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Computer Graphics

Summary: Computer graphics content creation.

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further reading: books on digital graphics

recommended system

After numerous requests for specific recommendations, OSdata.com now includes a recommended system for professional graphics. These recommendations are partly opinion. These recommendations assume that you are working professionally in the field and are much more expensive than typical home or business systems. These recommendations are based on personal experience in the content creation field.

Each system (both hardware and software) will need to be repeated for each person on staff (except as noted). It is illegal to buy one copy of software and then install it on multiple machines. Some programs check the network for this kind of cheating. If you are caught violating copyright law, the fines and penalties could bankrupt you, so it really isn’t worth it to try to cheat to save a few bucks.

We are working on providing a second source.

Price listings are for courtesy purposes only and may be changed by the referenced businesses at any time without notice.

hardware

computer: The most commonly used operating system for professional graphics work is Macintosh OS 9. Mac OS 9 has built in capabilities for the support of content creation (including such technologies as ColorSync for accurate colors, QuickTime for digital video and sound, and sophisticated font capabilities for both PostScript and TrueType fonts) and is the operating system with the largest library of professional content creation software. The G4 800MHz DP (dual processor - equal to approximately one 3 GHz Pentium) is currently Apple’s fastest computer. You will want to purchase additional RAM (at least 512 MB total RAM, up to 1.5 GB of RAM, depending on your budget). You may want to swap out the ATA drive for a more expensive, but faster internal SCSI drive. Adding Apple’s optional UltraSCSI PCI card will save headaches when connecting up UltraSCSI external devices (there are other SCSI cards available, but this is the most compatible).

Apple PowerMac G4 800MHz DP; PowerMac G4 800MHz Dual Processor, 256K L2 cache and 2 MB backside L3 cache, 133MHz system bus supporting more than 1-GBps data throughput, 256 MB PC133 SDRAM (slots for 1.5GB SDRAM), 80 GB 7200 RPM Ultra ATA/66 hard drive, Zip drive, combination DVD-R/CD-RW SuperDrive (with DVD-Video, writes DVD-R at 2x, reads DVD at 4x, writes CD-R at 8x, writes CD-RW at 4x, reads CD at 24x), three 3.5-inch hard drive expansion bays (ATA or SCSI), NVIDIA GeForce2 MX graphics card with 64MB of SDRAM with TwinView in a dedicated AGP 4X slot and 133 MHz system bus (supporting two monitors, each at 1920-by-1200-pixel resolution at 32 bits per pixel, millions of colors), Apple Display Connector (ADC) and 15-pin mini D-Sub VGA connector, 4 full-length PCI slots (64 bit, 33 MHz) with throughput up to 215 MBps and one AGP 4X slot (with graphcis card installed), built in Gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000BASE-T Ethernet connector, RJ-45), Built-in 56K V.90 modem card, stereo audio out (mysteriously missing audio in?!?!), headphone jack, two 400-Mbps Firewire ports (15W total power), 2 USB ports (12Mbps each), both Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X preinstalled; $3,495

monitor: You will need a monitor that is color accurate. The most color accurate monitor in the world is the Radius PressView XL 21" Display, $2,899.00. According to Radius: “When color reproduction is critical, for pre-press, digital photography, graphic design, media authoring, medical or scientific imaging, only the PressView XL has the accuracy, resolution and features you need.” Although not essential immediately, you will eventually want a second monitor (one for your tools and one for your work). You will need a second video card (a second Rage 128 Pro video card will run about $150). Any large monitor will do (your color critical work will be on the primary monitor, the second monitor will hold your tools).

keyboard and mouse: The keyboard and mouse that Apple ships with their PowerMacs are complete jokes. Neither are usable. You need to immediately replace them with a USB keyboard and mouse. Choice of replacements depends in large part on personal preference. Make sure that you get an extended keyboard and that it is one with a Macintosh “start button”. An ergonomic keyboard will be easier on your wrists, but will take some getting used to. You can get a one button, two button, or three button mouse, with or without a scroll bar wheel — again, a matter of personal preference. You might even choose a trackball or trackpad.

Adesso Tru-Form USB Keyboard for Macintosh (Ice); 79.95

Macally USB iSweet; single button mouse with changeable color “jackets”; $24.95

Macally USB iSweetNet; two button mouse with scroll wheel and changeable color “jackets”; $29.95

iBall; Macally; USB 2 button trackball; $39.95

graphics tablet: Drawing with a mouse is the equivalent of drawing with a bar of soap. Not particularly effective. Which means that you want a pressure sensitive drawing tablet. A larger drawing surface is useful if you are doing architectual or engineering drawing, a smaller drawing surface is useful if you are doing more artistic work. Your preferred drawing size will depend on your own personal drawing style (6"x8" is probably as small as most of you will want to go). Wacom makes the best art tablets.

