#Amiga can't do biz
5 messages in this thread
See my replies to Vic and Greg regarding the 24-bit color issue. Yes,
ProPage does process color. Fine. I was wrong. As for seeing only 256
colors instead of the 16 million, Apple has recently removed that
limitation with 32-bit Color QuickDraw. And yes, it is available NOW.
No, it is indeed LINES per inch, not dots. I invite you to check any
graphic arts publication or reference material on that one. I have dozens
that show this to be the case.
And finally, I was referring to an "average" (I should have stated this)
19" monitor with a resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels. That is assuming a
pixel page of full resolution and no more.
It's interesting that you bring up the Scitex. That's a clear indication
to me that you should know what you're talking about. I just don't
understand your confusion over halftone line frequency measurement. I mean
it's age-old. Halftones have two factors working on them: line frequency
and screen angle. The latter is also based on lines, because in color
halftones the line angles on each separation must be different so that they
blend together cleanly. If I'm telling something you already know then
forgive me, but this dictates that halftones are line-oriented rather than
dot-oriented.
WRONG…RIGHT…WRONG, <me this time> (See what happen's when I take
things out of context <grin>) When referring to HALFTONE, generally one
states, "I need a 133 li. screen H/T" This "age-old" reference came about
when all the original film screens were created by steel ruled horizontal
and vertical lines creating a "SQUARE" dot (mid, 50% range). THE RESULT is
dpi (dots-per-inch). Today's flatbed plotters (color sep house's) can
produce halftone color separations with a SQUARE, ROUND or OVAL dot
(dots-per-inch) and DO NOT use line rule screens (however, they are laser
scanned by lines-per-inch resolution!) So we're both right depending upon
context (BTW, I still refer to H/T's and seps as lines-per-inch) Confusion
reigns supreme when you <not you specifically> talk about a 300 dpi laser
printer or flatbed scanner, but you <again, not you> talk lpi when you
about a linotron-type or film recorder output device. Ehhh? wha'da say??
Anyway, I've been in the business (graphics) about 25 years now, and
have my own advertising design firm with numerous local, regional and
national Addy and Printing Industries of America awards. AND, I do own an
Amiga and I use it PROFESSIONALLY with ProPage and ProDraw. However, in the
"Mac" world, it's a pain in the neck transferring EPS files via MS-DOS or
MAC-DOS (I use A-Max).
Jim,
Sorry for the delay.
Hehehe. This IS rather confusing. I think the misunderstanding comes not only
from the context of our references but from the fact that you have more
experience with halftone color seps than I. I was indeed slipping into a mode
of thought that I was the only one here who really knew graphic arts because I
really HAVE been until you joined the fray. 25 years in the business is a lot
more than I can lay claim to <grin>.
I'm very glad that someone has finally come along who can point out the Amiga's
weaknesses (outputting PS to Linos and other printers, screen font rendering,
etc.) from experience. These are some of the things that have put me off of
the Amiga for high-end DTP. Apparently you feel they're not so significant,
and I'm anxious to hear more. You did mention a Mac II in your future, though,
so I'm wondering what your general ideas are about the Mac versus Amiga in this
industry.
As for the 32-bit QuickDraw issue, I fail to understand the need for 24-bit
color in layout programs (PageMaker, Quark). It's really of little use there.
Where you need it is in retouching/editing software, like PhotoMac (yak!).
Once it's imported into the layout software it can be in b&w for all I care.
This IS a refreshing topic for the Amiga, so I'm glad to see you too. Maybe
you can teach ME a few things…<grin>.
Matt
Matt-
I have been following this thread for a while now, and it is clear that the Mac
software today is superior to Amiga applications for high-end DTP. (I still
might argue about other categories, but that has been hashed to death here
already!) Thanks for staying around, I have certainly learned a lot about this
subject.
Just for curiosity, what Mac software do you use and what does it cost? I know
that for the two Amiga packages which have been mentioned most frequently,
ProPage costs around $240, and ProDraw is around $140.
Douglas Toth
Doug,
I'm glad you've learned some things from this discussion. Unfortunately I've
been tied up a lot at the office the past few weeks so I haven't been able to
participate as much as I'd like. I think we've just about hashed out most of
the topics anyway.
As for Mac software, my bread 'n butter is PageMaker ($400-500 I think). I
also use Adobe Illustrator and Aldus Freehand a good bit (also in the $500
range). I occasionally use Quark XPress for its superior typographical
capabilities, but I can't stand the rest of the program. It's around $600. And
I play around a little bit with Digital Darkroom to do halftones for in-house
publications. It's just not good enough yet for high-end work. As you can
see, Mac DTP software is very expensive, but that's partially because the
market will support it. Incidentally, I'm also looking at several new packages
specifically designed for advertising layout. That's the nicest thing about
the Mac DTP market…there is a tremendous variety of quite powerful software
available.
Good talking with ya…
Matt