Issue 14: Is it really time to switch?

One of the elements of a successful business is its ability to adapt to its changing environment, and more precisely its ability to adopt the fruits of technology faster than its competitor. In the case of a graphic designer, each new tool that is able to shave off a few more minutes from a project is an opportunity to be more price competitive and have more billable hours in the workday.

Needless to say, the desktop publishing business is one of the hungriest consumers of high technology, neither balking nor refusing to pay a premium for their tools of choice, and always the first to embrace new and cutting edge enhancements. So far, the vast majority of creative professionals had only one viable choice as tools of the trade- the Mac. Even though Macs traditionally were more expensive and had less ěperformanceî then other available computers (not just PCs; the last 10 years also brought the affordable Unix workstation as well,) Macs offered a unique mix of ease of use, stability, and more predictable output- allowing more productive time then any other combination of tools. Because of this, all new software tailored to the DTP professional was always written exclusively (or at least first) for Macintoshes, and this disparity went on for years.

Fast forward to 1998. The mass proliferation of Windows machines made it financially impossible for software makers to concentrate on the Mac, which was rapidly losing its ease of use and stability edges. Windows NT promised the power and stability of a Unix with a modern GUI, igniting the imagination of many creative professionals- Today, There is virtually no disparity between DTP software available for Macs and PCs (some plugin developers remain Mac only, but those are becoming rarer and rarer) While Apple has made great strides in updating its hardware, the age of the Apple system software and its inflexibility (no real SMP support, etc) has created a real performance gap- the top of the line Macs cannot compete with the brute force of Intel SMP or Alpha machines. Apple's forthcoming OS will take time in gaining mass acceptance with service providers, printers, and developers, and DTP magazines that have traditionally been Mac only are expounding NT and advertising Integraph boxes- All beg the same question:

Is it really time to switch?

In a word, no. As of this moment, there is still no substitute for output consistency other than a Mac. Visit any service bureau, and they will tell you the same thing. Apple's tremendous achievements into OS level colorspace conversion technologies are still unsurpassed, as well as a plethora of 3rd party spectrophotometry hardware solutions that WORK. As affordable and powerful as other platforms are, the designer's bread is won by the final product's quality. At the same token, DTP organizations are no longer prisoners of platform. Although Macs excel in DTP, there are plenty of other reasons to utilize other types of equipment. There are windows and Unix solutions that provide IP routing, RIP processors, file servers, fax servers, Web/FTP servers- and are often better and/or cheaper than equivalent Mac solutions (besides- since Macs are the best at DTP, you'd probably want to use it for this purpose anyway ;) As the file format and connectivity continues to converge between all platforms, it becomes easier and more practical to invest in the best suited equipment for different tasks. Its might not be time to switch, but it might be time to evaluate some new hardware.

I welcome all questions and comments at akoyshman@jps.net or designamics@jps.net