CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X5 (Guidebook and DVD) (PC)

Product Details

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• ASIN: B0037NX6PS
• Release Date: 31 Mar 2010
  

By : Corel
Price : £284.83

Product Description

Manufacturer's Description
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X5 is a versatile graphic design software suite that helps you creatively and professionally express ideas for any media. Illustrate, lay out, trace, design Web graphics and photo-edit with this complete solution for visual communication. Easily import and export content with leading file compatibility. Get going faster than ever with new, professionally designed templates and compelling learning materials. Create with confidence, everything from distinctive logos and signs, to striking marketing materials, Web graphics and animations, billboards, car wraps and more! Offering increased speed, more accurate color control, and new and enhanced design tools, this must-have version helps you create extraordinary designs faster. Do more than you thought possible!
New! Built-in content organizer Speed up your workflow with Corel CONNECT, a built-in content organizer that helps you find graphics, templates, fonts and images instantly on your computer. Your selected content is stored in the tray that is synchronized between CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT, giving you instant access to your content.
New! Completely re-designed color management engine.Control color consistency across different media and generate a distinct color palette for each document. A new color management engine introduces greater color accuracy, plus support for the latest color profiles from PANTONE. Minimize your ecological footprint and reduce costly reprints by knowing that your colors are accurate before you print.
New ; Enhanced! Responsive drawing tools.In response to user feedback, we’ve introduced the option to lock toolbars in place, expanded your printing options, and made improvements to the Eyedropper, Mesh Fill and other popular drawing tools.
New ; Enhanced! High-value digital content.Enrich your designs with over 1,000 professional fonts, including Helvetica and Frutiger font families for the first time ever. Plus, take advantage of high-value digital content, such as premium clipart, royalty-free photos and vehicle templates. Give your work a professional finish without spending extra time and money— you’ll find everything you need here!.
Enhanced! Performance and compatibility.Complete your tasks faster with powerful performance enhancements that leverage multi-core processing to maximize your computer’s power. With market-leading file compatibility, this version supports dozens of file formats, including PDF, JPG, PNG, EPS, AI, TIFF, PSD, DOCX and many more, so you can repurpose and share your creations quickly and easily. This latest edition is optimized for Windows 7 and offers new touch-screen support, as well as support for Windows Vista and Windows XP.
Corel CORELDRAW GRAPHICS SUITE X5 UK CDGSX5IEHBBUK Software Office Software
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CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X5 (Guidebook and DVD) (PC)

 

Customer Reviews

For years I've been using the embarrassingly out-of-date and low-wattage Paint Shop Pro 7 graphic program from JASC Software which came out in 2001. Corel have owned JASC since 2004, so you could call X5 an evolution. The main thing that's been putting me off learning the tools of newer, better programs is that it takes a long time and a LOT of patience to develop the skill needed to utilize the software correctly. CorelDRAW X5 is no exception, but what a program it is if you do have the patience.
I do a lot of photo-manipulation for fun, and I have been frequently disappointed at how little functionality the old Paint Shop programs offered. Upon examining the features in X5 all I can say is WOW! THIS is a slick, innovative and thoroughly modern software package that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend to professionals or beginners. But if you are a beginner I must stress again that a lot of practice and trial and error is necessary to fully explore and understand all of the features. You want loads of fonts? You got 'em. Need to play with clip-art? It offers thousands of images. Need to access multiple file types? X5 can manage it.
And it doesn't just offer the ability to manipulate private photos either, X5 enables the user to design everything from company logos all the way to webpage ads. It offers so much that it basically fills the needs of everyone who is searching for a reliable graphic program that won't quickly go out of date. So many computers and laptops come with generic graphic programs built-in that offer very, very little functionality. This is NOT the case with X5, make no mistake, this is a high-spec professional package. Though I must point out that a fast, high end computer is necessary to operate X5 smoothly. Windows 7 actually offers touch-screen functionality.
The physical package itself is MASSIVE. X5 doesn't come in a DVD-sized Amaray case. It's literally the size and weight of a pavement slab. A guidebook is included, and there's 2 hours worth of training videos, so even if you're an absolute beginner you'll be able to gradually get the hang of it with the tutorials and guidebook to answer your questions.
Unless you can afford the software used by Industrial Light and Magic or Pixar I'd say that X5 is certainly the most powerful and accessible graphic program available to the public. A necessity for professional web designers and photographers.

