10. Migrating from PhotoKey

If you are a user of our previous photo software, PhotoKey, you will find many of the improvements implemented in Imerge to be beneficial. There are a few simple things to keep in mind that will make your transition to Imerge easy. There are also a few tools found in PhotoKey that are not yet implemented in the first release of Imerge, so you will still find PhotoKey beneficial if you use those features.

Transition video

We have prepared this video specifically for PhotoKey users to help you quickly get familiar with the differences and benefits of Imerge Pro.

Benefits of Imerge

• Speed: Perhaps the most noticeable benefit of Imerge, if you are familiar with PhotoKey, is the speed. Imerge fully implements your GPU for processing, which dramatically improves speed.
• Quality: Imerge is the only image editor in the world that processes everything in 16-bit color. Especially if you are using raw source images, which use more than 8-bit color, this results in better color processing and greater quality retention. Even if you are working with 8-bit JPEG images, though, Imerge still processes the color in 16-bit color space, which means that you can push your adjustments farther without losing quality.
• Versatility: Imerge allows you to combine as many layers as you want. Where PhotoKey makes it simple to combine a green screen foreground and a background, if you wanted to combine 5 green screen shots into a single image, it was a bit more difficult. Imerge allows you to combine as many layers as you wish, and key any of them, making it a full-fledged compositing application.
• Batch to multiple formats: Need to export a full sized 25MP TIFF, a small copy for Instagram, and a JPEG preview to send a client? Not a problem. Set up multiple export formats, shapes, or sizes in Imerge Pro, and export them all at once.
• Flexible layouts: For some projects you may need to create portrait and landscape versions of the same image. Imerge allows you to set relative layout positions, so you can easily export multiple shapes without having to manually change the layout for each one.

Changes

There are some fundamental changes between PhotoKey and Imerge Pro that you should be aware of. Most of these will also be considered improvements by many of our users.

• Layer contents: Image and text layers in Imerge Pro serve as containers. So rather than each image being its own layer, you can set up a Foreground layer, for example, and import an entire batch of foreground images into it. A second layer could be created to store multiple background images. This is similar to how the foreground and background layers in PhotoKey work, but in Imerge you can create as many layers as you like in this way.
• Effects and filters: Imerge allows you to apply effects to each layer that require them. While effects and filters were separate things in PhotoKey, they are all listed as effects in Imerge, and can be added to individual layers, or applied to adjustment layers which will affect multiple layers.
• Combine multiple green screen images: Any image layer in Imerge Pro can be keyed to remove green screen. Import as many green screen layers as you wish, and combine them all to create a single composite.
• Adjustable export size: Imerge Pro does not tie the project size and export size together like PhotoKey did. Export size in Imerge Pro is completely independent of the canvas size, and you can export to multiple sizes without needing to adjust the project layout.
• New layer types: Adjustment layers allow you to apply effects to more than one other layer in your project. Solid layers quickly create solid color shapes, which can be further modified with masks to create any shape you need.
• Masks: Masks can now be created per layer, for any layer. New mask types make it faster to create the exact mask you need. Gradient masks, luminance masks, color masks, and alpha masks automate the process of isolating specific regions of the image, while traditional vector masks remain to allow you to draw in any shape necessary.
• Effect Masks: Masks can also be added to individual effects, to limit the area that the effect is applied to.

Limitations

There are a few features of PhotoKey that have not been implemented in Imerge Pro. So if you regularly use these features, you may want to keep PhotoKey on hand. Future updates to Imerge Pro may implement some of these features.

• Hot folder: Auto-import from a Hot folder is not available.
• Uniquing: You cannot set individual images to use unique settings.
• Greeting cards: There is no option to automatically generate greeting cards.
• Filters/Effects: Some effects or filters from PhotoKey are not yet implemented, including:
  • Shadow cast
  • Red eye
  • Auto color
  • Auto levels
  • Auto contrast
  • Auto skin tones
  • Vibrance
  • Defocus
  • Diffuse
  • Half tone (incl. color)
  • Three strip color
  • Focus blur
  • Soft focus
• Send Email: Direct email export is not available. You will need to export to your hard drive, then email the images.
• Upload to FTP: Direct FTP upload is not available. You will need to export to your hard drive, then upload the images.