Computers
have always fascinated me, ever since I stumbled
across the Archimedes in the 1980’s. With 2 MB of
Ram I was totally captivated by the company named
Computer Concepts who produced the then powerful
desk top publishing package ‘Impression’ in 1988
after which I moved on to the graphics
package Artworks in the early 90’s. Artworks is a
great ancestor of Corel Graphic Suite and back then
ran quite comfortably on 2 MB of ram on the Risc
operating system. Wow, how things have changed, 4
GB of ram is creeping up to be the norm’ and hard
drives have expanded beyond our wildest dreams.
Apart from tinkering around for a short while with Corel/Xara in the mid 1990’s it seems a long time since I’ve been a Corel user as I have swung towards Adobe in recent times. So, is Corel just for professional designers or can home users join in as well with not too much difficulty. Is it worthwhile being used at home just for a hobby or could you be wasting your money. How easy is it for a new user to load and start using immediately.... ......let’s see.
Corel Graphics X4 is a suite of four programs, Corel Draw, Corel PhotoPaint, Corel Power Trace and Corel Capture X4 so you are getting quite a lot of program for your money, but will it be like CS3 where despite giving excellent results it often takes a degree to work out how to do the simplest task. There is so much attached to this Suite that I’m amazed it all fitted on to one CD. A whole catalogue of clip-art and photographs as well as a host of templates that make a great starting block to incorporate your own facts and figures. If that isn’t enough on registering the product you are then able to download yet more clipart and royalty free photographs which will be more than enough to get you started.
One thing you won’t be short on is tuition. The manual is well designed, easy to read and is also on screen as a PDF if you prefer. You’ll find 18 excellent, well presented videos played directly from the DVD that will give you a good insight into the amazing work you can produce with X4. Once you have loaded either PhotoPaint or Draw you will have the option to display handy hints in their own onscreen docker and targeted around whatever task you may be trying to accomplish. Like Photoshop, Corel X4 is probably thought of as a professional suite for marketing agencies and designers and it certainly fits that title very well but what about those who look on computer art as a hobby, is it worth parting with so much cash on something that will not show any financial return. Well, I guess it depends on how serious you are about your hobby. if you are keen on computer art then you will most likely have already gained some experience from one of the many middle range graphics programs like ULead , Xara or Photoshop Elements to name just three and if that is so I definitely would recommend X4 . For students going of to University it’s a good buy particularly if they are thinking of design as a career or just want to Jazz up their projects. Corel has a reputation of being less complicated than Photoshop and I would definitely agree, certainly if you are upgrading from Ulead or Xara it shouldn’t take you long to feel comfortable with the new interface and other differences that have been included in X4. Without doubt in Corel, with a little practice it is easier to get some of the results that in Photoshop will probably be more complicated.
Seeing some of the new Corel X4 enhancements does make me think that Corel is upping its game whilst still trying to keep the price at a reasonably affordable figure. On checking out the drop down menus in X4 it is evident that most of the Photoshop effects are covered here in Corel you just have different moves and in many cases different names.
CorelDraw has a new user friendly interface that offers you a few choices of which the main ones are the obvious, new blank document or new from template. I would suggest that any new user should click immediately on the learning tools tab. There is the option of opening the manual in PDF format which is very painless and easy to maneuver plus by inserting the original DVD into your computer, you will access the 18 video tutorials which give some clear and concise visual demonstrations on how to achieve amazing results.
Font handling is extremely convenient, Corel in line with other recent versions of desk top publishing programs gives you live text formatting options which allow you to preview formats before applying to a document. On top of this there are over 1000 fonts delivered with the program plus with Corel having connected up with MyFont.com no font need ever be unidentified, just click on ‘What The Font?’ and an online wizard will explain all as well as giving you the option of purchasing the font.
Creating and importing tables into Draw has been designed to be more interactive within Corel. It is now much easier to align, resize or edit tables as well as adding and adjusting images in individual cells instead of having to re-work and re-import from Excel.
Sending your work out to all and sundry via large files is not only time consuming but also, in the wrong hands, can in some cases yield negative results. Corel has now developed ConceptShare™. From within the program you can upload your project to the web in one of two free workspaces included in your purchase. Colleagues can be invited to view your work, meet clients online to discuss any changes or get your clients to approve finished projects. All this can be accomplished in real time and your work is protected as you are not sending a live file.
