Hi Jethro,
Maybe you can test Fitswork, I used it a lot when the problem isn't too complex. I have also made a tutorial for it. Calibrate and align, color correction, back ground remove etc.
http://www.astrofriend.eu/astronomy/...-fitswork.html
It's free to download.
The last fine touch I use Irfanview when I just want to add text and resize. More complex and I use GIMP.
/Lars