Corel Corporation recently released a new version of its flagship product CorelDraw X4 (frankly speaking, other parts of Corel Graphics Suite have almost no value) which still have thousands of users around the world. Most Corel admirers like it partly because of mythic easier learning curve, partly because of lower price in comparison with its main competitor Adobe Illustrator. Some Corel users find invaluable multipage files and use this feature for layout purpose like InDesign (total headache for every designer, especially for people in print shops).
As for me, I actually use CorelDraw just to open and export to other file format works made with this vector editor by clients. When I used CorelDraw X3 for some time, I was shocked how many ‘unexpected errors’ and print bugs it has and how awkward this tool was in use.
Some time ago I visited CorelDraw X3 presentation. Everything went smoothly until the app closed suddenly as the Corel spokesman said about incredible stability of their products. ‘Did you install service pack 1?’ asked he earlier answering to users complaints about product instability. Does it mean that without service pack every new CorelDraw version can’t be used at all?
The worst thing is that Corel developers don’t hear user’s complaints and feature requests. They don’t fix bunch of bugs for years which could be surprise only for CorelDraw newbie. One of my friends still complaints about Corel being often too sluggish though he has most up to date hardware.
Is CorelDraw X4 new features worth to buy it?
While some reviews consider as big improvements even redesigned icons of new CorelDraw X4, there is no any new drawing tool or even improvement of drawing tools in CorelDraw X4. There is no any new docker or effect. There are only features (live text preview, mirroring text, what the font, interactive table tool, paid ConceptShare service, etc.) needed for marketing department of Corel to say how far it goes beyond the past version.
Why do I need all that new tables and text improvements while there is special software for layout purposes and main purpose of CorelDraw is to draw? Why do I need Corel’s PowerTRACE which is still no match even for Illustrator’s LiveTrace capability while there’s almost perfect online tool Vector Magic. Why do I need paid ConceptShare service to share my vector work rasterized to jpg?
Tell me, who use Corel layers (which get rid of bugs in X4 version) while this feature is total crap in comparison with Adobe products? Yeah, I know one person who even edits photos with CorelDraw saying that Photoshop is too complicated.
In conclusion, I don’t recommend CorelDraw as a vector editor at all and for amateurs as well (better have a look at free Inkscape). CorelDraw X4 brings only negative emotions as the new version of solid Corel product with almost no real improvements or new useful features except those needed for ad campaign. Yeah, I forget that some people consider that even releases of CorelDraw are worse than odd ones 
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i have been using corel draw for simple design and i am trying to compare it with adobe..yes, adobe is maybe complicated but in terms of bugs, I’ve found nothing even I open and export to other file format but in corel, ooh.. too many! I hate it!
I absolutely agree with the above main review. CorelDraw X4 does suck in one respect: what possible purpose is there to pay $180 for upgrade?!? It seems to me Corel has too many products. My reconmendation is to combine Photoshop Pro and CorelDraw as a suite and it would be a killer app. As for no new drawing tools or dockers, it’s what I look forward to the most and to find Corel dropping the ball on this is beyond dissappointment. The trial version looks good on my Vista though so that’s a consideration, if nothing else. Oh what the heck, I’ll upgrade anyway…I’ve been using CorelDraw since version 3 ( ! ) and am a sucker for CorelDraw, period.
Is this an Adobe Illustrator or a Corel Draw review? Anyway, I can find many more reasons for using Draw rather than Illustrator than the ones you mentioned – and FYI I am a professional graphics designer.
And really, all you Adobe fans, tell me why should I buy and use 4 separate titles (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign and Acrobat) to get the same results I get with one (ok, two, but they are in the same package) title? What does Adobe offer more than Corel?
And really, can you make a single PS file for a 16-page brochure you have designed on InDesign that is ready to go on a CTP RIP, with correct bleeds and registration marks without using any other software title? (BTW CorelDraw does that since v. 9).
So, please give me a break! If you love wasting time and money with Adobe software, stick with them… Cause I do not!
I have been working for more than ten years with corel draw and i am producing fantastic work either as vector illustration or multi page brochures (and i mean MANY pages loaded with hires graphics). I am even doing basic photo editing in it saving heaps of time than going to photoshop and back. And i am talking about even version 11. Corel DRAW is a fantastic tool with some few specific points to be careful about and know what to look out and the workarounds. (like all applications i guess) In other words you need to learn about those few points from someone doing professional work with it. OR have extensive technical digital typography knowledge yourself.
Illustrator is multitudes more unstable than corel. Either in Mac or PC. And is by no means as loaded and multifaceted as Corel. (i wont recomend using corel in mac though) Actually with careful setup of system and CorelDRAW itself (knowing what you are doing) i doubt it would even crash at all, cause thats my case, i have been treating it right, and know what i am doing, and it doesn’t crash no matter what. And if it does ever, it does have TWO kind of backup files of your currently working file. I had NEVER lost work with CorelDRAW unlike my mac colleagues where i work. Who are struggling to set up brochures in …. Photoshop and in the best case in indesign, and struggling with various technical end print issues.
