Computer Workstations and Software
For Desktop Publishing

Here are recommendations for computer workstations that meet the needs for desktop publishers, web developers and other digital media professionals.

Bevi's viewpoint: "As you review this report, keep in mind that not only am I an award-winning graphic designer and web developer, but I'm also a techie and former programmer (from binary and Fortran IV on IBM mainframes during the 70s to building a file server from scratch for "fun" last Labor Day weekend...I know, I know, that's sick!). And I love working on all computers...Windows, Macs, Unix, even old Ataris. Our studio works on both Macs and PCs every day."

For my latest hardware specs, download this PDF on workstations (163k).
For our detailed handbook on configuring and maintaining workstations for digital media, download our IT & DTP Handbook (785k).
Find out which software programs are compliant for the printing & graphic arts industry. Learn how to be PostScript compliant. And choose the right software for your publication.
Get our detailed analysis and comparison of software for desktop publishing: download the Executive Summary (171k) and Software Comparison Table (117k).

Processors and CPU

Make it easy... just buy the fastest processor your wallet can afford. This will ensure that your system has the longest lifetime possible. At the beginning of this year, 1.5 Ghz systems were available for reasonable prices, and 2 Ghz systems were becoming more affordable.

What's more important to build an efficient system are the RAM, VRAM and monitor requirements listed below, so don't overspend your budget on the processor and then not have enough money for adequate RAM. It's a balance...make sure all these components are sufficient for your work requirements. Download my latest hardware specs for details.

Mac vs. PC debate:
For web developers, we prefer the Windows platform because it's easier to optimize colors for the majority of website visitors (more than 90% of website visitors use Windows).

For desktop publishers, it depends upon what you're producing. Although the software is identical on both platforms, the Mac is preferable for higher-end desktop publishing work for these reasons:

Most service bureaus are Mac-based and can't handle Windows files, so Windows-DTPers have fewer service bureaus available to them for outputting the hi-res film used to make printing plates.
Color is more accurate on Macs. Apple Color-Sync is built into the Mac operating system, plus there are many color management tools for the Mac. On the other hand, few of these tools are available for Windows, and those that exist are only for Windows 98 and Windows 2000 Pro.
Large graphic files rasterize faster on Mac systems than on Windows systems. The reason is threefold: 1) the Mac operating system is designed from the ground up to be graphical; 2) the Mac system bus and cache operate faster and more efficiently; and 3) Mac processors are CISC (described below) rather than RISC. We've conducted this comparison many times at our studio, using the same file on the same monitor attached to comparable Macs and PCs. The difference is striking.
Macs use a RISC (reduced instruction set computer) processor rather than a CISC (complex instruction set computer) processor. That's one reason why Macs process data-intensive graphic files much faster than PCs, even when top of the line processors with fast clock speeds are compared between both platforms. Macs also access their Level 2 cache faster than comparable Pentium III and Anthlon CPUs. Pentium 4 systems access cache faster than Pentium IIIs, but the newest top-of-the-line Macs have already leapfrogged over them.

For techies and IT folks, The March 2001 issue of PEI Magazine (www.peimag.com) has a professional comparison of system configurations, with recommendations for both Macs and Windows workstations. FYI, the Windows 2000 Pro (NT) operating system is recommended over other flavors of the Windows OS, but if you upgrade to it make sure you're able to get new Win2000-compliant drivers for all your peripherals such as CD-ROM drives, video-cards, scanners,mice, digital cameras and printers.

Apple also has a technical presentation about how to compare processing capabilities of Pentium IV, Intel Itaniam, SPARC, and Apple G4 processors and bus architectures at www.apple.com/g4/myth.

If you need tools to do data-intensive desktop publishing (such as tapping into databases for inventory lists, membership lists, or statistical data), then you'll have more tools on the Windows platform (check out Corel Ventura and PatternStream for FrameMaker).

Also, if you receive word processing files with a lot of scientific data with special characters, you'll be less likely to have translation problems (loss of these special characters) if you do the desktop publishing on the same platform used by the word processor.

Monitors & VRAM

Minimum of 17", best is 22" to hold all the palettes and working spaces for DTP, graphics and web development. Even nicer is to have dual monitors: one holds your layout page, the other holds all your palettes. Some models to consider:

Hitachi ErgoFlat 19" ($499) and 21" ($959), .22mm dot pitch, low energy consumption, minimize glare and distortion with high contrast and brightness.
iiyama Vision Master Pro 512, 22" ($850), .22mm dot pitch, gorgeous flat-screen Trinitron with built-in speakers. The best on the market today.
Viewsonic 19" and 21". They have several lines, including some Trinitrons. All are quite good for the price.
Sony Trinitron. Considered the gold standard for graphic arts professionals, these monitors represent colors quite nicely. NOTE: Sony's patent on Trinitron technology has expired, so look for other manufacturers of "tron" knockoffs that use the Trinitron technology, such as DiamondTron and SonicTron.
Apple Monitors. Apple is know for its quality monitors. But you will pay a price for them.

