Illustrator CS from Mac to PC

[Georgina]

My client has asked for Illustrator 10 .eps files burned to CD for both Mac and PC. What's the surefire way of giving them files that'll work on both platforms?

[Virgo Nightingale]

My best advice would be to outline your fonts.

[Georgina]

Thanks. They say they want them 'editable'. I presume that means able to edit text at a later stage. Currently working in Illus CS doc set up as CMYK. I presume I need to change doc set up to RGB? Also wondering about the color swatches...

[Virgo Nightingale]

If they want the form to be editable, find out if they have all of the fonts used in the layout. And even if they do have a font with the same name, it may not be in the same format – many fonts are Mac or PC native and won't work on the other platform. Opentype fonts will work on both.

If the piece is intended for printing, I'd just leave it in CMYK.

The color swatches should stay with the file.

[Craig B]

Your client wants editable Illustrator files. Do they have Illustrator? That seems odd to me. I agree with Virgo that normally you outline your fonts. Leave your color setting the same as the one you used to design in. Swatches will be stored in the file.

If it's editable, things could (not will) get messed up with fonts. Even if you're using Arial. Just be aware of it.

[Georgina]

Thanks... I'll check on the fonts situation at the other end. So it's OK to leave as CMYK color mode even though it may be read on PC? Guess eps needs to be 8-bit Tiff, but I'd do that anyway for Mac.

[Virgo Nightingale]

Color mode makes no difference from one platform to another. The monitors may display slightly differently (PCs tend to be a bit darker), but both profiles will work on either.

[Craig B]

The 8-bit Tiff preview should be fine, but that's only for preview, it still doesn't effect the document itself.

[Georgina]

I'm confused...am wondering why they asked me for PC and Mac versions if basically the files are going to be in CMYK for both platforms and 8-bit tiff. Or are they a bit behind the times...suspect they might be! ;-) Reckon once the font issue is sorted I can supply one disk with one set of files then?

[Virgo Nightingale]

I guess they just want to make sure they don't run into any surprises when opening the files on a different format. And yes, once the font issue is sorted, the same file should work on both formats.

[Georgina]

Great! Thanks for all your help. :)