Adding another workstation to prepress: Mac or Win?

Started by gnubler, February 13, 2012, 02:16:04 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Print
Go Down Pages1
User actions

gnubler

February 13, 2012, 02:16:04 PM
I've gotten word that we need to add another workstation to prepress (small dept with 2 operators). We're Mac based and all job files for the past decade or so are primarily Mac Adobe. Right now we're running CS4 on an adequate iMac and we have a crappy old Windows box used only for PDF'ing Word docs and such. The new system needs to play nice with the current Mac so 2 operators can pull files from a server or work on stuff on either machine and not have any major issues. We currently have another seat of CS3 that isn't being used (it was installed on another Mac we got rid of) so I presume that could be installed on a new Mac and possibly upgraded to CS5.

With this setup are we forced into getting another Mac or can this work with Windows? If we got a Windows box and wanted to upgrade the Mac CS3 seat to CS5 is Adobe gracious enough to allow an upgrade from Mac to Win?

Any recommendations on what type of system to get for low-end prepress? (specs, hardware, etc)

Also, should we buy RAM from Apple? Just wondering. :hello:
Hicks • Cross • Carlin • Kinison • Parker • Stone •  Colbert • Hedberg • Stanhope • Burr

"As much as I'd like your guns I prefer your buns." - The G

Quote from: pspdfppdfx on December 06, 2012, 05:03:51 PM
So,  :drunk3: i send the job to the rip with live transparecy (v 1.7 or whatever) and it craps out with a memory error.

Member #14 • Size 5 • PH8 Unit 7 • Paranoid Misanthropic Doomsayer • Printing & Drinking Since 1998 • doomed ©2011 david

Joe

#1
February 13, 2012, 02:24:19 PM Last Edit: February 13, 2012, 02:26:19 PM by Joe
The Creative Suite Serial numbers are tied to the OS meaning you can't use the Mac serial number to install CS3 on Windows. When you upgrade and install the new version it also asks for the serial number you are upgrading from so I doubt if a cross OS upgrade will work.

I think you would be better off buying a new Mac and buying a copy of Windows 7 and a copy of either VM Ware or Parallels to install Windows on. Then you can fire it up on the Mac when the need arises. You will need more ram to run two OS's at the same time so load up on all you can get. If money is not an issue and you would like to waste some go ahead and buy the memory from Apple.
Mac OS Sonoma 14.2.1 (c) | (retired)

The seven ages of man: spills, drills, thrills, bills, ills, pills and wills.

Farabomb

#2
February 13, 2012, 02:46:55 PM
Agree with Joe (except buying RAM from Apple). Get a Mac and install Win7 in a VM and be done with it.
Speed doesn't kill, rapidly becoming stationary is the problem

I'd rather have stories told than be telling stories of what I could have done.

Quote from: Ear on April 06, 2016, 11:54:16 AM
Quote from: Farabomb on April 06, 2016, 11:39:41 AMIt's more like grip, grip, grip, noise, then spin and 2 feet in and feel shame.
I once knew a plus-sized girl and this pretty much describes teh secks. :rotf:
They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.
         —Benjamin Franklin
My other job

Joe

#3
February 13, 2012, 02:49:11 PM
Quote from: Farabomb on February 13, 2012, 02:46:55 PMAgree with Joe (except buying RAM from Apple). Get a Mac and install Win7 in a VM and be done with it.

Just to be clear...I was not endorsing buying RAM from Apple.
Mac OS Sonoma 14.2.1 (c) | (retired)

The seven ages of man: spills, drills, thrills, bills, ills, pills and wills.

gnubler

#4
February 13, 2012, 02:53:28 PM
LOL.

