I don't want to switch to Mac.

[Bauhaus]

I'm a PC guy. I really don't like macs at all, and I seriously don't want to switch to one. How can I get around the font issues. I go to school and when I bring my projects into class the fonts get messed up.

[Mickey]

Fonts will always be an issue if you switch from a pc to a mac and vise versa. What programs do you use and what systems are you using OSX OS9 ect?

http://home.wi.rr.com/mygraphics/konceptcreative.jpg

[Bauhaus]

Illustrator, Quark, Photoshop

OSX

[Phormic]

Quite seriously - fonts will be your biggest problem. Once you build up Mac versions of those, the transition won't be as bad as you think. With so many free fonts around (even if 99% are awful), surely that won't prove to be too big a drawback? Cost is certainly a factor but you tend to upgrade Macs less often than PC's which sort of balances things out.

[Broacher]

PC guy here (going on my 16th year in PC-only designland, awaiting the inevitable 'oxymoron' comment). What about OpenType? I thought that was supposed to make things smoother? I mean, I wouldn't know from experience... it's just what I've heard tell.

[PrintDriver]

Broacher, the Regulars here don't care what machine you have. We're way past that. We're pretty evenly split as to who uses what.

Bauhaus - Just invest in a GOOD font translator.
Or outline your text whenever possible.

PrintDriver is a grande format digital print dude. His advice/opinions may not apply to the 4color/offset/web world of printing

[Broacher]

PD: outline text. [reflex gag]

Sorry, it's just that I'm always hearing from Mac-based designers that PC text looks 'thicker' and less elegant than Mac type, even from the same foundry! And that's the main reason right there. Outlined text eliminates the refinement that hinting adds to type output. Not such a big deal on large format stuff you see... but for some fonts in particular, in regular body sizes, it's quite noticeable. Not to mention pretty unwieldy for large documents. That's why I will still applaud Adobe and the PDF. It's been a huge equalizer in many cases. Of course, SOME operators will go backwards and open a PC PDF in Photoshop-- RRRRRRGH!!

[PrintDriver]

Ah, I've seen posts to that effect in the Adobe forums, that outlining creates a blockier 'look'. You're right about it not being such an issue in large format. I forget that part sometimes. Guess you wouldn't want to be outlining text in a catalog. Good point.

I've had plenty of issues where same foundry fonts kern differently between Mac and PC. Love it when a designer can't bother to send me a hard copy but can bother to make me do a reproof cuz the word wrap changed.

PrintDriver is a grande format digital print dude. His advice/opinions may not apply to the 4color/offset/web world of printing

[MD]

If you are creating the files at home couldn't you just bring the fonts with you? I am pretty sure you can install your PC fonts in OS X.

Personally I say just make the switch :)

[PrintDriver]

PC fonts on OSX sometimes yes, sometimes no. Depends on the font. We seem to run into more trouble if the font is some obscure piece of freeware...Which may be more a function of how it was created rather than what format it was in. We're still running about 25% on any Freeware fonts not ripping correctly.

PrintDriver is a grande format digital print dude. His advice/opinions may not apply to the 4color/offset/web world of printing

[D-Frag]

I am a PC user too, the way I avoid it is just to avoid Mac's all together /emoticons/tongue.gif

http://www.pillargraphicdesign.com/dfrag/DFRAGSIG.jpg

digitalcamwhore (http://digitalcamwhore.deviantart.com/gallery/)

[Dakota1]

Some informative infohere http://www.adobeforums.com/cgi-bin/webx?50@71.mWX5dzP4pGK.1@.2ccdcf7b Just click the log in as a guest
http://www.graphicdesignforum.com/emoticons/burger.gif

[D-Zine]

LOL @ D-Frag!

Boobie Island or Bust!

[PrintDriver]

Dakota, that link describes the new text engine employed by all CS apps. While it makes editting text difficult in downsaved docs (or impossible to downsave in the case of InD CS) it really has no bearing on bringing PC files and PC fonts over onto a Mac.

