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This article is from August 12, 2014, and is no longer current.

Corel Offers Suite Alternative

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Reading through the comments on graphics forums (I know, I know: Don’t read the comments!) it’s clear that many designers still aren’t happy with the Adobe subscription model. There has been talk of doing without Adobe products which, to some, seems a daunting task. Well, Corel is hoping to lure away the subscriptionaphobes with their CorelDRAW® Graphics Suite X7. Included are apps for vector-based drawing/page layout, image editing, raster-to-vector tracing, website design, and an online collaboration tool.

At around $500 USD for the entire suite—boxed or downloaded—it certainly is a financially viable alternative to Adobe’s $50/month subscription price tag. Corel also offers a subscription model that costs half of the Adobe package ($25/month) and offers similar access to new features and free upgrades. Adobe’s suite has far more applications included, which makes it a better value for folks who will actually take advantage of all the Adobe suite has to offer. For those who only need the vector, page layout, and image editor, the Corel suite might be the better product.

Making such a radical transition can seem overwhelming, but Corel makes the jump as painless as possible by providing video tips and tutorials and even a way to mimic the look of an Adobe workspace within the suite. Most standard file types are supported, as are Adobe native formats, such as PSD and AI (no mention of INDD). Not having used Corel products in nearly two decades, I’d love to hear if you’ve used them recently and how they compare to the Adobe equivalents. Let me know in the comments!

 

Erica Gamet has been involved in the graphics industry for over 35 years. She is a speaker, writer, trainer, and content creator focusing on Adobe InDesign, Apple Keynote, and varied production topics. She is a regular presenter at CreativePro Week, regular contributor to CreativePro Magazine, and has spoken at Canada’s ebookcraft, Adobe MAX, and Making Design in Oslo, Norway. Find Erica online at the CreativePro YouTube channel, CreativeLive.com and through her own YouTube channel. When she isn’t at her computer she’s probably daydreaming about travel or living in a Nordic noir landscape.

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  • Guest says:

    At work, I’ve been pushing for alternatives to Adobe for a while now due to our budget restraints. Mostly, I’ve looked at Open Source but this Corel Suite may be the best alternative yet. One drawback may be whether our printer wil accept the files but I don’t think that should be too much of a problem. I would miss Adobe Acrobat, however.

  • Guest says:

    I miss CorelDraw. I found it much more intuitive than AI. But I haven’t used it in at least a decade, since Adobe took over the market. There were quite a few things it did better than Illustrator, even up to now. And AI still hasn’t figured out how to do a couple of things at all. Maybe Adobe’s gamble with the subscription model will put Corel back into the game. I hope so!

  • Ian M says:

    I currently use CorelDraw X6. I am also a former Adobe CS user having used CS, CS2, CS3 and CS4. I gave up on Adobe when the introduce their subscription only model.

    It was then a three way decision as to whether to choose Corel, Xara or Serif. I chose Corel as I had used CorelDraw 7, 9 and 12 previously. I actuall prefer CD to Illustrator for most work. That said, i do prefer the way Illustrator handles type adjustments such as leading and kerning. Then again, CD is a faster program and handles columns and graphics placement much better than Illustrator.

    Indeed, CD can in many instances replace InDesign. Its page layout capabilities have come a long way since I used CD 12.

    The main weak spots are probably PhorPaint which still lags behind Photoshop (although it is stiil a powerful prog in its own right) and the bundled web app Corel Website Designer which is not too great. If you use another web app, then CD is a perfect replacement for Aobe CS and an viable alternative to Adobe CC.

  • Fluk3 says:

    I’m as pissed at Adobe as anyone.But no Mac version> GTFO Corel Draw.Even when you had a Mac version, it was terrible.I spent 2 years at a job converting Windows .crd files to Mac .ai just so they could RIP to film!Easy to use? Maybe, but crap output for offset printing.

  • Paul says:

    Isn’t it about time that the latest iteration of the Corel Graphics Suite got reviewed? Or is this place owned by the increasingly awful Adobe Creative Cloud suite of applications?

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