So does anyone here work in a prepress with operators using both Mac & Win for live jobs? Issues? (other than fonts and text reflow)

I have little interest in giving money to Apple so am exploring other options, but seeing as we already have all the software for Mac it would probably come out costing more to set up a fresh Windows machine.
Hicks • Cross • Carlin • Kinison • Parker • Stone •  Colbert • Hedberg • Stanhope • Burr

"As much as I'd like your guns I prefer your buns." - The G

Quote from: pspdfppdfx on December 06, 2012, 05:03:51 PM
So,  :drunk3: i send the job to the rip with live transparecy (v 1.7 or whatever) and it craps out with a memory error.

Member #14 • Size 5 • PH8 Unit 7 • Paranoid Misanthropic Doomsayer • Printing & Drinking Since 1998 • doomed ©2011 david

Duffy

#5
February 13, 2012, 02:55:38 PM
Quote from: gnubler on February 13, 2012, 02:53:28 PMLOL.

So does anyone here work in a prepress with operators using both Mac & Win for live jobs? Issues? (other than fonts and text reflow)

I have little interest in giving money to Apple so am exploring other options, but seeing as we already have all the software for Mac it would probably come out costing more to set up a fresh Windows machine.

we change jobs between Mac and PC here all the time - you already hit the issues on the head. And the Mac guys get software way before the pc users because the pc's are supported by IT and the Macs are "self" supported.
Eyeballing shit is for titty-bars, NOT laying out files. DCS 7/12

gnubler

#6
February 13, 2012, 02:57:09 PM
Are those issues a major PITA? I'm guessing yes.
Hicks • Cross • Carlin • Kinison • Parker • Stone •  Colbert • Hedberg • Stanhope • Burr

"As much as I'd like your guns I prefer your buns." - The G

Quote from: pspdfppdfx on December 06, 2012, 05:03:51 PM
So,  :drunk3: i send the job to the rip with live transparecy (v 1.7 or whatever) and it craps out with a memory error.

Member #14 • Size 5 • PH8 Unit 7 • Paranoid Misanthropic Doomsayer • Printing & Drinking Since 1998 • doomed ©2011 david

DigiCorn

#7
February 13, 2012, 03:03:43 PM
Quote from: gnubler on February 13, 2012, 02:53:28 PMLOL.

So does anyone here work in a prepress with operators using both Mac & Win for live jobs? Issues? (other than fonts and text reflow)

I have little interest in giving money to Apple so am exploring other options, but seeing as we already have all the software for Mac it would probably come out costing more to set up a fresh Windows machine.
Definitely reflow. Our largest client uses Windows exclusively, and we have a few other Windows users. The rest is Mac... probably about a 50-50 split of my work. I will only run Mac jobs on Mac and only run Windows jobs in Windows. Seen weird things like rules/strokes shift (by the width of the stroke), tracking, leading and other reflow issues. Images are usually not problematic. OTF fonts, despite being advertised as bi-sexual, DO NOT display or print the same cross platform, but I haven't seen this issue with TT fonts.

I built our Windows box with some new parts from Fry's and some old parts lying around the shop. I went with Windows 7 and an i5 processor (at the time, it was about 1/2 the cost of the i7 because the local Fry's didn't have a lot of the different varieties in stock). I've gone AMD in the past, and to be honest, the Intel processor just performs better and there are fewer driver issues with the motherboard. I started with 8GB RAM (2x4GB) which allows me to add 8GB more later. You can never have too much RAM - max out the board if you can. Since all our files are on a server, (which when connected via afp works fine most of the time with Mac (sans a few long file name issues)), I opted for the cheaper 750GB hard drive to save money. I also skimped on the DVR burner and got an ASUS, which has been totally trouble free (I also have one at home). I also got a 1GB video card, but now I think you can get a 1.5 GB which I recommend. For CS5 you need Open GL 2.0 or above, which I think all video cards made now offer (when I built our box, you could still get lower versions). All-in-all I spent about $1100 to build it, which is about 1/2 the cost of a used Intel Mac 10.6 on eBay right now.

