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» Home » Equipment Windows
& MacIntosh: Not Just Different Mice Since the advent of Windows 95, the Windows and Macintosh operating systems have become similar, at least in outward appearance. So, if the two appear to be so similar, why do designers still use Macs? Wouldn't it be easier to just use a Windows machine like everyone else? It might be easier to trade files back and forth but actual production would be more difficult. The Macintosh is still the best system for the job. If there was a better operating system out there, designers would be using it. Production and design can be tough enough. Few people would use an operating system just out of some sense of loyalty. PCs were designed, from the very beginning, as business machines. They work ideally with text and numbers. In the early days, PCs could not work with photos or different text sizes and color. They didn't even have a graphical interface. The Macintosh operating system, which pre-dates Windows, was created for graphics. Though it seems rudimentary today, the first Macintosh system's ability to manipulate font size and color was nothing short of amazing. The Macintosh system was the first computer of its kind and was built from the ground up to work with graphics. The PC was not. Sure, design software is available on both platforms but, the PC version is often a Jerry-rigged rendition of the Macintosh version. If you have an opportunity, take a look at a Windows system running QuarkXPress (the leading page-layout program) and you will be amazed at how different the menus are from native Windows programs. Design programs are designed to take the best advantage of the resources that are common on the Macintosh. PostScript code, which was created to ensure consistent results in printing, is a mainstay of the Macintosh environment. PC laser printers often do not have PostScript interpreters which are necessary for printing PostScript files. It can also be difficult to find and use PostScript fonts on PC systems. All of these things come into play when a project is output. Service bureaus and printers have been working with Macintosh files for years and can often spot file problems way in advance. Macintosh is the standard and they all know it. PCs are not and PC files often cause problems by requiring film to be rerun, files to be revised and sometimes even recreated on a Macintosh. Additional time and materials means a greater expense. In the end, time and money is what matters most. Both are typically in short supply and nobody wants to waste either one. Though a PC system may be, or may appear to be, cheaper to purchase, Macintosh files are less likely to cost you time and money. I've heard it said that PC files frequently cost twice what Mac files cost to output. However, things can change. Because the world is full
of PCs, the software industry is working very hard to bring their publishing
software up-to-speed on the Windows platform. More and more service bureaus
and printers are gaining greater experience at troubleshooting PC files.
There's a long way to go but progress is being made. Will Macintosh systems
always be preferred? Time will tell. Tip: Affordable Graphic Design classes are available near you? Sign up for FREE information from top design schools. Some Links You May Find Useful 
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ost
any designer that you talk to will tell you that they prefer the Macintosh
operating system over the Windows one. At one time, Macintosh systems
were far more intuitive and easier to understand than they are today.
Few non-designers questioned the preference and many wished that they
too could work on a Macintosh system. 
