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PaintShop-Pro-PSP

PaintShop Pro Image

image/x-paintshoppro Released 1990 · by Jasc Software / Corel Corporation (Alludo)

The image/x-paintshoppro MIME type represents the PaintShop Pro image format. Originally developed by Jasc Software in 1990 and later acquired by Corel (now Alludo), the PSP format serves as the native working project file for PaintShop Pro. Similar to Adobe's PSD format, PSP and PSPIMAGE files are highly complex containers capable of storing multi-layered raster and vector graphics. They preserve non-destructive editing features including adjustment layers, layer masks, alpha channels, ICC profiles, and text paths. While early versions used the .psp extension, PaintShop Pro 8 (released in 2003) and newer versions introduced the .pspimage extension alongside a modified chunk-based architecture.

Raster Graphics & Project Files Transparency ✦ HDR Production Ready

Technical Specifications

MIME Type
image/x-paintshoppro
Extensions
.psp.pspimage.tub.pat
Container
PSP Chunk-based Format
Compression
Uncompressed & RLE (Run-Length Encoding) & LZ77
Algorithms
RLELZ77
Color Depth
8-bit (Indexed), 16-bit (Grayscale), 24-bit (RGB), 32-bit (RGBA), 48-bit (High Color)
Metadata
EXIF XMP ICC
Capabilities
Transparency
Animation
Progressive Loading
Alpha Channel
HDR Support
Official Specification
Aliases: image/pspimage/x-pspapplication/pspapplication/x-paintshoppro

Magic Bytes & HTTP Headers

File Signature (Magic Bytes)
7E 42 4B 00
ASCII: ~BK\x00
HTTP Headers
Content-Type: image/x-paintshoppro
Content-Type: image/psp
HTML Accept Attribute
accept="image/x-paintshoppro, .psp, .pspimage"

Browser Support Matrix

Browser Status Min Version
Chrome Chrome
Not Supported
Firefox Firefox
Not Supported
Safari Safari
Not Supported
Edge Edge
Not Supported
Internet Explorer Internet Explorer
Not Supported Legacy

Advantages & Limitations

Advantages
  • Provides robust, non-destructive editing capabilities with full support for vector layers, adjustment layers, and layer blend modes
  • Historically offered a highly capable and affordable alternative to Adobe Photoshop's PSD format for Windows users
  • Features proprietary support for 'Picture Tubes' (.tub), a unique brush technology that paints sequential or random raster objects along a path
Limitations
  • Deeply proprietary format tied exclusively to the Corel/Alludo ecosystem
  • Third-party software support (like GIMP or ImageMagick) is often limited to parsing older .psp files, frequently failing to render complex layers in modern .pspimage files
  • No support in modern web browsers; must be exported to a flattened web format (JPEG/PNG) for online viewing

Developer Code Snippets

import magic
# Libmagic can typically detect the '~BK' header as a PaintShop Pro file
print(magic.from_file('project.pspimage', mime=True)) # Outputs 'image/x-paintshoppro' or 'image/psp'
const fs = require('fs');
// Manually detecting the '~BK\x00' magic bytes
const buffer = Buffer.alloc(4);
const fd = fs.openSync('project.pspimage', 'r');
fs.readSync(fd, buffer, 0, 4, 0);
fs.closeSync(fd);
const isPSP = buffer[0] === 0x7E && buffer[1] === 0x42 && buffer[2] === 0x4B && buffer[3] === 0x00;
console.log('Is Corel PaintShop Pro:', isPSP);
import (
    "bytes"
    "net/http"
)
// Native Go HTTP detection does not recognize PSP.
// You must explicitly check the 4-byte signature:
// isPSP := bytes.HasPrefix(buf, []byte{0x7E, 0x42, 0x4B, 0x00})
$mime = mime_content_type('project.pspimage');
echo $mime; // Standard PHP setups will likely return 'image/x-paintshoppro' or 'application/octet-stream' depending on system magic definitions

File Detection Steps

How to programmatically detect a image/x-paintshoppro file by reading its raw bytes:

  1. 1 All PaintShop Pro files (including .psp, .pspimage, and .tub) begin with a very distinct 4-byte signature.
  2. 2 Check the first 4 bytes for the ASCII string '~BK\x00' (Hex: 7E 42 4B 00).
  3. 3 Following this magic byte header, you will typically find a version block (e.g., minor/major version integers) and a series of data chunks defining the workspace, layers, and embedded ICC profiles.

Software Support

C
Corel PaintShop Pro
X
XnView
GIMP (Partial legacy support) GIMP (Partial legacy support)
ImageMagick ImageMagick

Conversion Tools

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PaintShop-Pro-PSP Format Badge
[![PaintShop-Pro-PSP Format](https://freewebptojpg.com/mime/image/paintshop-pro-psp/badge.svg)](https://freewebptojpg.com/mime/image/paintshop-pro-psp)
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JSON API

All data on this page is available as a free, open JSON API. Use it in your project, documentation, or tooling.

GET https://freewebptojpg.com/mime/image/paintshop-pro-psp.json Open JSON
Free to use
No auth required
CORS enabled
Use from any domain
Cached 24h
Cache-Control headers set

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a .psp or .pspimage file?

These are native project files created by Corel (formerly Jasc) PaintShop Pro. They store complex, multi-layered images, allowing graphic designers to preserve their vectors, text, masks, and adjustment layers for future editing.

What is the difference between .psp and .pspimage?

They are fundamentally the same file format family. The .psp extension was used by early versions of Jasc PaintShop Pro (up to version 7). Starting with PaintShop Pro 8, the default extension was changed to .pspimage to differentiate its updated, chunk-based internal architecture.

Can Adobe Photoshop open PaintShop Pro files?

No, Adobe Photoshop does not natively support .psp or .pspimage files. To move a project from PaintShop Pro to Photoshop while retaining layers, you must export the file as a .psd from within PaintShop Pro.

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