"There's been a lot of research recently on how hard it is to dislodge an impression once it's been implanted in someone's mind. (This is why political attack ads don't have to be true to be effective. The other side can point out their inaccuracies, but the voter's mind privileges the memory of the original accusation, which was juicier than any counterargument ever could be.)"
― Johnny Carson

"Selling my soul would be a lot easier if I could just find it."
– Nikki Sixx

"Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut."
― Ernest Hemingway

Joe

#8
February 13, 2012, 03:05:14 PM
Yeah, we use them both here as we still get a few Quark, PM, and Punisher files. I would advise against opening files that were created on one platform on the other platform. It's the devil at work when you try it.
Mac OS Sonoma 14.2.1 (c) | (retired)

The seven ages of man: spills, drills, thrills, bills, ills, pills and wills.

Duffy

#9
February 13, 2012, 03:07:54 PM
I get ALOT of Microsoft files so yes... but the pdf files have had not issue on either side... in fact we impose with Preps on PC's.  InD and Quak issues are not really that bad - as long as prefs are set the same... and the mac guys don't give you a file name 600 chars long, because they can!
Biggest thing is making sure you can see both on the server.
Eyeballing shit is for titty-bars, NOT laying out files. DCS 7/12

gnubler

#10
February 13, 2012, 03:09:03 PM
Thanks for the 411, Corn.

Anyone else here purchased a used Mac for production from somewhere other than Apple? (eBay, craigslist, whatever)
Hicks • Cross • Carlin • Kinison • Parker • Stone •  Colbert • Hedberg • Stanhope • Burr

"As much as I'd like your guns I prefer your buns." - The G

Quote from: pspdfppdfx on December 06, 2012, 05:03:51 PM
So,  :drunk3: i send the job to the rip with live transparecy (v 1.7 or whatever) and it craps out with a memory error.

Member #14 • Size 5 • PH8 Unit 7 • Paranoid Misanthropic Doomsayer • Printing & Drinking Since 1998 • doomed ©2011 david

DigiCorn

#11
February 13, 2012, 03:19:12 PM
We bought both our Mac workstations used and online. One off eBay and one from here: http://shop.poweron.com/
"There's been a lot of research recently on how hard it is to dislodge an impression once it's been implanted in someone's mind. (This is why political attack ads don't have to be true to be effective. The other side can point out their inaccuracies, but the voter's mind privileges the memory of the original accusation, which was juicier than any counterargument ever could be.)"
― Johnny Carson

"Selling my soul would be a lot easier if I could just find it."
– Nikki Sixx

"Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut."
― Ernest Hemingway

beck

#12
February 14, 2012, 07:09:40 AM
Quote from: gnubler on February 13, 2012, 03:09:03 PMThanks for the 411, Corn.

Anyone else here purchased a used Mac for production from somewhere other than Apple? (eBay, craigslist, whatever)
Yeah, we bought a few from http://www.powermax.com    Decent prices, great service.
Nevertheless....beck has hit the proverbial nail on the head.
Joe

Stiv

#13
February 14, 2012, 02:27:29 PM
I'm running Oracle VirtualBox on a 2.93GHz i7 10.6.8 without any complaints. No need for a separate Win box.

I'm not saying anything, but ...  :ninja:

Call Adobe and ask if you can run the same serial number on both systems until you get the answer you want, then get it in writing.

ddog

#14
February 15, 2012, 08:39:17 AM
Quote from: gnubler on February 13, 2012, 03:09:03 PMAnyone else here purchased a used Mac for production from somewhere other than Apple? (eBay, craigslist, whatever)

I buy used Macs regularly from Mac of All Trades, they provide a 90 warranty, I've always had great experience buying from them.

http://www.macofalltrades.com/

Tom
Tom McCain
OS X 10.8
Preps 6.3
Prinergy Connect 5.2
Matchprint Inkjet
Epson 9800
Trendsetter 800 II Quantum
Print
Go Up Pages1
User actions