Hi guys,
I am going to be printing mugs, i am unsure which software to buy Corel draw or Adobe.
I also want to know if any of the above have a template for inserting your image on to a mug size template ie to see how the photo or image will look before printing and to get approval from customer.
Sorry as you have probably gathered i am a novice at this, I hope i have expained myself clearly.
Given the choice I think I'd recommend adobe photoshop (you can buy a cheaper version called elements as well).
Reason for this is that many templates, especially mugs, have templates in psd format (photoshop). Paul on the forum as a website dedicated to mug templates as well as other templates. I'm sure he'll post his direct link here if asked
I use both but prefer CorelDraw most of the time. I find it a lot easier for manipulating the graphic and also prefer the colour management. I guess it depends which program your most comfortable with, if you've never used either then I would have though Corel was the way to go.
You can open psd files straight into Corel as well.
I send a jpeg proof to some customers for approval, you can just draw a rectangle in Corel and use the insert powerclip feature.
Photoshop is better for photo manipulation etc. which is why I sometimes use it to get everything right but I still export into Corel for printing.
Hi Guys
Thanks for your responces, do I buy the latest software ie Adobe photoshop cs5 or corel draw x5 or are the earlier programes as good.
This really has driven me round the bend trying to understand and make the correct decision.
Thanks again
Pete
As Martin mentioned, you can use Photoshop Elements which is a great buy. I think Corel v10 onwards is supported and you may be able to pick this up for a decent price on eBay etc.
I don't know if anyone has tried it or has really looked at Serif's Photo Plus X4 & their Draw Plus X4 but both are very powerful imaging suites. You can use PSD files in them by importing & exporting which I have found very useful. You can also get the resource & user guides for them too which are brilliant to learn how to use the various tools etc. To use they are very similar to the full blown Photo Shop for just a fraction of the price. I get regular calls from Serif as I have been using a lot of their softweare for a number of years now. On one call they told me that they now have the same people who worked for Adobe developing Photo Shop & that is why their imaging suites are so similar to Photo Shop. They also said the development team had been given free rein to do what they wanted which Adobe hadn't done until now.
I use Photo Plus X3 to produce my images etc & then I use Corel Draw to print them out. I find this make life quite easier for me & I have been stunned with some of the text effects I have got with Serif. Also Serif do have some good tutorials on You Tube too which comes in quite useful.
I've just bought the latest Photo Plus X4 & it comes with Panorama Plus where you can create 360 degree panoramas. They also threw in Vertus Fluid Mask for cut outs & Photo Zoom. They also threw in a 4GB memory stick too & all this is a fraction of the price of CS5.
I'm not trying to advertise & I apologise if anyone thinks I'm doing that but, I think we all need to know other alternatives that are out there at a much lower cost.
As I said I still use Corel Draw to print with & I also use CS3 too but, it is nice to have a choice when you need to put images together.