The supported file list has now been expanded to include Microsoft Office Publisher, Word 2007, Adobe Illustrator , Adobe Photoshop CS3, Adobe Acrobat 8, AutoCAD DXF™, AutoCAD DWG™ and Corel Painter™.
Photo-Paint has naturally been upgraded to accept raw files and on importing your photograph it immediately appears in the camera raw lab. The interactive controls operate with real time previews and you can also check on camera settings and properties. Corel has upped the anti in Photo-Paint by allowing users to edit layers independently for each page of a document. Also guidelines can differ on each page or master guidelines can be used throughout the entire document.
As agencies often receive low quality bitmaps from clients to work with, just right click on the mouse and the new improved Power Trace will speedily and accurately transform bitmaps into editable vector images. Capture is a one-click utility enabling you to capture images from an application or internet and there is a ‘Service Bureau Profiler’ that will prepare your documents to be outsourced to a professional printer.
Conclusion
For those for whom computer graphics is a hobby and feel they need to take a step up from the middle of the road packages then no question, I would choose X4. You will be delighted with the new tools you have and be hugely popular with the local societies and charities that require flyers, leaflets and advertisements put together. With what you can produce you will feel like a real professional even if you have a way to go.
If you are completely new to computer graphics and want to dive straight in at the deep end and buy either CS3 or Corel X4 I would certainly choose Corel . It’s very new user friendly and you will probably have a few samples of work to look down on in no time at all. There’s also an on-line community site which is accessed via www.corel.co.uk where you can discuss issues and pick up even more tips from users at all levels. Of course Adobe has an enormous online community too but I’m sure Corel’s online community is far less intimidating.
Corel Draw Graphics Suite X4 is already used by many professionals who will spot the improvements immediately and make their own personal judgment as to whether it’s worth upgrading at this particular time. Professionals clearly need to keep ahead of the game, some with CS3 and others with X4. Me, if it was my livelihood I’d buy both, safe in the knowledge that I have all bases covered.
With a dedicated Vector program alongside a dedicated Bitmap program you know you can handle any job that comes you way.
System Requirements
Windows XP, Vista
512 MB of RAM (although better to have 1 GB )
430 MB Hard Drive Space
Pentium III, 600MHz processor
Pentium III, 800MHz processor or AMD AthlonTM XP
DVD Drive
Mouse or Tablet
Apart from tinkering around for a short while with Corel/Xara in the mid 1990’s it seems a long time since I’ve been a Corel user as I have swung towards Adobe in recent times. So, is Corel just for professional designers or can home users join in as well with not too much difficulty. Is it worthwhile being used at home just for a hobby or could you be wasting your money. How easy is it for a new user to load and start using immediately.... ......let’s see.
Corel Graphics X4 is a suite of four programs, Corel Draw, Corel PhotoPaint, Corel Power Trace and Corel Capture X4 so you are getting quite a lot of program for your money, but will it be like CS3 where despite giving excellent results it often takes a degree to work out how to do the simplest task. There is so much attached to this Suite that I’m amazed it all fitted on to one CD. A whole catalogue of clip-art and photographs as well as a host of templates that make a great starting block to incorporate your own facts and figures. If that isn’t enough on registering the product you are then able to download yet more clipart and royalty free photographs which will be more than enough to get you started.
One thing you won’t be short on is tuition. The manual is well designed, easy to read and is also on screen as a PDF if you prefer. You’ll find 18 excellent, well presented videos played directly from the DVD that will give you a good insight into the amazing work you can produce with X4. Once you have loaded either PhotoPaint or Draw you will have the option to display handy hints in their own onscreen docker and targeted around whatever task you may be trying to accomplish. Like Photoshop, Corel X4 is probably thought of as a professional suite for marketing agencies and designers and it certainly fits that title very well but what about those who look on computer art as a hobby, is it worth parting with so much cash on something that will not show any financial return. Well, I guess it depends on how serious you are about your hobby. if you are keen on computer art then you will most likely have already gained some experience from one of the many middle range graphics programs like ULead , Xara or Photoshop Elements to name just three and if that is so I definitely would recommend X4 . For students going of to University it’s a good buy particularly if they are thinking of design as a career or just want to Jazz up their projects. Corel has a reputation of being less complicated than Photoshop and I would definitely agree, certainly if you are upgrading from Ulead or Xara it shouldn’t take you long to feel comfortable with the new interface and other differences that have been included in X4. Without doubt in Corel, with a little practice it is easier to get some of the results that in Photoshop will probably be more complicated.
