74HC595 driving 12V RGB ledstrips

Do I have to use transitors for each R,G,B line of all the 5 ledstrips?

If using a 74HC595 then yes.

That would be 15 transistors on the pcb!

Yes.

s there a better solution?

Depends on how you define better, lower cost or lower component count?
What current does each of these strips take? That will determine your other choices.