Paint Shop Pro is one of the original graphics programs and has been around for ten years or so.

Unlike many applications, it has matured nicely and this eighth edition from Jasc introduces several innovations to ensure armchair artists have the best possible view of their on-screen efforts.

The most obvious change is the introduction of a new interface, which does away with the cumbersome floating palettes that littered earlier incarnations.

The tool options palette now fits neatly under the menu bar, while the colour palette and several of its friends occupy the right-hand side of the screen.

True, it's not exactly reinventing the wheel but it shows some thought went into the changes and users will feel the benefit.

The other big change is that the painting engine has been improved to provide better control over those brushstrokes.

New versions of applications invariably bring new tools to play with (some more useful than others) and Paint Shop Pro 8 is no different.

The new-fangled red-eye removal tool is a great boon for photographers, while filters such as the balls and bubbles effect will appeal more to those of a more creative bent.

Erase-to-background enables you to "paint away" unwanted parts of a photo. It is more intelligent than a simple eraser and, because it detects line edges well, does a good job on high-contrast images.

It is also possible to save time and eliminate repetitive editing tasks by recording and saving any series of steps or actions as a script that you can apply to other images.

By the time you have mastered these new features it should be time for the ninth edition.

In the meantime, this comes highly recommended.

Price: £99.95
Contact: uk.jasc.com
Rating: 9 out of 10