CorelDRAW is the most powerful DTP tool with endless capabilities in both the creative and the production end. Corel is a really productive tool making your life easier , but you need to know tech and THINK tech ……….
One rule in general is that all tools are good to the extend of your experience size with them, your determination to learn them in depth, know their faults , what to be careful about and the solutions and workarounds.
The other rule is that habbit, what you have get used to using is a major factor. I have tried countless times to learn indesign and illustrator but always giving up cause i couldnt resist the feeling that i already knew a way how to do that or this and i would do it faster in the way i already know plus i would do almost everything (including 50% photoshop work) in one application and save me valuable time.
I am 100% certain that a good designer will thrive no matter what tool he learn to use. A dedicated professional with an attraction to troubleshooting and tech will do also. Either would that be Corel DRAW or illustrator or inDesign.
And i do agree that after Photoshop 7 adobe has taken a very disturbing path in many many aspects … At least the Photoshop CS3 sets things a bit right for them. (and the pdf file format)
The rest of the Corel Package arent bat at all either.Quite powerful. Its just a matter of compatibility (who to share corelPaint files with out there?) For example the tracer is indeed POWERFULL …..
as far as vector editing, i can say that corel is far more simple than illustrator. it is by far more user friendly and everything is done with far less clicks.
Illustator doesnt even support its AI files…what the heck….many clients send their files in AI format and illustrator CS denies open it…total crap
Now concerning photo editing, i can say that i have seen works of many professionals on photoshop and i’m impressed…however, although i have much less experience in photo editing, corel photopaint is also much more easy to use and uses logic instead of fantasy in order to do various tasks…
Adobe products are just a headache for those not familiar with that way of working…
Hi Everyone,
The only thing that matters with any software is the results. Go to http://coreldraw.com/photos/
and make up your own mind. If CorelDRAW wasn’t professional, you wouldn’t see results like this.
Working in CorelDRAW is about twice as fast as illustrator. Anyone who knows both programs will admit it.
What’s hard to admit is this: being ripped off enormous amounts of money for a bloated and overall worse set of products – with zero content. The creative content that comes with X4 is worth the price of the package by itself.
I have used CorelDRAW since 5.0, and today I deliver professional posters an brochures in 11.0. I also use Photoshop CS2, QuarkXpress 6.5 and Indesign CS2, depending on the nature of the project. I’ll always be a fan of CorelDRAW, simply because Illustrator is quite basic and hogs the limelight as its bundled with the CS. I did use Illustrator 7.0 and found these: Node-editing is complex, only 1 page for a ducument and slower than CorelDRAW. Do agree that Illustrator has improved over the years, but I have never felt a need to update my Illustrator skills. I’m from India and CorelDRAW has a huge market and nobody asks you if you know Illustrator. Personally, I’ll continue to use CorelDRAW, even if my employer wants me to handle Illustrator in office. Adobe is what its today only because of Photoshop. Instead of two packages, Indesign and Illustrator, its better if the two are combined into one. Adobe wants us to spend money on 2 packages, when they can have 1 for layouts and illustrations.
CorelDRAW does have bugs, but the autobackup feature takes care of all my files that sometimes get corrupted. On the Print front, CorelDRAW is not that professional, the colors can go haywire and Illustrator beats it in this aspect.
With Adobe having bought Macromedia, and no further development of Freehand, CorelDRAW and QuarkXpress need our support. Its sick having a monopoly in the industry and making us pay through our noses for every upgrade. I love Adobe, but I also love Corel and Quark.
you should read the manual of Corel Draw X4 before to discuss…
As a designer I have used Corel Draw since version 1.2. It is, and always has been, a very intuitive program. I would recommend it to any one starting out in graphic design.
I remember using Pagemaker but not since version 4 … that was also easy to learn/use. Quark is not an intuitive program.
I get work sent to me by one of my printers that has been created by other “designers” but is not suitable “as is” for CTP or digtal print. I see Mac jobs done in Quark that should have been just created in Illustrator … or better still in Corel Draw! Talk about putting a sports car in the back of a furniture removal lorry and driving round in that. Keep it simple!
I’ve taught myself graphic design to a fair standard using CorelDraw for past 15 years. As others have said it’s an intuitive programme which counts for a lot when you’re working by yourself and have no-one to turn to. Have tried Photoshop but much prefer Corel products. I’ve encouraged my printer to use CD and now they won’t use anything else. There’s a lot of ill informed gossip about CD products : I’m also a great fan of WordPerfect a far superior prog than poor old MS Word but Mr Gates has convinced the world to use Word. Big mistake.
Hi. I’m user of corelDRAW since version 9, now using X3. Corel does a great job keeping things simple, guide lines and snap to guides, rulers and objects, powerclip, symbols etc are killing features, that save a lot of time. I do web mock ups in Corel but I use Photoshop for the final file because of the bug in Corel about exporting (that 1px white line at left)Also I use Corel for multipage designs, and I don’t recall having problems with final prints.. CMYK its CMYK period. If you need to use pantones go to indesign, but I have converted pantone colors to CMYK with no problem in the final output.
