Corel PaintShop Pro X5 has been released and is designed to offer all the powerful editing and digital design tools needed to produce stunning images and professional works of art.

Corel has unveiled its latest version of PaintShop Pro. PaintShop Pro X5 includes updates and refinements to PaintShop’s most popular features, which include layer styles, brushes and high dynamic range (HDR) tools. It also boasts new creative tools that include retro lab, an instant effects palette and a graduated filter effect. Other social integration and organisational tools have also been added to enhance the user experience.

“Consumer needs have always been the driving force behind enhancements included in new releases of PaintShop Pro and X5 is the perfect example,” said Matt DiMaria, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Digital Media at Corel. “Our customers come from a wide variety of professions and creative backgrounds, so we’ve listened to their feedback and tailored and refined the new tools and updates in X5 to fit their specific needs. Thanks to the community’s involvement and support, we are confident that this release delivers a depth and range of features that make PaintShop Pro X5 a valuable and beneficial upgrade.”

Key Highlights of New and Enhanced Tools include:

Instant Effects palette: Includes a variety of pre-set effects and styles such as Artistic, Film, Black & White, and Landscape, plus users can create their own!
Retro Lab: Create and apply old-school color and contrast effects to photos to achieve a distinctive look inspired by early or toy cameras
High Dynamic Range tools: Create intense B&W contrast, easier photo alignment, and the application of pre-sets to HDR batch processing
Single RAW Photo: Allows users to create HDR results using a single RAW photo
Graduated Filter effect: Semi-transparent color gradients that simulate the effect of using different on-camera filters
Layer Styles: Includes the ability to apply styles such as drop shadow, glow and reflections directly from the Layers palette
Paint Brush: New Watercolor brush plus enhanced ability to import Adobe Photoshop brushes
Corel Guide: Built-in instructional videos, easy-to-follow tutorials and free downloadable content such as PictureTubes, picture frames, brushes, presets and more
Places: Maps photos to specific real-world locations that enable users to quickly view and search photos based on their geographical info
Share My Trip: Share your travel photos online with a slideshow that links photos directly to an interactive map
People: Face recognition technology that helps users identify and tag individuals for easier photo management and social sharing

PaintShop Pro X5 is available now in English, French, Italian, German and Dutch, and can be purchased as a boxed copy or as an electronic download (ESD) from www.corel.com or from Corel’s global resellers. Suggested retail pricing is £59.99. Users of PaintShop Pro X3 or higher are eligible for upgrade pricing of £44.99.

Also available is PaintShop Pro X5 Ultimate. This release combines all the powerful photo-editing and design tools of PaintShop Pro X5 with valuable creative extras. Users can explore their creativity with award-winning Nik Color Efex Pro 3.0 photographic filters, and REALLUSION FaceFilter Studio 2.0 portrait-enhancement tools. Also included is a collection of over 100 unique brushes, textures and royalty-free backgrounds.