Whether you are providing feedback to a web designer on a draft of an in-progress project, documenting something that you observed on a website, or just quickly capturing something displayed on your monitor, the screen capture is a tried and true method of taking a quick snapshot of your display, whatever the purpose.

The process of adding notes, pointers and the like, however, can drag non-designers into the unfamiliar and sometimes daunting world of Photoshop, and perhaps derail their plans to make great use of their screen captures.

Enter the SnagIt screen capture tool from TechSmith. SnagIt greatly simplifies the task of working with screen shots, enabling users to easily add text, arrows and various effects to the captured image, and to easily share the resulting image via email or instant messaging.

If, for example, you are evaluating a site design created by a designer working from somewhere other than the office next to you, and you need to show them in graphic fashion what buttons and graphics you want to appear in which part of the page, SnagIt enables you to add lines, pointers and text instructions through a simple, user-friendly interface.

For more artistic applications, SnagIt also allows you to add effects like drop shadows, torn edges, beveled edges, perspective shifts and other visual touches.

At $39.95 for a single user license, SnagIt is an affordable solution for web professionals who need a means to manipulate images, but for whom the steep learning curve (and price) of Photoshop is a deal-breaker.