I agree that corel has a lot of bugs, also the interface has becoming slower and slower.. I recall working with 360Mb CDR 12 files (I know, madness, the client send them I have to work with them) and I can edit them without delays or hangups… now in CDR 13 I’m, actually working wit a 3Mb file, just 4 pages.. and after moving anything or editing some text.. corel just hangs processing the change (no it’s not my pc, Illustrator its actually faster!!WTF).. and now I have a better pc than in the CDR12 days.
Corel is in debt with his users, I agree with Michael, theres nothing new with X4, maybe just more bloat. Who needs Vista compatibility (The OS sucks more resources than the programs itself, MS is dying get it).. I’d like to see a Linux Port or at least a binary, they’re losing terrain as there is more people starting to discover FOOS software like inkscape and gimp and realizing that “they’re not so bad after all” considering THEY’RE FREE.
Corel should scrap the code and make the software more lite, not more bloated, Corel it’s huge in third world design, in third world you don’t have money to waste in the latest pc just to run x piece of software. Corel just think that they can compete with Adobe bloating the software… get it corel = KEEP IT SIMPLE AND FASTER and you will have your loyal users forever. I’m going to try X4, If I just see the same or worst performance, I think I’ll start my training in another design software.
endoffrant///
I’ve been using CD suite for years and think it’s great! I also have Illustrator version 11. The whole Adobe thing is it’s snob appeal…OOOh, I only use Ill-is-trat-ture…sniff, sniff.
OK, pal, if you want blow all your cash on one product, go for it. As P.T. Barnum used to say: “There’s a sucker born every minute.”
I’ve been corel draw user since version 2, now i’m a adobe CS3 user except for illustrator, corel draw maybe is not the cup of tea of the graphic designers but do the job very well, and for me that need precision (i illustrate math books) corel x4 is the best option, is precise, easy powerful and i can share my work to other graphic designers that don’t even know that corel draw exist.
I use both. I learned graphics with Corel and I have to say, there is no mythic “easier learning curve.” There is a real and tangible easy learning curve. Adobe has its own logic string while Corel is based upon more familiar lines of thinking.
I love the Corel software, b ut I realize it is mainkly because it is what I learned first. Statistically speaking, 70% of all people believe the first bit of info they have is the truth. This is the case with these pieces of fine software. The only arguement I have for Corel being a superior product that has not been mentioned is this… if Illustrator is the industry standard, why can’t I load my workspaces, brush tools and plugins from Corel into it, but I CAN load the Illustrator ones into Corel?
The last thing I feel I need to say, is that after 15 years of commercial art experience with both software packages, a poor craftsman blames his tools.
Corel Draw & Photopaint are user friendly, intuitive, fully compatible and make a rational use of memory resources.
Did I mention it’s fully compatible? It can even use edit PSDs.
I’ve used CorelDraw7 suite since 1997, and I’ve been using it in Win95, 98, XP, and Vista, with no need of any update at all, while everyone I know complains of having to update Abode Photoshop version after version. I’ve now moved to X4, and it’s great, faster, even better. And Corel Painter is just incredible when it comes to rendering traditional media for illustration purpose.
And I have yet to see someone do something with Abode tools that can’t be done with Corel ones. And you don’t have to press 4 different keys at the same time like it was some church organ to get the simplest thing done. So next time someone tells me “Adobe stuff is better for no other reason than there’s more people using it” I swear I’ll do something nasty to that person… XD
I have Corel Draw 3. I use PhotoPaint. I have almost every graphics program on the market but I prefer the mouse precision in PhotoPaint. I would hate to upgrade and have a jittery, sticky mouse.
How does the mouse precision in PhotoPaint X4 compare to X3? Is it fast, smooth, and nonsticky on the curves?
Millions of People use and prefer Mouse to Tablet but I don’t see any support for this.
Corel has good mouse capability but it is more a default from the precision of the vector tools than product design.
Anyone using Photo Paint X4 for mousing around? Does the mouse stick on curves, lag or jitter?
I am considering the upgrade so I appreciate any feedback.
PEN TOOL, PEN TOOL, PEN TOOL: Sorry, Illustrator just does not compare to Corel Draw with that device. I have CD 12 and Illustrator Cs2. But Illustrator’s pen tool is a source of frustration. I think both vector programs are good, but I lean toward Corel Draw for better control in vector art. I actually want to install the newest version CD on my MAC Pro using Parallels so that it can run windows.
I agree with the majority of you that though Corel Draw can be buggy (but so are Adobe products), but most of us love this program. Many of us wish that Corel Draw could be combined with Adobe Photoshop.
I am a Graphic Designer who has been using computers to design and layout since 1988.
I’ve been using Coreldraw in my home freelance work, and I have to use Illustrator on Mac in my day job, as an advert designer for a large west coast daily newspaper.
Coreldraw is absolutely, by far, the easiest and most intuitive product of the two. I seldom have to crack a book to find out how to do anything in Coreldraw, but in Illustrator, I find it difficult to accomplish the same thing without looking in the manual.
AND, it does a lot more things than Illustrator.
