Newest Release of Award-Winning Suite Delivers Major Workflow Enhancements, Online Collaboration Tools and Expanded Resources to Inspire and Guide Users
Ottawa, ON – January 22, 2008 – Corel Corporation (NASDAQ: CREL; TSX: CRE), a leading developer of graphics, productivity and digital media software, today unveiled the newest version of its award-winning graphics suite, CorelDRAW® Graphics Suite X4. With more than 50 new and significantly enhanced features, CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4 provides users with the tools, resources and confidence to tackle a wide variety of projects - from logos and Web graphics, to multipage brochures, to high impact signage and digital displays. New text and page-layout enhancements, market-leading file format compatibility, and an expanded collection of high-quality content make this powerful suite the ultimate design partner, helping users turn inspiration into stunning results.
A comprehensive suite of intuitive page-layout, illustration, photo-editing, and bitmap-to-vector tracing applications, CorelDRAW Graphics Suite is the trusted choice of millions of professional and aspiring designers worldwide. The latest version of the suite includes new tools designed to fuel the creative process, simplify project management, and optimize the graphic design workflow. “As we developed the newest version of CorelDRAW Graphics Suite, we consulted with users from a wide variety of industries. We sat with them to observe how they worked, gathering their feedback on how we could create an even better user experience,” said Gérard Métrailler, Director, Product Management, Graphics at Corel. “The end result is CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4 - a suite that provides users with easy-to-use tools that deliver outstanding results, while also having a dramatic and positive impact on their day to day productivity”.
Delivering a Superior User Experience Through Improved Usability, Enhanced Interactivity, and Streamlined Workflow
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4 features more than 50 new and significantly enhanced features, including:
• New! Live text formatting: CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4 introduces live text formatting, allowing users to preview text formatting options before applying them to a document. With this time-saving feature, users can now preview many different formatting options, including fonts, font size, and alignment, removing the “trial-and-error” typically associated with the design process.
• New! Font identification: CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4 now integrates with WhatTheFont™, the online font identification service from MyFonts.com. Users can save time by quickly identifying the font used in existing bitmap designs, artwork or other images received from clients.
• New! Independent page layers: Users can now control and edit layers independently for each page of a document, reducing the occurrence of pages with empty layers. Users can also add independent guidelines for individual pages and master guidelines for an entire document. This gives users the ability to create different layers on a page-specific basis, unconfined by a single document structure.
• New! Interactive tables: The new, interactive Table tool in CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4 lets users create and import tables to provide a powerful, structured layout for text and graphics. Users can easily align, resize, or edit tables and table cells to suit their designs. In addition, users can convert delimited text and easily add and adjust images in individual cells.
• Enhanced! Windows Vista® integration: CorelDRAW Graphics Suite is the only professional graphics suite Certified for Windows Vista®. CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4 has been designed to take advantage of the latest innovations from Windows Vista, while still offering a superior experience for Windows® XP users. CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4 integrates with the desktop search capabilities of Windows Vista directly from within the Open and Import dialog boxes, enabling users to search for files by author, subject, file type, date, keywords, or other file properties. Users can also easily add their own keywords, ratings or other notes when saving files in order to better organize their projects.
• New! CorelDRAW® ConceptShare™ integration: The new CorelDRAW® ConceptShare™ docker, accessible from within CorelDRAW Graphics Suite, integrates a valuable online collaboration tool directly within the user workflow. In a Web-based environment, CorelDRAW ConceptShare lets users share their designs and ideas with colleagues or clients in real time. Users can easily create multiple workspaces, upload their designs, and invite others to provide feedback or submit their own ideas without sending large files over email.
• New! File format support: CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4 maintains its position as market leader in file format compatibility by adding support for Microsoft® Office Publisher. Users can also expect seamless compatibility with Microsoft Word 2007, Adobe Illustrator® Creative Suite® 3, Adobe Photoshop® CS3, PDF 1.7 (Adobe® Acrobat® 8), AutoCAD® DXF™ and AutoCAD® DWG™, and Corel Painter™ X, making it easier than ever to exchange files with clients and colleagues.
• New! Professionally designed templates: CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4 includes 80 professionally designed and customizable templates, giving users a springboard to the design process. Flexible and easy to customize, the templates are accompanied by Designer Notes that provide information on the design choices made for the template, tips for outputting a design based on the template, and instructions for customizing the template while still adhering to design principles.
• New! Specialized fonts: An extended selection of new fonts in CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4 helps users ensure their output is optimized for its intended audience. This specialized collection of fonts includes single-line engraving fonts and OpenType® cross-platform fonts, which offer enhanced language support for Latin, Greek, and Cyrillic outputs in WGL4 format.
• New! Welcome screen: With a new Welcome screen, CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4 provides users with a centralized location to access recently used documents, templates, and learning tools, which include Tips & Tricks and video tutorials. To inspire users, the Welcome screen also includes a gallery that showcases designs created by CorelDRAW Graphics Suite users from around the world.