12"x18" drawing tablet; Wacom; USB (Mac OS 8 or later, Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP) or serial (Mac, Windows 95 or later, Solaris, Irix, or Linux); pressure sensitive (1,024 level); 2540 lpi resolution; Intuos2 Grip Pen and 4D mouse (5 button and scroll wheel); $759.95

12"x12" drawing tablet; Wacom; USB (Mac OS 8 or later, Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP) or serial (Mac, Windows 95 or later, Solaris, Irix, or Linux); pressure sensitive (1,024 level); 2540 lpi resolution; Intuos2 Grip Pen and 4D mouse (5 button and scroll wheel); $519.95

9"x12" drawing tablet; Wacom; USB (Mac OS 8 or later, Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP) or serial (Mac, Windows 95 or later, Solaris, Irix, or Linux); pressure sensitive (1,024 level); 2540 lpi resolution; Intuos2 Grip Pen and 4D mouse (5 button and scroll wheel); $469.95

6"x8" drawing tablet; Wacom; USB (Mac OS 8 or later, Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP) or serial (Mac, Windows 95 or later, Solaris, Irix, or Linux); pressure sensitive (1,024 level); 2540 lpi resolution; Intuos2 Grip Pen and 2D three button mouse; $349.95

4"x5" bronze drawing tablet; Wacom; USB (Mac OS 8 or later, Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP) or serial (Macintosh, Windows 95 or later, Solaris, Irix, or Linux); pressure sensitive (512 level); 1015 lpi resolution; Intuos2 Grip Pen and 2D three button mouse; $99.95

4"x5" steel blue drawing tablet; Wacom; USB (Mac OS 8 or later, Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP) or serial (Macintosh, Windows 95 or later, Solaris, Irix, or Linux); pressure sensitive (512 level); 1015 lpi resolution; Intuos2 Grip Pen and 2D three button mouse; $99.95

4"x5" ruby drawing tablet; Wacom; USB (Mac OS 8 or later, Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP) or serial (Macintosh, Windows 95 or later, Solaris, Irix, or Linux); pressure sensitive (512 level); 1015 lpi resolution; Intuos2 Grip Pen and 2D three button mouse; $99.95

printer: You will want at least one printer. There are a lot of factors that can go into the decision of which printer is best for you. PostScript is essential for pre-press work and useful for general text and line art printing. Color is essential for creating proofs or “comps” of color work, but color printing is more expensive per copy than black and white printing (and if you do a lot of black and white printing, you could use up color cartridges while using little of the more expensive color inks). The pixels per inch (sometimes called “dpi”) also affects overall quality. Printer speed and ruggedness come into play if you need to do a lot of printing. Sometimes it makes sense to have more than one printer, each designed for different uses.

For graphics work, your demanding need will be “photo” quality “comps” (preview samples of your work), and maybe some occassional black and white printing (for letters, invoices, and such). Your finished work will probably be done on high end equipment intended for art quality work.

Tektronix Phaser 780 Plus — Color Tabloid Laser Printer; one printer can handle a staff of a couple dozen artists; Press-accurate proofs, tabloid newsletters, presentations, or oversized spreadsheets in letter, tabloid, and tabloid full bleed; 1200 dpi color and black; continuous tone printing; 192 MB RAM; optional SCSI external hard drive; 133 MHZ image processor; maximum print speed (A/Letter) 16 ppm black, 4 ppm color; pipeline printing; Printer Job Management PhaseLink; Usage Profile; Check Print Preview; Collation Printing (with optional hard drive); Job Accounting (50 jobs standard, 5,000 jobs with optional hard drive); Remote Printing; PDF Direct Printing (with optional hard drive); Genuine Adobe^® PostScript^® 3, PCL 5C with Color emulation; 136 resident fonts; interfaces: 10BaseT Ethernet, Bi-directional Parallel, SCSI; Optional 100BaseT/10Base2 Ethernet, LocalTalk/Serial, Token Ring (NetWare, TokenTalk, Telnet, FTP, & TCP/IP); standard drivers: PC and Macintosh, PhaserPrint^TM plug-in(direct download from Adobe PhotoShop, Macintosh, and Windows; optional drivers: SUN, SGI, HP, IBM, DEC Workstations, PhaserPool^TM for group/pool/broadcast printing; Color Standards: PANTONE^® *- approved solid color simulations, Adobe PostScript device-independent color, CIE international color standards, and support for ICC and Apple ColorSync color management systems; Color Control: PhaserMatch^TM, TekColor ^TM Dynamic Correction; Color Profiles: Automatic: Adjusts color of photos, graphics, and text automatically for the best reproduction, sRGB Display: Matches your computer monitor, Vivid Color: Business presentations, charts, and graphs, SWOP, SNAP, Commercial, Toyo, DIC, FujiProof or Euroscale: Press Simulations; Media Types: Prints on 20-28 lb. bond to 100 lb. card stock (220 g/m 2), transparencies, labels, t-shirt transfers, card stock, envelopes; Media Sizes: Letter, Legal, Tabloid, Tabloid Extra (12 x 18 in.) (305 x 457 mm), Tabloid Plus (13 x 19 in.) (330 x 483 mm), A3, SRA3 (320 x 450mm), A4, A5, B4, B5, and Custom sizes; Minimum media size: 3.5 x 5.5 in. (90 x 140mm); Maximum Paper Size: Tabloid Plus (SRA3); Workgroup Connectivity: Windows/DOS, NT, OS/2 PCs, Mac OS, and UNIX workstations; copy capability through attachment of selected scanners (Microtek Scanmaker 4, Microtek Scanmaker 9600XL, HP ScanJet 6100C and HP ScanJet 6200C); $6,739.00

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