I have used CorelDraw products for quite some time now (since version 2), and I’m afraid to say that I really am considering going elsewhere, although that elsewhere is unlikely to be Illustrator as I find it a painful application to use, very CPU intensive and also very expensive (I had to laugh at their ‘competitive upgrade paths’). I have used CorelDraw less and less over the years as my skills have changed and am now following a path other than design, but still use the application a lot. As each version goes by they seem to miss the basics of what made it easy to use. How did they manage to change the default nature of ALT+F6 in v12??? That was beyond me, and for the life of me I couldn’t find a way of putting it back! X4 original lost (until SP1) the image resolution in the Status Bar (unbelievable) I have also just noticed the open dialogue no longer shows the version number of the file (very usefull when checking files before sending to printers – especially with a new version!). Yeah – there are ways around it, but why change them? There are probably countless other minor glitches but I have only used it a handful of times. Can anyone also tell me when the rounded corner option on rectangles changed from mm (or whatever you had your measurement set to) to what i can only imagine is a percentage?
Sorry – CTRL+F6
Coreldraw vs Illustrator? There is NO comparison as far as I’m concerned! CorelDraw is simply by far a superior program. I’ve had almost 18 years experience on both and let me tell you the only reason I ever used Illustrator is because most printers back then only accepted Ill. files. After all these years illustrator still cannot offer a right click zoom out feature! Corel featured this way back in the 90′s. Another thing is the ability to select multiple objects and text without being forced to deselect as illustrator does. I mean what’s that about? That’s so dumb, with Corel you just draw a marquee around the intended objects, text and bingo they’re selected and all the other objects are not. Yes SIMPLICITY! and that’s why Corel makes sense. It’s quick and easy to work-out. Right clicking outlines, yeah try that in illustrator…In fact everything is faster, and just navigating around is so simple and easy. So bring it on all you Illustrator heads anytime, I can sure as hell guarantee I can wipe the floor with your snobby assess.
I’m using corel to open a vector file and convert it to my main software vector format. it turned out that corel is just a file converter. in terms of features, it’s quite common, if you have the imagination and creativity, you can make the same artworks in other software, even on openoffice’s draw! (which is free). here i found a bug in coreldraw, if you have a bitmap background and on top of it is a vector art with drop shadow effect, it looks nice on the screen, but wait till you print it, the shadows turns into a white box or something else!
In my opinion both Adobe and Corel company are rich enough with their sales on Draw or Photoshop or whatever. and why don’t we make this software became a Freeware (Download, Patch, and Crack it)
OK I think all of you people that support corel draw have been either sniffing magic markers or work for corel. Corel draw is the worst – I mean the absolute worst graphics program available. You people that dont know how to use adobe programs to their full capabilities should either A) Try or B) get out of the business. The only thing corel draw should be used for (actully it shouldnt be used -EVER) is exporting to PDF. the interface is childish – and forget about changing embedded RGB images to something else (esp. if it has a god forbidden drop shadow attached to it).Furthermore you all should Quit whining about the price of illustrator, remember the old saying you get what you pay for. This really applies here – Adobe isnt just one program its an entire suite- And furthermore – remember at your printer everything just gets thrown into indesign/quark after anyways. (BTW- quack sucks too but not as much as CD-blech)- I work at a large commercial printer – and the consensus between all us prepress guys is — CD sucks and designers are stupid….. “duuuh—-whats black support maybe i should just use REGISTRATION” LOL
Waa Waa – You admit to not using the products for more than a vector file then blast it’s features. Not a regular user Then don’t put crap out for a review.
In the early 1990s, I used CorelDraw 3 and Ventura Publisher for the bulk of my camera ready art, newsletters, and had ten books published. Then I made the mistake of “upgrading”. Corel has the nasty reputation of ruining good software with “improvements”. They “improved” CorelDraw (v.3,4,5) from a useful program into a monster. They changed the user interface, file format, graphics library, trashed my old files and introduced uncounted bugs. They “improved” Ventura Publisher (4,5) so much that it was ruined, despite being THE Desktop Publisher of choice in the 1990s. All my old files were unreadable or trashed by the “improved” VP. Let’s not forget what they did to WordImPerfect. In one “improvement” after another, they fubared WP and gave M$ Word the word processor crown. They are the Frankenstein of software development – making freakish monsters, one after another. Do not feed the monster!
Corel X4 has too problems only
- crashes with Adobe related files PDF/EPS/ILLUSTRATOR
- The menu is not as friendly as it was in X3
All other is wonderfull and excellent
we design corporate identity and logos and all our works are done in corel draw
visit our site and see: http://www.identitydubai.com
I’ve been with Corel since V.4 (mid-90′s) and have Illustrator so I can open and save in a format which allows me to move the files into Corel since most Illustrator users figure anyone worth there salt only uses AI. 1) AI file size amazes me! 6, 8, 10 mgs of file when redone or just imported and saved measures under 1mg in Corel; 2) MAC vs. PC, AI vs Corel, bugs and hang-ups. They both have their quirks and both do the job. File for file, Corel processes faster, produces smaller files (ideal for e-mail) and allows me to personalize the work space with shortcut keys dockers a hell of a lot easier than AI. AI and MAC os users are like residents of Boulder, Colorado. Their 10 year old Subaru doesn’t have rattles and shakes, it has character. Bull! AI & MAC os users are like residents of Boulder, Colorado – when they’re driving their auto, the auto has the right of way over pedestrians and bicycles. When the same person is on their bicycle, well of course, bicycles have the right of way. Now we store the bicycle on the auto and walk into Starbucks and guess what – the pedestrian now has the right of way. Use whichever damn software produces the desired result in the aloted time and get on with life.
