Free Tools for Viewing, Editing, and Converting Image Files

Software programs for working with digital graphics are fast becoming an essential part of the basic small business tool box.

While you can’t expect to get the power of PhotoShop for free, you probably don’t need all its functionality to create and edit basic graphics.

Here are two free programs to try:

FastStone Image Viewer is great for basic photo and graphics editing needs. With it you can perform simple tasks such as color correcting photos, editing and cropping images, compressing file sizes, and converting between different graphics formats. More advanced features include morphing images and creating slide shows set to music. Compatible with Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP and Vista— Download FastStone Image Viewer Here

Sumo Paint provides advanced editing tools with a wide variety of brushes and shapes to use for sprucing up your images or drawing them from scratch. You can also use to make basic adjustments to your photos such as color correcting, editing sizing and cropping. It is a Flash based program accessed online. You can import and edit images from your computer and save them back. Or you can open an account and save images to Sumo Paint servers. However, the application only supports import of .jpg, .png, and .gif files, and you can only output to .png or .jpg. Go to Sumo Paint Now!