When cross-platforming, even fonts with the same name from the same foundry may kern differently changing text wrap. Sometimes even the font converting programs don't provide a true conversion. You still have to check everything when you cross over.

www.adobeforums.com/cgi-bin/webx?13@223.H7egdQPgpDa.1@.3bb6eb32/0 (http://www.adobeforums.com/cgi-bin/webx?13@223.H7egdQPgpDa.1@.3bb6eb32/0)
www.adobeforums.com/cgi-bin/webx?50@1.L7QldSX1pbp.6@.3bb605e2 (http://www.adobeforums.com/cgi-bin/webx?50@1.L7QldSX1pbp.6@.3bb605e2)

PrintDriver is a grande format digital print dude. His advice/opinions may not apply to the 4color/offset/web world of printing

[Dakota1]

Sounds like a real pain in the arse. http://www.graphicdesignforum.com/emoticons/freaked.gif


http://www.graphicdesignforum.com/emoticons/burger.gif

[MarkXero]

Bauhaus - when you take your projects into class do you still need to be able to edit them, or is it just to show someone? Because if you don't need to edit them, take PDFs with the fonts embedded. But if you're editing alternately on Mac / PC / Mac / PC etc., you're just asking for trouble!

I heard OpenType fonts were supposed to be the answer too, but on my PC they just work like True-types, not Type 1s. I've not looked into it much though.

Team Xero - invisible to radar (with any luck) (http://www.teamxero.com/xerum)

[Bauhaus]

I think I'm just going to stick with PC, because macs are a wayy over priced monoply.

[MarkXero]

Unlike Windows...

Team Xero - invisible to radar (with any luck) (http://www.teamxero.com/xerum)

[stjack]

Bauhaus,

I am a Windows user of 14 years, before that I was using DOS and Commodore BASIC. At any rate, I have also become a fluent Mac user as well as a Mac owner. At one time I even used the Apple II *shutter*. Though your hatred or complete dislike of the Mac OS is apparent and quite alright I have a few suggestions that I have seen touched on in this forum but am able to attest to based on experience.

While I was in school I too had to transport my files form my Windows machine (which incidentally was quite a bit faster) to the retched G3’s we had in the labs. For school projects, I would say that it is fine to simply convert the text to outlines or use a PDF file for print and display. For all work outside of the classroom I would use a standard “palette” of fonts. I have yet to try it, sham on me, but type 1 fonts are supposed to be cross platform compatible. So anyway, I would create a palate of fonts that is common among the Windows and Macintosh operating systems. And stick to those fonts, face it, the design world is all Mac based and without a Mac you will find it difficult to work with printers and other designers. For all fonts that are not common, make sure they exist in both platforms or rely on ugly outlines.

I will try Opentype fonts soon and let you guys know.

Good Luck! :)

St Jack

[Invader Xan]

I don't know about anyone else, but personally, I find Photoshop runs so much more smoothly on a mac... And I've used a lot of versions of Photoshop on a lot of different operating systems!

Macs and PCs have different system architecture, so they both have things they handle better, and things they handle worse. Actually, I was told Intel processors handle video editing much better than the Motorolas used in Macs. On the other hand, Intels actually count backwards (which is why the TIFF options in Photoshop have the option of changing the byte order). I forget the specifics, but Among the things Macs do better are (apparently) Graphics and Sound engineering. Of course, some things are better in Linux, but we won't go there...

'It is better to die standing than to live on your knees.'
-- Che Guevara

[D-Zine]

stjack said...
the design world is all Mac based and without a Mac you will find it difficult to work with printers and other designers.

I do agree that Mac is still in the lead as far as the head of the industry but I don't really agree that its difficult to work with printers if you are PC based. All of the printers I have talked to, or used have all had both Mac and PC capabilities, as they should. If they are not up to speed and don't offer both platforms you can of course opt to send your files as PDFs, which I would normally do anyway.

Boobie Island or Bust!

[Troll]

1,200 over priced??

[D-Zine]

Whats the specs on the $1,200??

Boobie Island or Bust!

[Troll]

Search a new G5 Imac or G5 tower and find out

Depending on the power you need you can get a emac for 700-800 bucks

[MarkXero]

stjack said...
face it, the design world is all Mac based and without a Mac you will find it difficult to work with printers and other designers

Errrr... 8 years of designing on PC, getting files from other designers and sending jobs to digital, litho and web-offset printers without any grief here. Like D-Zine said, most printers take PDF files now anyway, so output isn't a problem. At least, until Quark screws up your PDF for you http://www.teamxero.com/xerum/phpBB2/images/smiles/icon_mad.gif.