Seeing some of the new Corel X4 enhancements does make me think that Corel is upping its game whilst still trying to keep the price at a reasonably affordable figure. On checking out the drop down menus in X4 it is evident that most of the Photoshop effects are covered here in Corel you just have different moves and in many cases different names.
CorelDraw has a new user friendly interface that offers you a few choices of which the main ones are the obvious, new blank document or new from template. I would suggest that any new user should click immediately on the learning tools tab. There is the option of opening the manual in PDF format which is very painless and easy to maneuver plus by inserting the original DVD into your computer, you will access the 18 video tutorials which give some clear and concise visual demonstrations on how to achieve amazing results.
Font handling is extremely convenient, Corel in line with other recent versions of desk top publishing programs gives you live text formatting options which allow you to preview formats before applying to a document. On top of this there are over 1000 fonts delivered with the program plus with Corel having connected up with MyFont.com no font need ever be unidentified, just click on ‘What The Font?’ and an online wizard will explain all as well as giving you the option of purchasing the font.
Creating and importing tables into Draw has been designed to be more interactive within Corel. It is now much easier to align, resize or edit tables as well as adding and adjusting images in individual cells instead of having to re-work and re-import from Excel.
Sending your work out to all and sundry via large files is not only time consuming but also, in the wrong hands, can in some cases yield negative results. Corel has now developed ConceptShare™. From within the program you can upload your project to the web in one of two free workspaces included in your purchase. Colleagues can be invited to view your work, meet clients online to discuss any changes or get your clients to approve finished projects. All this can be accomplished in real time and your work is protected as you are not sending a live file.
The supported file list has now been expanded to include Microsoft Office Publisher, Word 2007, Adobe Illustrator , Adobe Photoshop CS3, Adobe Acrobat 8, AutoCAD DXF™, AutoCAD DWG™ and Corel Painter™.
Photo-Paint has naturally been upgraded to accept raw files and on importing your photograph it immediately appears in the camera raw lab. The interactive controls operate with real time previews and you can also check on camera settings and properties. Corel has upped the anti in Photo-Paint by allowing users to edit layers independently for each page of a document. Also guidelines can differ on each page or master guidelines can be used throughout the entire document.
As agencies often receive low quality bitmaps from clients to work with, just right click on the mouse and the new improved Power Trace will speedily and accurately transform bitmaps into editable vector images. Capture is a one-click utility enabling you to capture images from an application or internet and there is a ‘Service Bureau Profiler’ that will prepare your documents to be outsourced to a professional printer.
Conclusion
For those for whom computer graphics is a hobby and feel they need to take a step up from the middle of the road packages then no question, I would choose X4. You will be delighted with the new tools you have and be hugely popular with the local societies and charities that require flyers, leaflets and advertisements put together. With what you can produce you will feel like a real professional even if you have a way to go.
If you are completely new to computer graphics and want to dive straight in at the deep end and buy either CS3 or Corel X4 I would certainly choose Corel . It’s very new user friendly and you will probably have a few samples of work to look down on in no time at all. There’s also an on-line community site which is accessed via www.corel.co.uk where you can discuss issues and pick up even more tips from users at all levels. Of course Adobe has an enormous online community too but I’m sure Corel’s online community is far less intimidating.
Corel Draw Graphics Suite X4 is already used by many professionals who will spot the improvements immediately and make their own personal judgment as to whether it’s worth upgrading at this particular time. Professionals clearly need to keep ahead of the game, some with CS3 and others with X4. Me, if it was my livelihood I’d buy both, safe in the knowledge that I have all bases covered.
With a dedicated Vector program alongside a dedicated Bitmap program you know you can handle any job that comes you way.
System Requirements
Windows XP, Vista
512 MB of RAM (although better to have 1 GB )
430 MB Hard Drive Space
Pentium III, 600MHz processor
Pentium III, 800MHz processor or AMD AthlonTM XP
DVD Drive
Mouse or Tablet
Screenshots
Overall :
4.3 Out Of 5.0
Features : 4.5 Out Of 5.0
Ease Of Use : 4.5 Out Of 5.0
Value For Money : 4.0 Out Of 5.0
Features : 4.5 Out Of 5.0
Ease Of Use : 4.5 Out Of 5.0
Value For Money : 4.0 Out Of 5.0
CorelDraw X4 Graphics Suite Software Review