Collage Maker

Popular programs in Retouching & Optimization

What is Collage Maker

The Collage Maker application lets users combine a number of different images into a single unified picture. The free program has a relatively simple interface and takes up little room on the average system. Unlike a full-sized image-editing program, Collage Maker has only limited editing tools, but it performs its intended role well. The program's large selection of pre-made collage options can serve as inspiration or a starting point for new users. This application is a good choice for people who want to create collages quickly without the need to fuss with every element's placement or work with tangible craft supplies and photographs.

Starting Collage Maker brings up an initial window that allows users to select a number of options. The first tab lets you email or print a collage or export a file for professional processing. Each of these choices sets the resolution of your workspace. Other tabs give you options to set the dimensions of the finished collage in inches or pixels, select a layout and choose pre-made templates. The flexibility these options give is fairly good, but the set margin sizes on collages can feel limiting to some users.

Building a collage in the application involves loading pictures from the hard drive and positioning them on the canvas. You can fill the background of your collage with a texture or pattern and surround it with a decorative border. Rotate, resize or tint images to suit your creative impulses with an intuitive selection of editing tools. A surprisingly complex text editor lets you add captions or headlines in a wide range of fonts and any color. Add drop shadows, rotate your text or embellish it with unique clip art via the stamp tool.

Collage Maker comes with plenty of pre-set templates and auto-collage features. The templates have transparent spaces for images against a pre-drawn backgroun. Using the templates is as easy as clicking on the open areas and inserting a photograph; the system automatically crops it to size. With the auto-collage feature, users can automate the process and select a list of images to sort into the open spaces on the collage template. The results of the auto-collage function can be mixed, but for a quick short-cut, an idea generator or a way to involve young children in the process, it's a fun feature.

Collage Maker is a good tool for anyone who wants a simple way to combine photographs or images. The clip art and templates included with the program can be somewhat expected and sometimes downright unattractive, but you aren't constrained to using them. The auto-collage feature is quite limited, and the results sometimes look mechanical. Despite these issues, Collage Maker is a solid program for creating images or banners for any occasion.

Pros

- Simple to use with a straightforward interface

- Good number of templates

- Automatic collage options

Cons

- Many included templates are not attractive

- Limited photo-editing tools

- No way to specify margins