I am just learning to use Print Shop Pro through a group on Yahoo with
the teachers using lessons that we beginners turn in at our own pace. I
am going at it a bit slowly as work takes precedence. DUH.

I am using v 7.0 which is pretty old now, I know, and might upgrade once
I learn to use the program a little better.

Are there any other graphics design programs that are EASIER to use that
can get good results making .gif and/or .jpg files that do not degrade
badly when saved?

come on you know there are several graphics programs out there that work
well Photoshop, Fireworks, Flash, indesign how many do you want me to
list here. If I was you I owuld just get a copy of the macromedia suite
on the yahoo auctions like I did. I got it delivered for 25 dollars to
my door and it contains Dreamweaver 8, Fireworks 8, Flash 8 and a bunch
more as well.

Kevin, Which of those options would you say is the easiest to learn /
use?

I personally think that Fireworks is pretty easy to learn myself. THe
reason I think it is easier then the others is because the menu otions
are very similar to those in dreamweaver and Flash. For animation
purposes Flash is the way to go even if the code it produces is poor and
bandwidth intensive. But I am a pretty hard core coder and do alot of
reading and practicing to learn the technologies. Fireworks offers the
abuility to do vector graphics as well that is feature that I am not
sure is available in PSP. The current industry standard graphics program
is Photoshop CS however it is very difficult to learn as it has so many
different options it can be overwhelming to a person. If I was to be on
a limited budget which I am now the decision would be a no brainer for
me I would and did go with the macromedia suite from the yahoo auctions
as I was able to snipe it out for 25 dollars delivered. In the stores
that suite sells for 999 dollars.

what do you mean degrade when you save them. If they are losing texture
and color when you save them then you have to go into the program and
set some settings. I can help you with that but psp is the easiest and
the cheapest right now. I work in web design and am a graphic artist. I
used psp for two years before I went to photoshop. I can also lead you
to someone that taught me if you like. msn has oodles of people that
teach and give away tubes and such. I learned from a very nice women
and her group that teaches psp. Not to mention they sent me free
versions of 8 and 9. But I can lead you to what I believe is your
problem with that version.

I took the cheep way out.

I use dogwaffle. does everything the pro stuff does. cost me nothing.