New Additions to Corel PHOTO-PAINT®
• New! RAW camera file support: Corel PHOTO-PAINT® now includes support for RAW camera file formats, enabling users to import RAW camera files directly from their digital camera. With support for approximately 300 different camera types and interactive controls that provide real-time previews, users can view file properties and camera settings, adjust image color and tone, and improve image quality, all from within Corel PHOTO-PAINT X4 and CorelDRAW X4.
• New! Straighten image: Using Corel PHOTO-PAINT, users can quickly and easily straighten images that were scanned or photographed at an angle. With interactive controls, a grid with vertical and horizontal guidelines, and an integrated histogram that provides results in real time, PHOTO-PAINT makes it easier than ever to straighten crooked images. In addition, users can choose to have their images automatically cropped.
• Enhanced! Tone Curve adjustments: With the enhanced Tone Curve dialog box, Corel PHOTO-PAINT X4 users can adjust their images with greater precision. With an integrated histogram, users now receive real-time feedback as they make adjustments to their images. In addition, the new Eyedropper tool lets users pinpoint specific color locations on the tone curve of their image, as well as select, add, or delete nodes along the tone curve.
“With the release of CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4, Corel continues to set the industry standard for graphics power, ease-of-use and productivity,” said Ariel Garaza Diaz, Professor and Expert in Graphic Design and Prepress, Madrid, Spain. “Adding innovative features like live text formatting and providing support for an even wider variety of file formats further demonstrates Corel’s commitment to providing users with superior performance, value and productivity.”
What Is Included with CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4 continues to offer the industry’s best combination of usability, performance, and price. The latest version of the award-winning suite includes the following core applications and content:
• CorelDRAW® X4: An intuitive vector-illustration and page layout application, CorelDRAW X4 delivers results fast, whether users are creating a company logo or working to meet demanding production schedules.
• Corel PHOTO-PAINT® X4: Corel PHOTO-PAINT is a professional image-editing application that lets users quickly and easily retouch and enhance photos. It is specifically designed for use in a graphics workflow.
• Corel® PowerTRACE™ X4: Professional designers often receive poor-quality bitmap images from clients and face the challenge of turning these bitmaps into high-quality vector images for business cards, brochures, signs, or other promotional items. Corel PowerTRACE X4 solves this problem by letting users quickly and accurately convert bitmaps into editable vector graphics.
• Corel CAPTURE™ X4: A one-click screen-capture utility, Corel CAPTURE X4 lets users capture images from an application or the Internet.
• CorelDRAW® Handbook - Insights from the Experts: The new CorelDRAW Handbook features the designs of accomplished CorelDRAW experts. Providing step-by-step guidance and design insights, experts from a variety of industries demonstrate the power and versatility of CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4.
• Training videos: CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4 includes two hours of training videos on DVD. Topics include illustration, design, and image-editing fundamentals, industry-specific design principles, and output details for various media, such as print or the Web.
• CorelDRAW® community site: Accessible from within the application, the CorelDRAW.com community site gives users a place to meet, share information and learn from other users. Combining forums, blogs, galleries, and other resources, CorelDRAW.com is a valuable source of information and inspiration for professional designers and occasional graphics users alike.
• Increased content with more than 10,000 handpicked, high-quality clipart and digital images: CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4 includes 4,000 new images, 1,000 professional, high-resolution digital photos, 1,000 OpenType® fonts - content worth thousands of dollars if purchased separately. The suite also includes a printed User Guide, Digital Content Guide, and a Quick Reference Card to help new users get started quickly.
For more information on CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4 or to download a full-featured, free trial version, please visit your local www.corel.com web site.
About CorelCorel is a leading developer of graphics, productivity and digital media software with more than 100 million users worldwide. The Company's product portfolio includes some of the world’s most popular and widely recognized software brands including CorelDRAW® Graphics Suite, Corel® Paint Shop Pro® Photo, Corel® Painter™, Corel DESIGNER®, Corel® WordPerfect® Office, WinZip®, WinDVD® and iGrafx®. Designed to help people become more productive and express their creative potential, Corel’s software strives to set a higher standard for value with full-featured products that are easier to learn and use. The industry has responded with hundreds of awards recognizing Corel’s leadership in software innovation, design and value.
Corel’s products are sold in more than 75 countries through a well-established network of international resellers, retailers, original equipment manufacturers, online providers and Corel’s global websites. The Company’s headquarters are located in Ottawa, Canada with major offices in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, China, Taiwan, and Japan. Corel’s stock is traded on the NASDAQ under the symbol CREL and on the TSX under the symbol CRE. www.corel.com
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© 2008 Corel Corporation. All rights reserved. Corel, CorelDRAW, Corel PHOTO-PAINT, PowerTRACE, Corel CAPTURE, Paint Shop Pro, Painter, Corel DESIGNER, WordPerfect, WinZip, iGrafx, InterVideo, WinDVD, Ulead, and the Corel logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Corel Corporation and/or its subsidiaries. All other product names and any registered and unregistered trademarks mentioned are used for identification purposes only and remain the exclusive property of their respective owners.