Home and Student Edition of CorelDRAW X4 $99

November 24th, 2008 Val

If you’re looking for a great Christmas present for your favorite young graphic artist, check out the new CorelDRAW X4 Home and Student Edition for just $99 US. I just had a nice email chat with some folks at Corel – Gérard and John – to get my facts straight.

I believe this version is only available from certain large retailers in North America, but if you are here, it’s a bargain. You get a full working copy of CorelDRAW Graphics suite. The clipart and fonts have been pared down considerably, and there’s no paper manual, but at least for right now, VBA is enabled. Not only that, but you get a license to use the software on up to three computers.

What’s the catch? This version is just what it says. It’s meant for home and student use, so you can’t use it to create commercial artwork. Don’t think you’re going to grab it for cheap and use it in your print shop.

Let me clarify the differences between the Home and Student Edition and the Academic Version. Both contain the full program – at least at the moment. (Corel says they reserve the right to change their minds on that later, so get it now before they change their minds!) Neither one includes paper manuals. The manuals are included in PDF form on the disc, though. Neither one can be used for commercial purposes. The Academic version includes all the extras on the DVD and can only be used on one computer at a time. (The licensing for all those extras makes it more expensive.) The Home and Student edition has a more limited number of clipart, photos, and fonts. H&S can, however, be used on up to three computers in the same household so Sister, Brother, and Mom can all use it at the same time if they’ve all got computers powerful enough to run it. The Academic version is supposed to require proof that you are a student at an approved institution. The H&S version can be bought off the shelf no questions asked.

I applaud Corel for creating this version! I’ve used CorelDRAW for years at home to create all sorts of non-commercial products. It’s a wonderful program for students to use to create posters, flyers, newsletters cards, and even reports and presentations. Also, if students are learning to use CorelDRAW in the home, more folks will be interested in using it at work in the future.

I recommend checking the System Requirements for CorelDRAW X4 against your computer. X4 will run on Windows XP and Vista, but it needs a lot of RAM and a lot of video resources and a lot of hard drive space. I just don’t want you to go out and get a program you may not be able to use. Here are the requirements as listed on the Corel website. I’d say these are the absolute minimum and if you’ve got Vista, you need at least a GIG of RAM or three.

  • Windows Vista® (32-bit or 64-bit editions) or Windows® XP (with Service Pack 2 or later)
  • 512 MB of RAM, 430 MB of hard disk space
  • Pentium® III, 800 MHz processor or AMD Athlon™ XP
  • 1,024 × 768 or better monitor resolution
  • DVD drive
  • Mouse or tablet

Remember, if someone you know gets CorelDRAW for Christmas, send them my way to learn to use the program!

Have fun!

Val P.

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