TDMW
WHY THIS REVIEW REALLY SUCKS
This was clearly a rant by someone who didn’t like Corel to begin with. Not very helpful, dude. I’ll bet you voted for that idiot Obama too.
Fact is, the Corel apps are much more intuitive than their Adobe counterparts, and at 1/10000th the price (or so it would seem), how can there be any hesitation? I haven’t tried X4 yet, but that’s only because I like X3 so well.
Geezz, no other graphic program can beat this one in price/quality. Even the barcode generator included in Coreldraw is reason alone to buy this application. Why? cause an adobe barcode plug-in costs you 200,- ….. thats just rediculous, for the massive amount you have to pay for illustrator they should have included it. Fucking robbers.
While I am disappointed in the release of X4, this is the worst review I’ve ever read. Biased from the start. Corel is a far superior application to Illustrator. I’ve been a professional graphic artist for over 10 years and have used it for everything from pre-press to technical illustration. You have far more freedom than you do with Illustrator. AI restricts page sizes, & rasterization exporting. The clipping masks are horrible to work with. The shortcuts suck. THERE’S NO FLIPPIN’ UNGROUP ALL function. No pages. Restricted zoom levels. No barcoding. There’s countless things I could mention but I’d need a whole article of my own. Get off Adobe already. They’re becoming too much like the Microsoft or Intel of the design industry.
Haha this is funny corel draw is still getting slammed for being an inferior product…. surely there must be reason for it STILL being slammed even after its 14th release. I’ve been a designer for 15 years and actually learn’t on an old 486 PC with corel draw 3 printing out crappy bromides on a laser printer.
Well it seems to me using corel draw now hasn’t changed much from 15 years ago…. it still is very buggy… still crashes unless you read all the forums and research on how to setup your machine to be stable with it. I actually feel Corel Draw 5 was the best most stable version to date. Its not to say its not a powerful program that is argued here… yes it can do ALOT of things and is aimed at trying to be the one SUPER Graphics Ap for all your needs… but I think this is also why it still struggles with stability issues, as basically the software designers are trying to do too much with the one piece of software.
There is a reason why Adobe products are huge…. they work and are reliable. Yes you need 3 apps for drawing, page layout, and photo-touch up… but since CS came into play they all work seamlessly hand in hand.. Considering 80% of professional designers are mac based you are asking for trouble choosing a program that only runs on the one platform… It would have been nice to see corel try and continue to develop on Mac OS but they gave up pretty quick.
I don’t think there is even a valid argument over which is better… you get what you pay for … pure and simple.
I am a freelance graphic designer who started designing on CD 3 and have used every version up to my current X3. As far as user-friendly goes it has always had a simple, intuitive layout.
Unfortunately, around V9 the software started getting buggy and this trend has continued without any noticeable improvement in stability with newer versions. I have never had as many problems with CorelDraw as I am having at the moment.
Very often I save a file and publish it to pdf to send off to a client for proofing, only to have CorelDraw crash when I try to open the file again later to make changes suggested by my client. When this happens you are stuffed – you cannot open the original file, backup file or the pdf – you have to redesign everything from scratch.
There is no solution to this problem – not from Corel and not from any forum in existence on the internet, either. I actually stumbled upon this forum, once again trying in vain to find a solution, because this happened again a few minutes ago and I have had it!
I’m going to bite the bullet and get Illustrator and InDesign. Corel won’t get a cent from me ever again.
I Agree X4 sucks. I have been a hard core Corel user since Ver. 1 (when it came with a vhs training video) I have recently built a new graphics work station and have Vista 64bit running on it with 8 gigs of ram ver 13 was ok on it but I wanted to have the latest greatest from Corel. Well I have it and i crashes on me 3-5 times a day. And for those who would be quick to blame it on Vista why did’nt Corel 13 crash in Vista 64. Another rant is that the download is the same price as the boxed copy yet the download has no clip art and other crap you get with the boxed version. I have been using AI more and more and agree with those that Corel is losing to Adobe more more each release. Other issues include jacked up color icc controls to pdfs. My vote my Corel days are coming to an end. I only have 8,000 CDRs… Damn
1.Download this:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/f/c/a/fca6767b-9ed9-45a6-b352-839afb2a2679/TweakUiPowertoySetup.exe
2.Read this:
http://coreldraw.com/forums/p/2792/28819.aspx#28819
EKB say:
EKB say:
FWIW, I figured out the problem. I use the microsoft “tweakUI” powertoy, and when setting up my new system I unchecked the “remember previously-used filenames” under the common dialogs settings. That caused the common dialog box in CorelDraw & Paint to cough blood and die when invoked.
Rechecking that setting fixed the problem.
