Photography News - Corel Announces Corel® Paint Shop Pro® Photo XI

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Corel Announces Corel® Paint Shop Pro® Photo XI

Corel Corporation today announced the release of Corel® Paint Shop Pro® Photo XI, a major new product release from its award-winning digital imaging portfolio. The new flagship digital imaging software package continues the tradition of providing easy-to-use, professional-quality editing software at an affordable price. Paint Shop Pro Photo XI is a complete digital photography toolkit that allows users to edit, manage and share their photos as well as create stunning photo projects. This release offers a range of versatile new features and enhancements that meet the needs of novices, photo hobbyists and professional photographers alike. In addition, business users will also find Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo XI an ideal solution for editing and enhancing photos used in a variety of corporate communications materials such as presentations, technical documentation, marketing collateral and emails.

Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo XI is the only image-editing solution that meets the requirements of the entire spectrum of digital camera users. Easier to use and learn than comparable products, it allows novices to correct their photos with simple one-step fixes and generate impressive results immediately. In addition, it allows photo hobbyists to create dazzling photo projects and master the basics of image editing while easing into more advanced editing techniques as their skills progress. It also offers professional photographers a complete range of advanced image editing tools that give them unprecedented control as they edit their images—all at a much more affordable price than comparable products.

This release also offers several new features that are unique in the industry today including the Color Changer tool, the Time Machine and a built-in Photo Organizer. The new Color Changer allows users to change the color of an object or an area in a photo - such as clothing, painted objects or carpets - with just a few easy clicks. The resulting color change is incredibly realistic and natural because the Color Changer tool detects and analyzes variations in brightness caused by real-world illumination and then reapplies the illumination to the new color to produce a highly realistic effect. The Time Machine lets users see what their photos would look like if they were taken in another era - such as the Roaring 1920s or the Swinging 1960s, among others. It replicates the process by which photos were developed in various ages of photography to recreate a highly realistic look. In addition, the built-in Photo Organizer is a unique, customizable one-stop photo management center that locates photos within seconds. The Photo Organizer is built right into Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo XI which ensures a complete, seamless workflow experience while eliminating the need to switch between different applications for editing and organizing.

“This new release builds on the great success of Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X which set the standard for ease-of-use and learning as well as discoverability of features. Based on user feedback, we’ve made major improvements to our award-winning integrated learning tools and photo adjustment features,” said Blaine Mathieu, General Manager of Corel’s Digital Imaging Business. “At the same time, we’ve added an array of new enhancement features such as the Color Changer and the Depth of Field Effect which lets users draw attention to a specific area of an image. And, we’ve added a full range of graphics, photo projects and picture frames that allow users to engage in creative projects such as scrapbooking and photo restoration.”

Setting the Standard for Ease-of-Use, Ease of Learning and Discoverability of Features
Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo XI allows users to reduce the time it takes to get impressive results through its highly intuitive Learning Center, a task-based menu that quickly allows novice users to become seasoned experts and experienced users to find key features quickly. Tools are intelligently organized by task within the Learning Center, enabling users of all skill levels to produce professional-looking results with no previous photo editing experience required. Ease-of-use is further enhanced through a series of one step photo fixes, which automatically adjusts the color balance, contrast, clarity and saturation of an image. A Smart Photo Fix feature analyzes a photo and suggests settings to auto-correct color, brightness, sharpness and saturation, all in one easy step while offering manual controls over specific picture adjustments for more advanced users. In addition, the product includes a free two-hour training CD, Getting Started With Paint Shop Pro Photo XI, which includes 32 different videos on a wide-range of photo editing topics to help users further accelerate their learning and achieve maximum results immediately.

Paint Shop Pro Photo XI also includes the new Corel® Snapfire™ Plus SE photo and video sharing software. Corel Snapfire Plus SE provides simple tools that allow users to create and share striking multimedia slide shows called Snapfire Shows, as well as create personal photo projects such as calendars, greeting cards, albums pages, certificates and more. Corel Snapfire Plus SE also includes a free 30-day preview of full Snapfire Plus features such as PhotoSafe™ backup, simple video editing, more project creation options and enhanced Snapfire Show capabilities. Once the preview is over, users can continue using Corel Snapfire to share, enhance and organize digital photos and videos.

“With Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo XI, Corel is addressing the myriad users who need sophisticated image editing made absolutely simple,” said Alexis Gerard, principal analyst with Future Image and chair of the 6Sight™ Future of Imaging conference. “The new Color Changer feature, for instance, will be extremely useful to a broad range of customers. Until now, comparable results were achievable only by graphics arts professionals, hobbyists, or others willing to invest in the necessary training. Corel has merged highly innovative digital image editing functionality that enables visual expression at a very high level, with a superior customer experience that guarantees ease-of-use and learning right out of the box.”

Pricing and Availability
Priced at $99.99 (US and Canada), Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo XI is available immediately through www.corel.com and in the coming weeks through Corel’s global channel partners. To learn more about Corel’s digital imaging portfolio or to download a free, fully functional trial version of Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo XI, please visit www.paintshopprophoto.com