When I joined the company I work for now they'd got a PC set up for me, but were willing to buy a Mac if it hadn't worked out. 3 months on there's still no Mac and we've done everything from pens and bookmarks, through brochures and display boards to logos and rebranding.

Team Xero - invisible to radar (with any luck) (http://www.teamxero.com/xerum) http://www.teamxero.com/xerum/phpBB2/images/smiles/icon_spinner.gif

[D-Zine]

Yeah..you can go eMac actually, sure. We have 6 here at work. Good lil computers too, and affordable. Anywhere from $799 - $1,000 range...You would be best to get a tower tho if you intend to upgrade down the road.

iMac G5 starts at $1,299, eh.. 1.6gz. That'll get ya an 80 gig HD and only 256 mb of ram (you need ATLEAST 512)
G5 PowerMac (Single) starts at 1.8gz starts at $1,499 (no monitor) with an 80gig drive and only 256 mb of ram
G5 PowerMac (Dual) starts at 1.8gz starts at $1,999 (no monitor) with an 80gig drive and only 256 mb of ram

These listings are from Apple's site. Ram is a big issue here. Running OSX you definately want more than 256 mb of ram, espiecally considering the software you will be running.

So I would say, for a college student, IF you are going Mac, the eMac is probobly your best bet cost wise. All of the others aren't realy cost effiecient for what you will need to be running. Atleast with the eMac you can upgrade the ram and still spend only $1,000 - IF of course you intend to switch.

Again...in this industry, you can be successful using either or both platforms.

/emoticons/thumbsup.gif

Boobie Island or Bust!

[Troll]

Go do a couple simple tasks on a mac and a pc, saving, transfer a file, add a song, burn a cd etc.
Then you will find out your anwers.

[D-Zine]

No debating here...wasn't doing that. I was just posting the price options from Apple's website.

/emoticons/smilewinkgrin.gif

everyone on this site knows I use both platforms. I do all those tasks listed above just as easy on one as I do on the other. It's really just a preferance from person to person. No big deal. I was just curious as to where you were finding your prices from, that's all.

/emoticons/cheers.gif

Boobie Island or Bust!

[Troll]

Yah and look at the Ram that you can expand to on the G5 and the sharing that mac has done to make files transfer easy to pc, but pc has not done much.
512 ram would be nice but you do not ATELAST need it, and you get it free most places you buy a mac from (free upgrade) RAM is cheap
Buy a mac from other places than Apple and you usually get free ram and other options.
emac may be a good joice for a college student but just remember before you buy if your looking to upgrade and what not, a few hundred bucks more is well worth it, not to mention not getting an out of date machine right away.

G4 are extremly cheap now that the G5 are out, can get an old G3 even cheaper beef it up with the money you save

[D-Zine]

I did say I wasn't debating...didn't I? I thought I did...yes, yes, I did. I remember now.

We don't really do Mac - PC debates on this forum edesigns as there are so many designers here that use both and we see there is no sense in the debate. It's pretty pointless.

You can get free ram upgrades with the purchase of both Macs and PCs and I would say that it is best to have atleast 512 on your machine no matter which platform you are on but of course that again is my opinion.

I did state that if you intend to upgrade down the road, a tower would be best. And yeah a few $100 bucks is great to get a lil more but most college students don't have just a few $100 more if ya know what I mean.

So again it mainly boils down to the starter of the thread, the font issues and what they really want to do after hearing everyones thoughts and suggestions.

Boobie Island or Bust!

[Magnus]

I use both platforms as well edesigns, and I have yet to have my pc bung up because of power or memory issues.

Also, it's a known fact that Mac's are a bit more powerful, but not by much, and certainly top of the line PC's are nothing to baulk at.

What sytem do you run at home? Do you have the latest greatest in the PC world?

And yes, you do need more than 256 megs or ram, unless all you do is file conversion or burning music CD's.


Let's keep this topic on hand folks...this thread is dangerously close to being locked.




Know this: Spammers, Flammers and Trolls will be shown no mercy and given no quarter. They will be pursued to the ends of the earth and executed Mod-style.

- Magnus