I second Canva. In addition to editing image files (jpg, png etc), you can easily create designs for social media, print, and even webpages and they provide quality, professionally designed templates. Anyone can create really nice graphics with little effort​. It has a user-friendly interface and has become a legit competitor to Adobe.

All their editing tools are included in the Free license, and the "Pro" license just offers extra templates, AI features and support: https://www.canva.com/free/. Hard to beat, IMHO.

Best,
Alyssa
(former professional graphic designer)



________________________________
From: Code for Libraries <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of Hammer, Erich F <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, January 15, 2025 9:58 AM
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: [CODE4LIB] Adobe Products -vs- tinywow

The GIMP is extremely capable, but is a gawd-awful, non-standard interface.



On Wednesday, January 15, 2025 at 09:40, Valerie Darling eloquently inscribed:

> Hi Charles,
>
> We use Canva at work (non-profit), and they sent an email stating that we
> could download Affinity products free of charge
> <https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/>. I think they are equivalent to
> Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. I work where we cannot use them
> (security issues because data is sent outside the U.S.), so I can't say how
> they work or what features they have; however, the pictures they show are
> very similar to Adobe products. One of the major benefits is that they
> aren't subscription-based. You pay for the application one time. And I
> assume you pay to upgrade later. Much like Adobe used to do.
>
> GIMP <https://www.gimp.org/> is a free open-source photo editing
> program. I used to use it back in the day and liked it a lot, but I
> haven't used it in ages.
>
> Unfortunately, I'm not sure about any PDF editor programs, so hopefully,
> someone else can chime in because I am also curious to know.
>
> Cheers,
> Valerie Darling
>
> On Tue, Jan 14, 2025 at 7:59 PM charles meyer <[log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
>
>> My esteemed listmates,
>>
>> A new year and it's the Dewey's version of fast & furious!
>>
>> Does your library offer any Adobe products besides Acrobat Reader?
>>
>> Standard for editing pdfs?
>>
>> Pro - protect, and sign documents.?
>>
>> Photoshop - edit PNGs, jpgs?
>>
>> Kind of pricey for a small public library for patron use.
>>
>> I searched Trusted Reviews and Goolged trust but didn't find
>> satisfactory vetting of tinywow.com
>>
>> Would tinywow or other free solutions adequately substitute for Adobe
>> products?
>>
>> Can anyone vouch for tinywow.com?
>>
>> Thank you so much,
>>
>> Charles.
>>
>> Charlotte County Public Library
>>