Do not purchase one of those new, cool, LCD flat-panel monitors. They distort the colors and are not accurate enough for professional graphics work at this time. Maybe in a couple of years...

Along with the monitor, be sure to purchase a high-quality video monitor card that will actually power your monitor. Many good ones are on the market, and those by ATI, Matrox and NVidia are common. Make sure you have enough VRAM (video-RAM) on the card, especially if you have a 19-22" monitor.

The bigger the monitor, the more VRAM is needed to draw all those pixels on large monitors, especially if your monitor is set for a high pixel-depth, such as 1024 x 768 or higher . I recommend 64MB VRAM minimum.

VRAM is also needed to display enough colors on your monitor. Your workstation must be configured to display 32-bit True Color or 24-bit True Color ("millions of colors") in order for you see more accurate colors in your photos, graphics, desktop publishing layouts and websites. If you don't have enough VRAM to display True Color, then you'll have an inaccurate simulation of your color work and your work will be "off."

If you don't have enough VRAM, you'll have problems with your system, such as: distortion of colors (your graphics and screen will look psychedelic), painfully slow "painting" or refreshing of your screen when you click on something, slow scrolling, and part of your screen goes blank or doesn't refresh.

Windows: To check how your monitor's settings, right mouse-click on a blank area of your Windows desktop and select the Properties command. This will bring up the monitor control palette. Select the Settings thumbtab and view the color-depth and pixel-resolution settings.

Macs: To check your monitor's settings, select Monitors from the Control Palette under the Apple menu. Your settings will be listed for color-depth and pixel-resolution.

RAM

In desktop publishing and web development, you'll be working with several programs open at the same time. Plus, you'll have lots of graphics and fonts, all of which use massive quantities of RAM. So having enough RAM in your computer is critical to prevent system crashes and slowdowns.

Recommendations: 256MB minimum for web development, 256MB for light desktop publishing. (Desktop publishing uses higher-resolution graphics files at 300 dpi or greater, so more RAM is needed to handle these 5MB-100MB files.) For desktop publishers creating 4-color (or full-color) print publications, 500MB - 1GB RAM or more is needed to handle large Photoshop files for covers and photo imaging.

Symptoms of too little RAM: system crashes (especially Apple "bombs" and Windows "blue screens of death"), system very slow to respond to mouse clicks and commands, mouse suddenly doesn't work, and keyboard suddenly doesn't work.

Drives

In desktop publishing and web development, you'll need a way to store large-size files and transfer them to others, such as your print shop/service bureau. We recommend you have at least two of the following optional drives on your system so that you are compatible with as many people as possible who will need to receive your files:

120MB SuperDrive (handles both regular 1.4MB floppy disks and SuperDisks)
100MB or 250MB Iomega ZIP drive (most common format for DTP)
1GB or 2GB Iomega JAZZ drive
CD writer (reads/writes 650MB CD-ROMs)
DVD writer (reads/writes both CD-ROMs and DVDs)

Mice

Chose your mouse carefully! The wrong mouse can bring on carpal tunnel syndrome (RSI). I have an entire document on our studio's favorite mice and ways to prevent RSI. Click here for details on choosing the right mouse.

Printers & Postscript

Desktop publishers, I have an entire article about your requirements for Postscript printers and for being totally 100% Postscript compliant when you create print publications. Click here for the Postscript article.

Most desktop publishing problems that involve printers, fonts and text reflow are resolved by installing the correct PostScript printer drivers on the workstation. Click here to learn how to correctly install a PostScript printer on your Windows workstation or network.

Need to connect Macs and PCs on a network or read Mac disks on a PC?

I have two solutions. For connecting Macs to a Windows NT network, check out
            • Dave by Thursby Software, www.thursby.com
            • DoubleTalk by Connectix, www.connectix.com, and
            • PC MACLAN for Windows by Miramar Systems,www.miramarsystems.com

The programs are much simplier and easier to setup than NT's Macintosh client. Both let Mac-ers log onto NT networks, share files, and share Postscript printers.
         If you just need to read and write Mac disks on your PC, then check out MacOpener by DataViz software, www.dataviz.com. Easy to install and use, it lets you view Mac files just as if they were PC files. We highly recommend that Windows-based desktop publishers install MacOpener on their systems because they'll most likely need to accept Mac-based graphic files from professional graphic designers and artists.

Great Resource: MacWindows, The Web Site for Macintosh-Windows Integration Solutions, was created and is maintained by John Rizzo. His MacWindows Tutorials contain information on how to use Mac OS and Windows together — the tutorials, with screen shots, cover the four basic tasks people need to do when they integrate Macs and Windows: using Mac and PC disks, using files, sharing networks, and running software. MacWindows Tips for Macintosh-Windows Integration collects practical information, tips and techniques for users of cross-platform products. Finally, there's Cross-platform solutions for Mac OS and Windows. Listings and descriptions of products, links to vendors, and contact information are included for the following categories: Operating systems, file translation, cross-platform networking, sharing disks & CDs, file compression, sharing keyboards and monitors, and front ends & user interface modifiers.

Computer Workstations and Software For Desktop Publishing