Every once in a while, I get the question about why Corel has multiple bitmap / photo-editing products, what are the differences between each and which one to choose. While an option would have been to merge them all into one, having different solutions available to answer different users needs has been, and remains the way to go forward for us.

First Corel PHOTO-PAINT (this is posted on CorelDRAW.com after all). This product, which is part of the CorelDRAW Graphics Suite and the Corel DESIGNER Technical Suite, is an all-purpose professional bitmap editing application for users who require image manipulation as part of their graphics design and production workflow such as printing, awards, sign making and marketing collaterals creation (packaging, flyers, ...). It has been built from the ground-up to be fully integrated with CorelDRAW / Corel DESIGNER for a seamless workflow back and forth and provides a very similar user interface and experience. Corel PHOTO-PAINT also includes specific features that are relevant for design oriented users such as CMYK and LAB support, spot colors and color separation, in addition to the photo-editing related features such as camera RAW support, tone curves and image correction.
 
Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo focuses on digital-photography editing and includes a streamlined interface to guide users through the process of making their digital photos look amazing. (In addition to one-click photo fixes such as Smart Photo Fix and the Makeover Tools for those new to photo editing), Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo includes advanced yet intuitive photo-editing features such as HDR Photo Merge to create the perfect shot, Clarify to automatically dodge and burn and support for more than 250 RAW raw camera formats.  With the Learning Center in Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo users can grow with the software as their knowledge and skills progress making it the ideal choice for any aspiring enthusiasts or even the seasoned professional.

Last but not least in the three main pro-level bitmap solutions from Corel, I need to talk about Corel Painter: While Corel PHOTO-PAINT and Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo can be associated to being the digital equivalent of the darkroom, Corel Painter is truly a digital canvas, enabling professional artists and photographers to create amazing paintings. With a true down-to-the-bristle and paper-type simulation, Corel Painter enables users to control every detail of their paintings, enabling the combination of multiple technics such as oil, watercolors and even airbrush on the same canvas. And with the photo-painting features, those who did not yet have as much practice as a master can still create unique pieces of art and have them printed on a canvas. Corel Painter is also the only bitmap solution from Corel that is both for MacOS and Windows.

In summary, Corel PHOTO-PAINT is a professional bitmap-editing solution for the graphics design and production workflow, Corel PaintShop Pro PHOTO focuses on the digital photo editing and Corel Painter is the ultimate art studio on a computer.