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We Prefer the Mac! Back to Software Supported Page Since the beginning of artwork in the electronic age (desktop publishing), the Macintosh has been the INDUSTRY STANDARD. Service bureaus, output devices, printers, color separators, graphic software programs, publications, advertising agencies and artists ALL used the Mac. The way the Macintosh handled the postscript language (used in the best graphic software, hardware and postscript fonts), no other platform could come close to the quality the Macs were churning out. The operating system was simple to use and understand and everything worked. Peripheral devices were truly Plug-n-Play (unlike the PC's plug-n-PRAY). Then came Windows. The PC's were now easier to use because, like the Macs, they had a What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get (WYSIWYG pronounced "wizzy-wig") Desktop. Because the PC's were so much cheaper than the Mac, the general public were more likely to buy an IBM clone. Needless to say, the software and hardware companies started favoring the PC Windows platform when developing new products. As a result, PC Windows made it easier and more affordable for the average Joe to design, create, and printout his own artwork without having to depend upon or pay an advertising agency or graphic artist to do it for him. Software developers made templates, plug-ins, and filters to do alot of the special effects and layouts that only trained artist could do before. Because of this, most of the artwork that we receive are formated for the PC. The most popular program is CorelDRAW. Instead of buying 3 or 4 different programs, someone can achieve similar effects using this ONE program. The PC has come a long way. All the major Graphic & Desktop Publishing PC programs are now at the same versions as the Mac versions. So why do we prefer the Mac? The bottom line is the MACINTOSH STILL HANDLES GRAPHICS BETTER. We use both platforms here at Steven Label, but we have little if no problems at all when using Mac programs (the same cannot be said for PC programs). Printing a page from your personal computer to your inkjet printer is definitely not the same thing as outputting high-resolution film to make screens and plates for printing presses. We output film from a SCREEN USA DT-R1065 Imaging Unit which is hooked up to a PowerMac using a Macintosh-based RIP Software. In order to output film for the jobs done on the PC, we have found that we have the least amount of problems when we export them as Encapsulated Postscript (EPS) files and import them into one of our Mac programs before sending them to the RIP. If there is a font problem, we have to convert the text to paths before sending it. When working with the Macintosh, we can send it directly to the RIP with hardly a hitch. So as you can see, even though we CAN create film from either platform, it's much easier and there's less hassle when we do it from the Mac. Back to top of page |
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