Corel Graphics Suite X6 – Product Review
September 2012, As a longtime Corel user (1995), I was interested to see what the latest release would include. The CorelDRAW X6 suite includes Bitstream Font Navigator, Capture, Photo-Paint, Draw and now Website Creator (as an optional download). As always, Corel is for Windows-based systems only and now with the release of X6 supports native 64 bit and multicore machines.
Corel Draw X6 Graphics Suite
First off, CorelDRAW, the vector illustration portion of the X6 suite has some nice improvements as well as some new features. The object properties docker now groups object settings in one location increasing usability and making design changes faster. Another change to a docker is the Hints docker which now has available, videos explaining the simpler as well as the complex functions of DRAW.
DRAW now incorporates four new features: Smear, Twirl, Attract, and Repel that allow the user to manipulate vector objects and specific nodes in unique and creative ways. When testing these new tools with a pen tablet, I found that they respond well to pen pressure and allow for faster more fluid transformations of vector shapes and result in cleaner modifications than would point-by-point manipulation. The Text tool now has increased support of OpenType and Unicode for alternate character sets and languages and is now available through the revamped Object Properties docker.
Corel has also added interactive placeholder frames for both text and pictures. The modified Powerclip is easy and quick to use, far out performing the previous versions. I found this feature especially useful in doing mock layouts of magazine articles and brochures. Other features in DRAW are improved alignment guides, page numbering, and increased flexibility of master layers.
Some features newly added to CorelDraw are reminiscent of Ventura Publisher that Corel purchased in the mid 1990’s.
Corel X6 Color Harmonies Interface
Object styles and color styles are new panels that allow you to easily create and manage text and graphic styles throughout the document. The favorite of these is the Harmonies, where you can set up a color palette in a document, and as you move through the color wheel the relative contrast level of colors remains while the individual colors change instantaneously throughout the document.
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X6 turns Corel’s vector art app and image editing tool into programs with much greater functionality. New features upgrade the suite to make it more usable for graphic designers who work in a number of different mediums, including page design and Web design.
Corel Smart Carver Tool
PhotoPaint’s main new feature is Smart Carver, which allows you to remove objects or areas and change the aspect ratio of the picture without destroying or distorting any of the main subjects. The process for Smart Carver is extremely simple and effective. Paint over the object you’d like to remove, run Smart Carver, and upon completion, the object is no longer there. The technique works extremely well on isolated objects on a relatively uniform backgrounds. This process is very similar to Photoshop’s “content-aware fill.” The difference with Corel’s tool is that you delete not only the object, but the space taken up by that object as well without destroying the aspect ratio of the remainder of the image.
Corel Connect, originally introduced in X5, now supports multiple trays in X6. The trays appear at the bottom of the screen as tabs, which can be renamed in order to allow more effective searches. This tool is particularly handy to organize and manage clip-art, photos and fonts. Connect allows you to search not only through the suite, but also online image sources such as Fotolia, iStockphoto and others. Images can then be selected and dragged onto these trays which are available on both PhotoPaint and DRAW .
Last but not least Corel has updated their import/export filters to make working with .ai, .eps and .pdf files easier. Web Creator X6 is now available to all users of the suite as a download upon registration, and contains dozens of site templates and styles to aid non-coders in web design.
The improvements and performance of the Corel X6 tools make the package a definite “must have” for the content design and graphics world. It has a clean and smooth interface with the Wacom Intuos tablets that greatly enhances content creation. While supporting a different workflow from the Adobe tools, it is best used in a supplementary fashion to enhance the creative tools available to the designer. As a standalone tool kit, the package is very complete and provides full design capabilities for those who are familiar with their flow. The tools fit best in a multi-vendor flow, as there are a large number of steps that optimized and faster with Corel just as there are for Adobe users in an alternate flow. The use of both tools, allows the designers the largest creative flexibility and a method to produce results in the shortest amount of time.
