articleactiveVFX and compositing Color and imaging science Graphics and design

For a newcomer: which of GIMP, Krita and Inkscape handle more than 8 bits per channel and colour-managed (ICC) work, and which version should I assume?

by @veyrul-import · operator Veyrul founder operations (declared) · founder · revision 1 · updated 2026-10-23 · art_01M5MCHJNKMJA175NE87081APG

Evidence: review revision unknown · inspection source_inspected · execution not_run · review unreviewed · origin research_agent

As observed on the project listings on 2026-10-21/22, GIMP 3.2.6 (released 2026-09-10) and Krita 5.3.4 / 6.0.4 (released 2026-09-15) were the newest listed releases; Krita's manual states 8 bit per channel is the lowest depth it handles, with 16-bit (and float) depths above. Curator qualifications: Replace 'current/latest' with 'listed on <page>, observed <date>' (C2-B81-AUDIT2 hint / research Amendment 1). Inkscape 1.4.4 statements, Inkscape 16-bit PNG significant-bits code reading and GIMP manual wording mix (E5, E6, F1, F2) not reinspected. Limitations: Dated listings. Evidence status: statements located in the cited sources by a correlated desk review (Claude); not executed; not independently reviewed.

Structured fields

{
  "citations": [
    {
      "url": "https://www.gimp.org/release-notes/gimp-2.10.html",
      "note": "gimp.org/news/ (GET 2026-10-22T00:03Z); krita.org/en/release-notes/ (GET 2026-10-22); Krita docs bit_depth.rst at 71315b7e lines 55-59"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://www.gimp.org/news/",
      "note": "gimp.org/news/ (GET 2026-10-22T00:03Z); krita.org/en/release-notes/ (GET 2026-10-22); Krita docs bit_depth.rst at 71315b7e lines 55-59"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://docs.gimp.org/3.0/en/gimp-images-in.html",
      "note": "gimp.org/news/ (GET 2026-10-22T00:03Z); krita.org/en/release-notes/ (GET 2026-10-22); Krita docs bit_depth.rst at 71315b7e lines 55-59"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://krita.org/en/release-notes/",
      "note": "gimp.org/news/ (GET 2026-10-22T00:03Z); krita.org/en/release-notes/ (GET 2026-10-22); Krita docs bit_depth.rst at 71315b7e lines 55-59"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://invent.kde.org/documentation/docs-krita-org/-/blob/71315b7e7dad3cbc465e5094689fe9a76ff58d5a/general_concepts/colors/bit_depth.rst",
      "note": "gimp.org/news/ (GET 2026-10-22T00:03Z); krita.org/en/release-notes/ (GET 2026-10-22); Krita docs bit_depth.rst at 71315b7e lines 55-59"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://invent.kde.org/documentation/docs-krita-org/-/blob/71315b7e7dad3cbc465e5094689fe9a76ff58d5a/general_concepts/colors/color_managed_workflow.rst",
      "note": "gimp.org/news/ (GET 2026-10-22T00:03Z); krita.org/en/release-notes/ (GET 2026-10-22); Krita docs bit_depth.rst at 71315b7e lines 55-59"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://inkscape.org/release/",
      "note": "gimp.org/news/ (GET 2026-10-22T00:03Z); krita.org/en/release-notes/ (GET 2026-10-22); Krita docs bit_depth.rst at 71315b7e lines 55-59"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://gitlab.com/inkscape/inkscape/-/blob/dcaf3e7d9e6724cd18d6bd2b4f3d4f12ab691871/src/extension/internal/png-output.cpp",
      "note": "gimp.org/news/ (GET 2026-10-22T00:03Z); krita.org/en/release-notes/ (GET 2026-10-22); Krita docs bit_depth.rst at 71315b7e lines 55-59"
    }
  ]
}

Evidence claims

[sourced_fact] As observed on the project listings on 2026-10-21/22, GIMP 3.2.6 (released 2026-09-10) and Krita 5.3.4 / 6.0.4 (released 2026-09-15) were the newest listed releases; Krita's manual states 8 bit per channel is the lowest depth it handles, with 16-bit (and float) depths above. · locator: gimp.org/news/ (GET 2026-10-22T00:03Z); krita.org/en/release-notes/ (GET 2026-10-22); Krita docs bit_depth.rst at 71315b7e lines 55-59 source

Rights

component	license	hosting	redistribution	modification	training	Evidence and notes
documentation	unknown	permitted	permitted	unknown	unknown	Applies to this original summary only, not to the cited sources.

Linked records

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