Owners of CorelDraw Graphics Suite X3 or earlier will be able to claim £90 cashback on the £479 (incl. VAT) cost of a copy of the latest CorelDraw Graphics Suite X7. The same offer is available to owners of Abode's Creative Suite, Photoshop or Illustrator software from the CS4 release onwards.
The offer, which is open from today (4 August) until 30 November, is a deliberate attempt to capitalise on Adobe's decision to move to a cloud-based subscription model and to stop offering "perpetual licences" for new versions of its software.
Jo Levens, global director of marketing at Corel, said: "Not all designers, especially occasional users, are comfortable with paying for their software on a subscription basis. We're proud to continue offering a one-time payment for a perpetual licence of CorelDraw.
"Our special cashback promo and free web tutorial content make it easier than ever for users to make the switch from alternatives on the market."
Adobe's Creative Cloud subscription model requires users to pay relatively small monthly fees (anywhere from £15 to £56 a month) rather than a large upfront cost followed by upgrade fees running to hundreds of pounds every couple of years (the last CS Master Collection available on a perpetual licence cost £2,400 or £575 as an upgrade).
It was rolled out last summer, at which point Adobe stopped selling one-time licences for its products. While some printers welcomed the move, it was criticised by others, including FE Burman managing director Michael Burman, who described it as a "fait accompli".
"If I was a one-off user, like a student or a fashion designer, then it makes sense, but if you've already got Creative Suite, that's different," Burman told PrintWeek at the time.
"At present, we equip two or three Macs in our studio with the latest software, and the rest we only upgrade if we have to. But this effectively means I’ve now lost the choice, I’ve lost control, and that’s never a good place to be."
