After 11 major versions of WinZip, you'd think there would not be much more to do in file compression.
And you'd especially expect that at least photo compression was a solved problem -- since JPEG files are already aggressively compressed, using a lossy process that throws away information (detail that's hopefully not visually important), as opposed to ZIP, which needs to be lossless compression that can reconstruct the exact original file.
However, the recently-released WinZip 12 (now owned by Corel) confounds these expectations with new support for compressing JPEG image files and managing archives with collections of photos, plus improved performance and compatibility, and enhanced security options.
The JPEG file compression shrinks already-compressed images up to 20 to 25%. And you can browse photos directly in WinZip Explorer, to view thumbnails, and drag and drop into folders.
In the Pro version, use the new Photo viewer to view photos and slide shows, and rotate, resize, and delete photos. And the new Zip from Camera Wizard transfers and compresses photos directly from a digital camera.
The WinZip 12 Standard version is $29.95, and Pro is $49.95. The Standard version includes the new LZMA and JPEG compression for smaller archives, plus interface improvements. The Pro version adds the Zip from Camera Wizard, photo viewer, export via FTP and disc burning, administrative options, and job automation.
Just be aware that the snazzy new compression formats are not compatible with older versions of WinZip, so you'll need to be upgraded on any other systems where you want to use the archives.
See full article -- Corel WinZip 12.0 with Photo Compression -- for more on the product versions and features.
Find the previous Corel WinZip 11
and new Corel WinZip 12 on Amazon.com