In a post earlier this week, I reviewed the latest version of Photoshop Elements. Elements has never been a hugely popular program, but I think the recent release is well-suited to the needs of at least some users. The same can be said of the CorelDRAW Graphic Suite X4. It’s easily overlooked, but actually might be worth considering.

Photoshop Elements and the Corel line of products aren’t the most popular apps out there, but they do have their uses.

The CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4 is a complete creative environment, so any task you’d perform in Photoshop, Illustrator, or InDesign can probably be accomplished using Corel’s apps. That said, the Corel interfaces and many of the tools are very different than what you’ll find in an Adobe program, so the learning curve is steep. Still, the whole CorelDRAW package can be yours for just $429, so maybe it’s a fair trade. Here are some pros and cons to consider before you make a final decision:

1) CorelDRAW (the vector program) and Corel PHOTO-PAINT (the bitmap program) really are on par with Illustrator and Photoshop, but they cost a lot less.

2) The X4 update includes support for RAW files and has the ability to match colors across both Corel and Adobe programs.

3) CorelDRAW is both a vector drawing and page layout program, so you don’t need to hop to a different app when design your pages.

4) There’s a very powerful bitmap/vector tracing program included in CorelDRAW. It’s called PowerTRACE, and it’s far superior to Illustrator’s Live Trace. For many designers, PowerTRACE alone may be worth $429.

5) The suite comes with some fun and useful extras, including a font identifier, a font manager, a screenshot utility and a barcode generator.

6) Many printers don’t support (or just have a hard time with) CorelDRAW files.

7) The CorelDRAW Graphics Suite works with Windows only, so if you use a Mac, you’re out of luck.

For me, it’s PowerTRACE and the extra apps, not CorelDRAW or PHOTO-PAINT, that make this an attractive option. For $429, I’d certainly consider expanding my repertoire. It can’t hurt, right? However, if you’re accustomed to working with Adobe’s products, I wouldn’t suggest a complete conversion. If you’re already using Corel’s programs, the X4 update is a substantial upgrade that improves on existing features and includes a lot of sweet add-ons.

So, even if Photoshop Elements and the CorelDRAW Graphic Suite don’t meet your needs right now, I encourage you to keep an open mind when it comes to inexpensive software options. You might discover features you didn’t know you needed and better ways to handle daily tasks, not mention some extra cash in your wallet.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 30th, 2008 at 2:03 pm and is filed under Graphic Design, Illustration. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.