Picnik Loses Beta Tag, Gains New Features

Back in February of this year, we brought you a bit of a review of a nifty Web-based photo editor called Picnik (we compared it to Snipshot, another quality offering on the Net), which has in roughly six months’ time made itself more or less into the starling of its genre. It’s attractive, it’s reasonably powerful, and allows for quick importing and exporting to/from numerous photo-hosting services. In short, it’s a wonderful invention, and one more and more people are enjoying.

Today, we bring you news of the online editor’s new enhancements, announced yesterday on the company’s blog.

First, there’s been a bit of editing (Pun intended, or not? You pick.) done to the site’s logo/title. Can you spot the change? Yes, yes, it’s true, Picnik is officially out of beta. Sure, it’s not the biggest news of the day, but the divestiture of that little tag is another bit of proof that a startup can in fact build itself up to the point where it no longer needs to rely on that oh-by-the-way-we-hold-no-responsibility-if-this-site-craps-out-on-you-right-in-the-middle-of-a-crucial-process label. Picnik’s emergence from beta shows it has finally chosen to rough the rest of its life out on the streets with all the other official launches, and we definitely do like that.

Second, in addition to its free-use edition, Picnik has put together a Premium package, valued at US$25 (for a 1-year license), that will avail to the user “complete access to special edit tools, effects, shapes, fonts,” and more to be added continuously as time goes on. (Note: Picnik Premium is open to all for a limited time. By limited, I mean this week only.) One look at the price tag on Photoshop will likely make many think Picnik Premium worth the annual fee.

Some particulars about a few upgrades to the website you might like to know about:

One, if you’ve been using Picnik already, you know that you’ve been able to connect with Flickr, Google’s Picasa Web Albums, and Facebook through the editor. Now it’s added Photobucket connectivity to its repertoire.

Also, effect painting is feature added to the latest iteration, which allows one to alter the trait of a particular portion of an image while keeping the rest of the pixels as they are. One can make color adjustments, as well as soften, boost, or tint an area of choice. In addition, new effects are part of the new Picnik. Only a few are available for users of the free version, but if you’re paying the annual fee, you get every single one available.

All in all, the new Picnik is a nice evolution of the beta release, and one that I’m sure many people would enjoy using. Its interface is clean and friendly, it’s features are plenty, and its options for connectivity with outside sources/destinations are very valuable indeed. Do please check it out for yourself. If you haven’t used it yet, I’m sure you’ll be quite impressed. And even if you have played with it in the past, you’ll likely appreciate the enhancements.

Reminder: Picnik Premium is open to all THIS WEEK ONLY. Enjoy the free bonus while you can!