Corel Draw 9.0

Graphics design suite including Corel Draw, Corel Photo Paint, and much more.

Thinking back on my previous reviews of Corel Draw, I realize that those reviews have always been biased. I have been using various incarnations of Corel Draw since version 3 and had very limited exposure to any other vector based products. On the raster side of the equation, most of my experience is with Adobe PhotoShop. Having said that, I will attempt anew to give a fair evaluation of Corel Draw 9 suite of vector and raster products.

Corel Draw has had a long and distinguished history as the professional graphics application of choice on the PC. Until the Mac-based flagships Macromedia FreeHand and Adobe Illustrator shifted focus onto the Windows platform, it was effectively the only professional graphics application for the PC. Draw took full advantage of its head-start introducing advanced features, such as multiple page layouts, enveloping, blending and graduated transparency, to leave the competition trailing. Time has passed and now the race is a dead heat.

Corel 9 (Academic Version) comes on three CDs, containing Corel Draw, Photo Paint, plus a host of utility programs, clipart, textures and so on. All applications share a similar look and feel. There are also a surprising number of similar tools, despite the different nature of the applications (bitmap, vector , etc.). In fact, it is not always a simple decision as to which package to use for a particular task, as there may be several ways of achieving the same objective. Although it is technically a drawing package, I have always viewed Corel Draw as a graphics integration tool since you can use it for page layout, for combining bitmap and vector images with text in a single document and numerous other non-drawing tasks. As the program has evolved, more and more non-drawing features have been added.

The Corel 9 suite has matured and become more refined and is a powerhouse! The programs included offers a myriad of features, yet are not totally overwhelming. The focus of this review is on Corel Draw and Corel Photo Paint, although there is a ton of included graphics and other goodies within the package.

There really isn't very much that you can't do with Corel 9.0. The integration of bitmap and vector editing is seamless thanks to the included Corel Photo Paint which can run from within Draw. Photo Paint has become a comprehensive bitmap editing package which ranks up there with any other package. Version 9 includes bitmap effects, PDF export functions,the ability to create HTML, and an upgrade patch available on corel.com provides file export in .SWF format ( Macromedia Flash). Those who work professionally in the print media will appreciate the program's palette editor, preflight testing, color management and imposition features. The included fonts, clipart and supplemental programs (Corel Script, Corel Capture, and Corel Trace) make the program a true bargain.

The two major applications within the suite are Corel Draw and Corel Photo Paint. Corel Draw is the vector based drawing package. There are three specific circumstances in which it is an especially useful tool.

First, is in the creation of highly complex drawings. Corel allows very fine control for creating objects. You have complete control over shape and positioning, aided by the ability to zoom in to ensure everything is pixel perfect. The control aspect is supplemented by a simple but highly effective set of tools and drawing primitives (circles, polygons, different types of pens, etc.). These let you create a rough shape with the desired drawing style, before fine tuning individual nodes and curves. One has the ability to join simple shapes together to create more complex ones, using the weld, join and intersection features. Corel drawings do not have to be just technical drawings, although this is an obvious example. It can actually be easier to build a picture using Corel Draw than to draw it in a paint package. For example, interactive tools allow object  properties such as fill to be controlled dynamically on the drawing. This is intuitive to use, powerful, and much faster than going back and forth with normal fill tools.

Second, is creations with extra punch. Corel has an impressive set of special effects. By combining some of these, it is possible to create impressive, eye catching designs. For example, the page logo above was created exclusively within Corel Draw. Because the graphic is a vector image and Corel Draw can now export to Flash format, the resulting Flash movie size is about 60K and was exported as a single unit. Had the intention been to animate the movie, each component could be exported from its layer individually. The only flaw in Corel's export to Flash is that Corel's "powerclip" function can't be used because it fails to hold the clipped object within the bounders of the powerclip when exported via the Flash export filter. I expect that problem has already been solved in Version 10, but not within the filter for Version 9.

Third, and in some ways most frequent, is in doing quick and simple things. Corel Draw is an excellent environment for assembling (as opposed to creating) artwork. You can quickly perform simple effects, import a 3D model, add a bitmap background - usually a high quality photo or some clip art - type in a message, and have a finished product ready for printing. Of course, this would be one hell of an expensive package just for making greeting cards in a jiffy! But it's a definite bonus.

Corel Photo Paint, on the other hand, is the bitmap painting package, designed primarily for touching up photographic material, as the name suggests. As I mentioned earlier, my primary bitmap tool is PhotoShop, but that is simply because of the comfort factor of constant use. In essence, there is very little difference between the product and anything that can be done in one, can be done in the other. Third party plugin that work in Photoshop, work in Photo Paint.

Working with scanned images (or photos from libraries) is a dream. There are a large number of effects that can be applied. All the normal controls over lighting etc. are available. All the effects that can be applied to the whole picture or to a selection are there, such as blurs, tints, ripples, and more. There are numerous ways in which pixels can be blended, smudged, smeared and otherwise manipulated. I found the new dodge and burn tools fabulous, although it takes some experimentation to get the best out of them. And there are drawing tools to represent natural materials - pens, pencils, paintbrushes, charcoal, crayon etc.

There is much more to this product than space will allow, so I will not attempt to cover a fraction of the features available. Choosing between this package and others is much a matter of experience, application, and price. If your focus is the print media where precision is the rule, then I would recommend this product, assuming no price difference. In the Web environment, I can't make a call as I still have little experience with new Adobe illistrator. I will say that I am very pleased with the upgrade items addressed in version 9. I have stuck with Corel this long, and can see no reason to jump ship.

Finally, check out corel.com for suggested retail price and then shop around the Web. Discounts from retailers can be significant.

PS: What I can say without any reservation, is that the graphic Corel displayed during installation in Version 8 has to be the most beautiful vector artwork I have ever seen. You have to see it to appreciate it. In Version 9 they display another, based upon the one in Version 8. Close, but it is difficult to improve on perfection.

For more details see their web page.