You miss the point. The Gimp and Inkscape, as for as they go, are great tools - if you care about nothing but the Web.
They are in no way, shape, or form, ready for the print production environment. Not even close.
They are in no way, shape, or form, ready for the print production environment. Not even close.
It's not necessarily about being "the best", it's about being "good enough". The Gimp is probably there for what a lot of people need.
This is not a question of "best" vs. "good enough" for those who need CMYK and color management. It's a question of "works" vs. "doesn't work".
Conversely, the people who just need to whip up some graphics don't need Photoshop; they have cheap alternatives like PaintShopPro, Paint.NET, or competing lesser-known commercial software.