Photoshop Vs Corel Draw

[crockett]

I am considering to buy Photoshop CS3 but before I fork out 650 US, I have a question

to which I could not find satisfying answers so far.

Years ago I have worked quite extensively with Corel Draw to create logos,

layouts for brochures, menues... etc., so basically creating vector graphics from

scratch. I understand that Photoshop is primarily for editing/enhancing digital images,

so my question is this: Does Photoshop also have the same extensive drawing capabilities

like Corel Draw or am I comparing apples and oranges here?

Thanks for any help.

[bino]

No- vector capabilites are very limited in Photoshop. You will need to look at Adobe Illustrator for this kind of functionality, which is their vector based imaging program.

[crockett]

Thanks bino. This means if I want both, image editing and vector graphics we

talk about some 1000 US here. Corel Draw is much cheaper, but are the image

capabilities in the included Corel Photo Paint comparable to Photoshop?

[Tywais]

As mentioned, Photoshop has basically not export support for vector graphics. You might want to consider the following for your raster based graphics and if it does what you want then just need to buy Corel Draw for the vector graphics. These are GPL (free) packages.

Gimp

GIMPShop A GUI version giving more a look and feel of Photoshop.

Wikis > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GIMP

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GIMPshop

[bino]

Dunno... never had enough experience with Corel to give you any insight. I've always been a Photoshop / Illustrator user. I like the huge range of "Plug-Ins" that are available for both applications, allowing you to do just about anything you can imagine. When you consider that the Adobe products are the choice of professionals, they gotta be pretty good. Like you say though- not cheap. I'm still using PS 7. Can't see spending the $$ to upgrade; it does everything I want... "comfortable" like an old pair of jeans!

Maybe someone else can give the Corel perspective....

[crockett]

Yes Tywais, I know Gimp but prefer to stick to the industry standard. If I go with Adobe all the way

as bino mentioned, the difference to combining Photoshop and Corel Draw is still 200 US.

I know that Corel can open, edit and save Photoshop files, but to completely eliminate any

compatibility issues, I think it is best best to use all Adobe.

[bino]

Even though I'm an Adobe user, I wouldn't say that Corel is bad software. I recently hired a guy to re-do all of the computer cut vynil stickers for my office windows. He was a whiz with Corel, and got everything exactly the way I wanted.

Photoshop may me more "powerful".. but there is definitely a steep learning curve to get the most out of it. I know that I haven't learned / used a significant amount of the features in my 5 year old version of Photoshop 7. If Corel has a more user friendly interface that lets you make better use of what features it does have, it may be the better deal in the end.

Furthermore, there are lots of free Adobe plug-ins available, but a lot of the really good ones are an additional cost.

I'd say it all boils down to whichever one meets your budget of course, and whichever one you can get the most out of / most user-friendly for you. I know that you can download a time limited trial from Adobe... and imagine that you can do the same with Corel. Or- get the "Pantip" version. Give them both a good test drive to see which one suits you best before you lay out the hard earned $$.

Edited November 9, 2007 by bino

[crockett]

Thanks again bino.

You are right. Corel Draw is not bad. As mentioned I have used it for a couple of years and liked it a lot.

Relatively easy to learn, very user friendly and also much cheaper than Photoshop and/or Illustrator.

The reason why I actually started this topic, is that I might want to use this professionally in the future

(after mastering the learning curve) and since Adobe is the industry standard, it could be well worth to invest

more in the software. What do you think?

[Tywais]

and since Adobe is the industry standard, it could be well worth to invest

more in the software. What do you think?

I'm an adobe person myself so maybe a little biased, currently using Photoshop CS3. I have also used Corel Draw in the past when I needed vector graphics, but have other solutions for my specific applications. If you can afford it, then Illustrator with Photoshop I feel is the best way to go. They both are rated at the top of the professional lists for raster & vector and you will have products supported by a single company. Both highly expandable also. If you still feel more comfortable with Corel Draw or finances are tight, I would still recommend Photoshop as the raster program for professional use.

[nullx8]

corel vs photoshop ??

well .. its same ask for Volkswagen Vs Bmw ;-)

[Guest Reimar]

corel vs photoshop ??

well .. its same ask for Volkswagen Vs Bmw ;-)

No, you can't compare that way!

Corel Draw is an high end graphic Drawing program while Adobe Photoshop is an high end Phot Editor.

The best would be the combination to be found in Adobe Premium Suite CS 3 and you have all what you need in one suite! All files are interchangeable! And you've Raster and Vector graphics! And one more: you can use and save all file in PC and/or Mac format's!

[bino]

Like Tywais- I'm probably biased also.

I'd say that it is a purely personal judgement call. If you want to make the investment and spend the time upgrading your knowledge to photoshop / illustrator at a professional level, you won't go wrong. However... the guy I hired to do my windows makes his living with Corel, and delivered the goods. So- if you are more proficient and comfortable with Corel, your business might be better for it because you can do jobs quickly and easily with it.