Corel X4 is not as stable and reliable as X3
I still prefer X3 (It crashes Less)
As comparing Corel to Adobe Illustrator its out of the question, Corel has tons of extra features and more flexible especially in handling curves, gradations, multipage tabs, exporting multiple pages to PDF and Pantone Colors.
One more thing I hate the X4 menu (the X3 is far better and easier to find your way around)
Fadi
http://www.identitydubai.com
In reply to Arzie, Aug 11th, 2008, who mentioned a problem printing a bitmap background with a vector image with drop shadow, whereby on printing the shadow came out as a white box. This is easy to fix – just select all the objects you want to print (i.e. bitmap and vector with drop shadow), convert the whole thing to a bitmap (easy in Coreldraw) and print. You should get exactly what you see on the screen, and you can always “undo” the bitmap conversion after printing if you want to keep the objects separate.
I, for one, have been using the Corel suite as a professional designer since V.5 and I love it!
Hi, can anyone tell me a good trustworthy place to buy a slightly older LEGIT version of Coreldraw?
~ €300 is too much for a self-employed person who only uses it occasionally…
This guys is totally biased. Who do you think you are snobby adobe asshole princess
Can someone tell me if CorelDrawX3 can be ‘upgraded to CorelDrawX4?
I need to know today if all possible. I’m making a decision to purchase X4 being it’s on sale till the end of this week.
thanks,
glenn
Both Corel Draw X3 and Adobe Illustrator CS3 works for me. Been using Corel since version 9. I just installed X4 yesterday and I still dont know how well will it go.
I prefer Corel Draw over Adobe’s InDesign CS3.
CorelDraw X4 is a great product. PhotoPaint X4, however, completely sucks. Adobe Illustrator sucks. Heck, everything Adobe makes sucks.
Just because pros hate it when newbies make unprintable junk in CorelDraw and hand it to them as “flight checked” and ready for printing, doesn’t mean it’s any easier or harder to do the same in Illustrator. In fact, if you don’t know what you’re doing it’s easy to make unprintable junk in any piece of software.
One of the cool niches where CorelDraw really kicks butt is in the vinyl-sign-cutter and custom-embroidery-stitching design world. (check out Embroidery software DRAWings X3 based on CorelDraw) If you need a corporate logo for printing, signs, decals, and custom corporate apparel with embroidered logo designs, Corel kicks Adobe all around the block.
Warren
For the sake of all it is good on this planet, pleeaAASE Corel, PLEASE improve tablet support in CorelPhotopaint (which is practically inexistent), the paint brushes lag (try writing something fast in PhotoPaint – NO CHANCE) and solve the infamous NIB PROBLEM! (try add a custom nib, then delete some ugly original ones; the thumbnails will screw your entire software… and this after FOURTEEN VERSIONS!) It’s sad, because the software itself have such powerful tools, UI and so many users…
ICan you use Corel on a Mac? What would you reccomend if not Corel?
Christos, it does work on a mac and i reccomend it. CorelDraw is
the best!
for me as designer I use both and yes corel draw with its handy short cut is more faster than illustrator and more, that I usually sometimes use corel and illustrator cuz for me as graphic designer 12 years it doesnt matter what program u use its just like pencil in your hand u know how to draw or not
I just have to say, well, what a waste of time, all of these makes me sick!! As a designer is my obligation to learn the use of both softwares. Anyway, if you are good does not matter which one You use. What I see here its a lot of ego, and i so pretty sure a little 10 year old girl will beat any one who is talking all these crap using ms paint. What the crap, stop fighting and begin to learn any software dedicated to design.
Corel x4 sucks – best and stable versions are 11 and 12, what starts with X sucks
I use both and, while this review is the crappiest piece of blogurnalism on the internet to the date, both fanboy camps are equally daft.
Illustrator prior to CS3 was downright unusable. After purchase of Macromedia, and incorporating some of that Freehand spirit into Illustrator it became quite a decent piece of vector editing software.
My 2c are as follows:
- In down-to-detail bezier curve editing Corel PWNZ AI in every aspect
- It also kicks it’s ass primo on aspect of curve combination, in Corel, there is a definite primitive of bezier path (bezigon) that everything can be recombined to, pathfinder is nowhere near as powerful — although it has upperhand of allowing subsequent editing of parts that make up combined path.
- When it comes to effects, Illustrator bitmap based effects like drop shadow, blur et al make artwork design much simpler, corel is both slow, memory hungry and requires “freezing” artwork to bitmaps for most of that to work. If they did this the AI way in X6 (as it’s too late for X5) they’d rock
- AI bitmap output is superior (their antialias is topnotch, whereas Corel still makes blurry unfocused output) and prepress results are neater, but Corel is more powerfull in both regards.
Both are CPU hogs, bloated monsters with tons of useless shit inbetween few useful functions, and both are equally shitty when it comes to stability but if I had to chose just one tool it would be Corel because you can get EVERYTHING done with it, and off course, there is the price factor as well.
The only two reasons why Corel is still bashed by design snobs are:
- Design snobs are mostly Mac snobs and Adobe WAS from planet mac, whereas Corel is more of a windows company, Adobe will probably dump Apple sooner or later because of business politics so it will soon change
- It’s cheaper so design snobs who are Mac snobs, naturally assume that when you pay the premium for turd it automagicaly turns to gold — just as they assume when buying computers.
