Corel's Paint Shop'TM' Pro'R' Has Best Quarter Ever

Business Wire, Feb 15, 2005

OTTAWA -- Award-winning Software Closes Banner Year with Record-setting Quarter; New Distribution Agreements and OEM Partners Point to Strong Performance in 2005

Corel Corporation today announced that Paint Shop(TM) Pro(R) recently celebrated its strongest quarter ever, delivering the best single quarter sales performance in the product line's history. Sales of the award-winning photo editing software jumped 30% over the product's last record breaking quarter, which occurred in 2000. With awards from some of the industry's most influential sources and additional investments from Corel, the Paint Shop family is set to expand its footprint in the digital photography market, through new distribution agreements, expanded OEM partnerships, and a commitment to ongoing customer research and interaction.

Corel will present its newly expanded portfolio of digital photography and imaging software, including Paint Shop Pro, at PMA in Orlando from February 20-23, 2005 (Booth # 2463). With the addition of the Paint Shop family, Corel now offers users a full lineup of digital photography and imaging software solutions, opening up new creative possibilities for customers of all skill levels, whether they're a first time digital camera user, a dedicated hobbyist, or an industry professional.

Setting a New Standard

Launched in September 2004, Paint Shop Pro 9 continues to set the standard for powerful, efficient, and affordable professional photo editing software. Providing digital photographers, graphics hobbyists, and business professionals with award-winning tools for professional photo editing, Paint Shop Pro 9 enables users to persuasively communicate their ideas and express their individual creativity.

New in Version 9 are professional-strength photo editing filters that reduce the time spent producing the results photographers demand. These tools include the Chromatic Aberration Removal Filter, Noise Removal Filter, and the Fill Flash and Backlighting Filters. In addition, with the inclusion of technology from Bibble Labs (www.bibblelabs.com), Paint Shop Pro 9 supports raw camera images from digital camera manufacturers including Canon, Fuji, Kodak, Minolta, Nikon, Olympus, and Pentax, allowing users to set custom white balance, exposure, and sharpening levels when converting raw camera images.

Providing users with unmatched levels of control and flexibility, Paint Shop Pro 9 has attracted considerable recognition, winning industry praise for its power and versatility. Recent awards include:

- PC Magazine - Best of the Year - December 28, 2004
- Presentations Magazine - Standing Ovation Award - December 2004
- SmallBusinessComputing.com Excellence in Technology Award - January
  2005

"Our goal with Paint Shop Pro 9 is to provide users with professional image editing software that is also affordable and very easy to use," said Michael Greenhalgh, Product Line Manager for the Paint Shop family. "We're very pleased with the response so far, and with Corel's continued investments and strong commitment to customer driven product development, I am confident that we'll attract many more new customers and partners to the Paint Shop fold."

Among the new partners embracing the Paint Shop product line is D&H Distributing, one of the largest wholesale distributors of computer, photographic, and consumer electronics products in the United States. For the first time, D&H resellers and dealers will have access to the award-winning Paint Shop lineup, including Paint Shop(TM) Photo Album(TM), Paint Shop(TM) Pro(R) Studio and, the family's flagship, Paint Shop Pro. Recently named Best Distributor at the 2004 RAM Awards, D&H is noted for its multi-market expertise and its ability to provide a one-stop resource for IT and consumer electronics solutions.

"The Paint Shop family is highly regarded in the digital photography industry for its professional photo editing capabilities, ease-of-use, and competitive price point," said Rob Eby, Director of Purchasing at D&H Distributing. "We are pleased to add this award-winning lineup to our portfolio of Corel solutions since we're confident it will help our customers build even more business in the rapidly expanding and very lucrative digital photography market."

Corel at PMA

Corel will demonstrate its entire portfolio of digital photography and imaging software at PMA in Orlando from February 20-23, 2005 (Booth # 2463). For more information on PMA, please visit www.pma2005.pmai.org.

Product Pricing and Availability

Paint Shop Pro 9, Paint Shop Pro Studio, and Paint Shop Photo Album 5 are available through selected resellers and retailers. MSRP is $129 US for Paint Shop Pro, $69 US for Paint Shop Pro Studio, and $49 US for Paint Shop Photo Album 5. Dealers may sell for less.

To download a free, full-featured trial version of the software, please visit www.jasc.com. For more information on Corel Corporation, please visit www.corel.com.

About Corel

Corel Corporation provides innovative software solutions that help millions of value-conscious businesses and consumers in over 75 countries improve their productivity. The Company is renowned for its powerful software portfolio that combines innovative photo editing and graphics creation, vector-illustration and technical-graphics applications along with office and personal productivity solutions. Corel's flagship products include the CorelDRAW(R) Graphics Suite, the WordPerfect(R) Office Suite, the Corel Painter Natural-Media(R) painting and illustration software and the Paint Shop(TM) Family of digital photography and image-editing software.