The Volkswagen vs. BMW comparison has some validity in my biased opinion, but in reality your customers probably won't care which software you use. If I hire a courier to deliver a package across the city, I don't care what he drives, as long as my package gets to its destination on time and at a reasonable price. In fact, if the BMW driving courier charges more to cover his higher costs, I'd likely consider the Volkswagen guy even more seriously!

[JustAnotherFarang]

Corel Draw is for the enthusiast and not the general computer hobbyists. It takes some time to learn and a whole load of creativity to create things from scratch using shapes and then manipulate them but the finished product and output are vastly superior to Photoshop. As for Adobe Illustrator, I have never been impressed with it and would consider Corel Draw to be the industry standard for those who are really in the know.

I much prefer to design in Corel Draw and then export it, if neccesary, back into Photoshop. The photo finishers where I live have heard of Corel Draw but have no idea how to use it so the only way for them to print out my work is if I export it and then save using Photoshop....... works perfectly everytime

JAF

[crockett]

Thanks for all your opinions.

I have just downloaded the trial version of Corel Graphics Suite X3 and took a quick peek.

Amazing! I immediately found my way around, and this after last using version 8 many years ago.

Thus, the time required to get up to date with the new version would be minimal = fast results.

But I also agree with bino and Tywais that it is a matter of personal judgement.

So, I feel comfortable with Corel Draw, but bearing the professional use in mind,

I also think it would be a good choice to invest the learning time and money going

with Adobe.

Anyway, as bino suggested, I will give them all a good try and decide after that.

[Plus]

There's Open Source Inkscape answer to CorelDraw.

Gimp + Inkscape = Photoshop + CorelDraw, at least in theory. As a home user I find Gimp to be adequate and it is VERY fast to load and use.

[crockett]

I much prefer to design in Corel Draw and then export it, if neccesary, back into Photoshop. The photo finishers where I live have heard of Corel Draw but have no idea how to use it so the only way for them to print out my work is if I export it and then save using Photoshop....... works perfectly everytime

JAF

This is exactly what I have experienced and makes me worried. Most photo finishers and printers work with Photoshop

and can't handle Corel Draw. But on the other hand, if exporting to and saving in Photoshop works fine this should be

no issue.

[crockett]

There's Open Source Inkscape answer to CorelDraw.

Gimp + Inkscape = Photoshop + CorelDraw, at least in theory. As a home user I find Gimp to be adequate and it is VERY fast to load and use.

Sure, there is always free alternatives but I must admit, I am generally not a big fan of open source software although I use

some of it myself (Firefox, TrueCrypt, VirtualDub). While these are great programs, I still think the general problem with most open source software is that there is no focused development because too many people can and do muddle around with it.

As the saying goes... too many cooks make a shitty soup

[crockett]

The best would be the combination to be found in Adobe Premium Suite CS 3 and you have all what you need in one suite! All files are interchangeable! And you've Raster and Vector graphics! And one more: you can use and save all file in PC and/or Mac format's!

Yes Reimar this would be another option, but is even more costly (1,200 US for the standard version ).

On top of that, I do not need all of the applications combined in the suite.

[briley]

CorelDraw comes with photopaint that will work with images.

Probably Photopaint is not as good as photoshop in the range of things that can be done but it still covers an amazing amount of ground.

[Plus]

There's Open Source Inkscape answer to CorelDraw.

Gimp + Inkscape = Photoshop + CorelDraw, at least in theory. As a home user I find Gimp to be adequate and it is VERY fast to load and use.

Sure, there is always free alternatives but I must admit, I am generally not a big fan of open source software although I use

some of it myself (Firefox, TrueCrypt, VirtualDub). While these are great programs, I still think the general problem with most open source software is that there is no focused development because too many people can and do muddle around with it.

As the saying goes... too many cooks make a shitty soup

You have made up your mind already, but generally I think people who release open source programs have a very good idea what they want. They don't need to incorporate EVERY single modification. If some other cook insists on being included, he can always create his own release. That's what they do with Linux distributions.

[crockett]

You have made up your mind already, but generally I think people who release open source programs have a very good idea what they want. They don't need to incorporate EVERY single modification. If some other cook insists on being included, he can always create his own release. That's what they do with Linux distributions.

Point taken, Plus. But yes, I have made up my mind and especially in this case, I prefer to go with commercial software.

[Firefoxx]

I've seen a lot of very complicated and good work done on Corel Draw, which was comparable to any work done on Illustrator. Of course, if you want true integration, you'd have to go with a suite. Thing is, Adobe products are really expensive, and you'd have to re-learn the stuff you already knew about Draw. Either that or Draw and Paint.