see how it goes for you. Here’s a link:

    http://www.pixelmator.com/try/

    10 years ago