{"id":"image-x-paintshoppro","mimeType":"image/x-paintshoppro","name":"PaintShop Pro Image","shortName":"PaintShop-Pro-PSP","category":"Raster Graphics \u0026 Project Files","extensions":[".psp",".pspimage",".tub",".pat"],"description":"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.","seo":{"title":"image/x-paintshoppro MIME Type | Developer Reference for PaintShop Pro","description":"Complete reference for the image/x-paintshoppro MIME type: Corel PaintShop Pro (PSP) project files, layered graphics, .pspimage formats, and magic bytes.","faqs":[{"question":"What is a .psp or .pspimage file?","answer":"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."},{"question":"What is the difference between .psp and .pspimage?","answer":"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."},{"question":"Can Adobe Photoshop open PaintShop Pro files?","answer":"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."}]},"index":{"compression":["Uncompressed","RLE (Run-Length Encoding)","LZ77"],"browserSupport":{"score":1,"label":"None"},"commonUses":["PaintShop Pro Multi-layer Project Archival","Digital Art and Photo Retouching","Picture Tubes (.tub) and Custom Patterns (.pat)"]},"technical":{"magicBytes":{"hex":"7E 42 4B 00","ascii":"~BK\\x00"},"container":"PSP Chunk-based Format","compressionAlgorithm":["RLE","LZ77"],"colorDepth":["8-bit (Indexed)","16-bit (Grayscale)","24-bit (RGB)","32-bit (RGBA)","48-bit (High Color)"],"transparency":true,"animation":false,"metadata":{"exif":true,"xmp":true,"iccProfile":true},"alphaChannel":true,"progressiveLoading":false,"hdrSupport":true},"history":{"developer":"Jasc Software / Corel Corporation (Alludo)","released":"1990","specification":"Proprietary"},"browserSupport":{"chrome":false,"chromeVersion":"None","firefox":false,"firefoxVersion":"None","safari":false,"safariVersion":"None","edge":false,"edgeVersion":"None","internetExplorer":false},"softwareSupport":[{"name":"Corel PaintShop Pro","logo":""},{"name":"XnView","logo":""},{"name":"GIMP (Partial legacy support)","logo":"gimp.svg"},{"name":"ImageMagick","logo":"image-magic.webp"}],"conversion":{"convertTo":["png","jpeg","psd","tiff"],"convertFrom":["psd","tiff","xcf"]},"developer":{"httpHeaders":[{"header":"Content-Type","value":"image/x-paintshoppro"},{"header":"Content-Type","value":"image/psp"}],"htmlAccept":"image/x-paintshoppro, .psp, .pspimage","fileDetection":["All PaintShop Pro files (including .psp, .pspimage, and .tub) begin with a very distinct 4-byte signature.","Check the first 4 bytes for the ASCII string '~BK\\x00' (Hex: 7E 42 4B 00).","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."]},"prosCons":{"pros":["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"],"cons":["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"]},"specifications":{"url":"https://www.paintshoppro.com/","rfc":"","mimeAliases":["image/psp","image/x-psp","application/psp","application/x-paintshoppro"]},"developerSnippets":{"python":"import magic\n# Libmagic can typically detect the '~BK' header as a PaintShop Pro file\nprint(magic.from_file('project.pspimage', mime=True)) # Outputs 'image/x-paintshoppro' or 'image/psp'","nodejs":"const fs = require('fs');\n// Manually detecting the '~BK\\x00' magic bytes\nconst buffer = Buffer.alloc(4);\nconst fd = fs.openSync('project.pspimage', 'r');\nfs.readSync(fd, buffer, 0, 4, 0);\nfs.closeSync(fd);\nconst isPSP = buffer[0] === 0x7E \u0026\u0026 buffer[1] === 0x42 \u0026\u0026 buffer[2] === 0x4B \u0026\u0026 buffer[3] === 0x00;\nconsole.log('Is Corel PaintShop Pro:', isPSP);","go":"import (\n    \"bytes\"\n    \"net/http\"\n)\n// Native Go HTTP detection does not recognize PSP.\n// You must explicitly check the 4-byte signature:\n// isPSP := bytes.HasPrefix(buf, []byte{0x7E, 0x42, 0x4B, 0x00})","php":"$mime = mime_content_type('project.pspimage');\necho $mime; // Standard PHP setups will likely return 'image/x-paintshoppro' or 'application/octet-stream' depending on system magic definitions"},"relatedFormats":["psd","xcf","tiff"]}