Rather like Serif who develop similar software at the lower `Adobe Elements' end of the market for small businesses/home use, Corel are one of the few graphics design companies who still give industry standard giants Adobe a run for their money. Corel's products are however designed to take Adobe on at the top end, where Adobe's Design CS5 Suites have all but wiped out the rest of the competition. Because Serif and Corel are in danger of becoming also-runs, they provide training materials in amounts that put others (Adobe) to shame. Tutorials, video tutorials, pdf manuals, hints and other programs like Corel-Tutor are available as useful training resources. The software also comes with a quick-reference folded A4 card and a beautiful 312 page bound book, with a sleeve for the install DVD inside the cover.
CorelDraw X5 Graphics Suite is a very sophisticated graphics package providing a full array of tools at prices that are unmatched for software of this calibre. It's only real competitor is Adobe Creative Suite 5, which at full retail costs a great deal more. That said, if you or your kids are at school or students, or you work in the education sector, you can get massive discounts off Adobe (and Corel) software provided it's for non commercial/not-for-profit use. The only serious reason to ignore CorelDraw X5 Graphics Suite though is that it's not available for the Apple Mac, it's for Windows XP, Vista, 7 (32 or 64-bit) PCs only - and the more powerful the PC the better, plus the addition of a small cheap A5 graphics/stylus tablet like the Wacom Bamboo Pen is pretty useful, used in conjunction with your mouse.
The learning curve for Corel software seems less steep than Adobe CS5 Design Standard, so while Coreldraw X5 is used professionally in the design industry and schools, this software will also be of interest to technical minded amateurs and hobbyists as well, as it's quite accessible and relatively cheap. CorelDraw X5 Graphics Suite is a major revamp over X4, and isn't fully compatible with the older version [e.g. old X4 macros for automatic tasks might need modifying].
This CorelDraw Graphics Suite X5 includes:
CorelDRAW® X5 (Vector Illustration and Page Layout). The granddaddy of all vector design packages, now with a smart looking interface to create logos, cartoons and general art based graphics. Predictably this is the stand-out app in the graphics suite. Great tools include drop-shadow for object shadows, dynamic gradients and production of raster based effects without having to leave the program. In addition CorelDraw has loads of updated templates and page layout options, e.g. for formatting text into columns and around images for magazines whilst still giving you direct access to all the vector design tools.
Corel® PHOTO-PAINT(tm) X5 (Photo Editing). Corel's answer to PhotoShop CS5. Raster based photo-editing with all the industry standard tools like layers, colour print management and filter effects. Not enough to get me to ditch my copy of Photoshop CS5 as I'm so proficient in it, but a worthy competitor. It's still my first port of call though if I'm using CorelDraw to edit bitmaps as it's integrated into the package. Coupled with a Wacom type stylus pad it's also a powerful drawing tool in a manner similar to Corel Paint X2.
Corel® PowerTRACE(tm) X5 (Bitmap-to-Vector Tracing Tool). Does what it says, traces around bitmap raster objects to produce vector ones and is one reason why I own both Adobe Design Premium and CorelDraw Graphics Suite X5. Once your photo/design is converted to vector maps you can work on individual objects within the image.
Corel CAPTURE(tm) X5 (One-Click Screen-Capture Tool). Uses several methods to capture images from your computer screen. Not very well integrated into the suite, but it works faster than manual PrintScreen edits.
Corel® CONNECT (Built-In Content Organizer). Brand new addition to the Graphics suits and works a bit like Adobe Photoshop Elements's image database for locating files with suitable content for the design you are working on.
SWiSH miniMax(tm) 2 (Web Graphics Animation Tool). Flash creation software that aims to create Flash cartoons easier than Adobe Flash CS5. It's a cut-down version of SWiSH Max4 though and it took me a while to work out how to activate it on my main PC at home and work [CorelDraw X5 Graphics Suite does allow an install on both].
PhotoZoom Pro 2: PHOTO-PAINT (Plug-In to Enlarge Digital Images). Almost magically puts backs the detail when you enlarge. Impressive, but the latest version is 4 not 2 as here.
The only negatives with CorelDraw, other than it can't run on an Apple Mac, is that the packages aren't seamlessly integrated and the software can take an age to load on my 64-bit Windows 7 Intel quad core system with 12Gb RAM. Once it's loaded, it generally zips along happily enough although it still seems a tad more lethargic than my Adobe Photoshop/Illustrator CS5 apps. It also doesn't upgrade as slickly as Adobe/Serif software as a few manual clicks are required to find the patch, and I get the occasional error message more often that I'd like. Also being proficient in CorelDraw doesn't look as good on the CV as Adobe's omnipresent CS5 Design Studio, so professionals might need to know that as well, which really adds to the learning curve. But otherwise a powerful graphics design package for professionals and techie amateur/home users and students. CorelDraw also comes with a ton of useful fonts and images.
There's also the more expensive CorelDraw Premium Suite X5 that adds in website creation and video editing. Plus there's Corel's excellent `painting' software Corel Paint X2, that's also available with educational discounts.

 

CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X5 (Guidebook and DVD) (PC)