I have been using Corel since version 3.
Coreldraw and related programs are more than enough for any casual user and will do
just nicely for the professional.
I am a new user to Adobe AI and Photoshop. Other than some tools and filters that corel
does not have, it doesn’t impress me.
I have run into a number of problems and issues with the Adobe products, even after the
limited time I have been using it.
And judging from the internet sites ( including Adobe’s ) it would seem that it is just
as buggy and has just as many issues as any other software.
The exception being the prices Adobe charges for their crap. And the drooling Adobe
fans that seem to place Adobe on a Apple made pedestal.
There are free and shareware programs that in the hands of a professional can do most
anything you need to do. It may take you a little more effort…but you can do it.
That’s what usually makes the difference between a professional and…….. an Adobe
products user.
Hi Mark
I also use CorelDraw since version 8. Never had problems either. I FULLY agree with you that it depends who use which ever program. Some people like Adobe (which I don’t), and others like Corel. It takes a professional PERSON to be able to create a work of art – not a fancy smanchy looking program.
I think photoshop is easy to learn and have everything for bit map editing.
And what the freeware you are talking of club them all they still fails in comparison to ps4.
Corel draw x4 godof software for vector graphics. Bit tough to learn.
but for layers ps ultimate.
Coreldraw x4 does have layers bugs that x3 didnt have?? (cant understand that)
Annoying as, but really apart from a few minor bugs corel x4 is very stable.
Ive been using coreldraw since coreldraw 5 (1995)
I am a traditional pre-press and now digital print artist and use photoshop
for my photo editing and coreldraw for layout and vector.
I use adobe illustrator occasionally but am used to coreldraw.
Im not a hater like some – i just like what im used to.
I use sketchup too and use the same technique just in 3D.
All 3 are brilliant programs!
Illustrator is good too but old versions are quite slow on my PC.
I have a totally different problem…I tried to use (and pay for) someone at Corel to help me with an application that I need VERY quickly….they (Miguel) said that I should read my manual. I did, it was TOO confusing. He said that he did not have time to walk me through what I wanted to learn. What I need, and I am willing to pay!
I want to import a copy of a photograph into Corel Draw x4. I want to make an irregularly-shaped text box over the photo that I just imported. I want to type into that text box and fill that box with my letter (possible change the font along the way). Once I get my letter done I want to remove the imported photo so my background goes white again…remove the text-box-line so that all I have remaining is text in an irregular shape. I want to then print my text onto that picture that I imported.
Please advise price. Thanks dave
I get a kick out of the Draw vs. Illustrator debate, simply because it’s essentially a waste of time; on many different levels. The cold hard fact of the matter is that one program isn’t any better or worse than the other. Draw does things better than Illustrator and vice versa. Both programs can be buggy; and both programs are bloated. It’s as simple as that. But instead of choosing one over the other, do what I did… I’ve worked my tail off over the years to become proficient with BOTH programs. As a result, I can take on jobs involving either program. That’s a damn nice thing to have on one’s resume. There’s numerous other benefits as well, and you don’t have to be a genius to figure them out for yourself.
For the sake of argument however, Adobe does fail in one very basic regard, and that’s price.
While I love Adobe software, it’s simply not worth the insanely high price. (You can thank the Mac elitists of yesteryear for that – the very same elitists who think that a $5.00 cup of coffee is an OK thing). When it comes to price, Corel is an infinitely better value.
Summing it all up, do yourself a favor and stop hating on one program over the other. Hunker down and learn both programs. You’ll be glad you did.
Dear Dave – have you ytried Photoshop CS3 – open a blank page (white background) of your the required size – select Text Tool – type your matter – and ave it.
Now select this layer – go to Image adjustment – select Warp and pull/push handles to get your desired effect. Simple .|
I also agree with Mr Joe and am now starting to learn CorelDraw X5 which my friend has promised to teach me – thus a combined knowledge of Photoshop and CorelDraw will go a long way.
All the Best
I wish it were as simple as “both are equal but different”. The “fact” is, Corel products are incredibly buggy and unstable. They always were and still are today. Adobe products, at least Photoshop and Illustrator, are incredibly bug free and practically never crash. If you decide to remove stability from discussion, I could agree that both products are powerful but different. Except you couldn’t possibly compare Photopaint to Photoshop. Photopaint has no equal. Photopaint is the only program that is even similar in scope, but it is ancient and has little of the power and flexibility of Photoshop.
As for the price of Adobe products, it’s up to the buyer to decide whether it’s worth it or not. If you’re making a little money, you may say that the price is too expensive. But some people are making a fortune with Adobe products. People’s businesses are based around Adobe products. Big multi-million dollar businesses. I don’t think they’re worrying themselves over the cost of Adobe products.
Hello, Admin
I want to know, i cant save, import, convert to file and my any file in corel draw 14 because option is not showing, can u help in this situation….. Please mail me, If u have Solutions… thanks..
I’m a graphic designer and I honestly believe the program you work with first becomes your favourite, it’s obvious, it just makes more sense to you…i started with adobe products…illustrator is strictly for design, there are plenty things corel has which illustrator does not, but it was after all made for designing, as a vector program it works better than corel, as an all rounder corel takes the lead, i’ve only been using corel for setup of printing, because i find it to be very simple, but it’s functionality is just annoying,e.g when one scrolls you expect it to scroll not zoom in (all those saying corel works with simple logic thinking, easy for beginners, not 100% true)
Illustrator is much easier i let my older brother who knows nothing of design, play around with both and he found illustrator to be better. Illustrator workspace is better, things are easy to find…
Photoshop on the other hand i don’t use for much design work, just photo editing, painting, and anything to do with art, but it is brilliant and no one can deny that…for what it does…
They all great Programs though
…Peace in the design world!
Why would anyone use illustrator over corel draw makes me think lots,
as far as I am concerned illustrator should be scrapped and terminated out of its existence… it is by far the most over inflated useless software there is…..
I can do anything , I mean anything x3 faster in any version of corel draw than illustrator,
Someone mentioned a PDF export problem, the problem is PDF because it is adobe format so adobe simply purposly makes it incompatible with corel draw..,
there is very easy ways to convert properly to PDF from corel , you just have to know how.
I by far as a professional graphic designer of 18 years will choose and stand by corel draw.
It is by far the best and user friendly vector application there is with the most logical interface that even my 7 year old does not need instructions to use it ……
If you choose illustrator over corel draw you’re either on drugs, being mis informed or Autistic or simply have lots of money and lots of time on your hands…
Corel User as of 18 years.
Andrew
reply to Takes,
Takes I have been spending numerous times and numerous hours fixing and correcting vector files that come of illustrator , even today when Im at work I wonder why somone did not cut/trim graphics instead cover the unwanted pieces with white boxes, or why ohh why
would someone inflate an outline with a pen tool ???? and all the night mare with node and curve editing lol the interface is awful and hard to get around, there is no scale factor and the drawing is limited to only certain size I think 288 inches anything past that you gotta do the math on your own to scale , imagine you got a computer with vector designing software and you gotta do the math in your head to compensate for scale lol,
what a joke…. corel has pretty much almost inifiny size capability , you can lay out entire city block in size and in perfect scale, , I found it funny how Adobe is trying to make Illustrator/photoshop application in one with the new releases of Illy cs5. I thought it was supposed to be a vector software so why inflatingit farther with phot filters lol… I laugh how unexperienced are the design teachers in colleges teaching art sold to corporate discount of Adobe lol . I design in both applications unfortunately I first started off with illustrator,
and after a few years at worked with freehand and corel draw. I chose corel draw as my only vector application because its simple , straight forward and so user friendly, and most I mean 95% of CDR files I receive from other companies are done perfectly and ready for production, I can run a large format printer, I can plot my graphics I can cut my graphics I can send my graphics to router table to sheet metal bender and use the same files in 3d sudio and guess what they all work perfectly and yes they are CDR files.
Hope this clears up the choice to make for new upcoming designers.
If there was no Photoshop nobody would ever care for illustrator and that’s the truth.
Cheers Mates, and enjoy the weekend !
We’ve been using CorelDraw for 10 years now for all our graphic design work and I really do think it is so much better than Illustrator. This mythical idea that Illustrator never crashes is rubbish. We have the software (we have to as customers sometimes bring files in in illustrator format) and it crashes plenty for me, certainly as much as CorelDraw X5 does. In fact, the stability of X5 is an improvement over previous versions anyway (i admit CD9 was terrible for this).
I’m yet to find anyone who can do any job in Illustrator quicker than I can do it in Corel. People say you don’t need tables and other layout tools as you can use Indesign or Quark for this, but why would i want to jump between lots of different programs when I have one that can do all these tasks quickly and efficiently.
For me, the biggest advantages of CorelDraw over Illustrator are:
-Font substitution: Open a file that you don’t have the font for (or the font is named very slightly differently) and Illy just substitutes the default font. Corel asks what font you would like to use for each missing font.
-Selection of objects: The inability of Illy to select only objects fully contained by the marquee. This is invaluable when you have multiple objects on a background image. Corel by default only selects contained objects, but if you hold Alt it selects everything the marquee touches, like Illy. Nice to have the choice!
-Multiple pages: Yes, it’s in Illy now, but it works terribly compared to Corel which has had it forever.
-Print imposition: Laying up more than one copy (e.g., business cards) on a page when printing in Illy is very manual and time consuming. In Corel it is one click.
-Aligning objects: When using align tools, Corel always aligns to the last object you click when Shift-Selecting. This saves lots of messing around having to change the order of objects before aligning.
-Adding fonts: If i install a font whilst using Corel, it shows up straight away. In Illy i have to exit out of the program and reload to see the new font.
-Shape editing: I think it is almost universally accepted that the shape editing tools in Corel are far superior (the one thing the forums seem to agree on).
-Powerclips: Are much better and easier to use than clipping masks
Incidentally, someone mentioned that the scroll wheel zooms rather than scrolls. Well, if you don’t like it, you an change it in the options (Tools > Options > Workspace > Display) unlike Illustrator.