williams | silverpeakarts.ca

The big debate these days is whether or not the new iMac with the Intel Core i7 can perform as a production machine.

Now I am not going to quote SPECfp or SPECint benchmark testing that indicates that the Mac Pro should handle complex tasks better – because it probably can – nor even refer to a recent MacWorld article that showed a significant bias toward the iMac but on simple single-threaded tasks.

Nope, I wanted a real world graphics test and so was privileged enough to get access to both an iMac and Mac Pro tower with CS4 for testing. I am posting these results specifically for the Graphic Artists out there who need to know how these computers will handle that really big PSD file they are working on.

We used a completely unscientific stopwatch (provided by my iPhone) and a couple of actual production files that have given us trouble due to their size and complexity. We ensured all other applications were closed and had both computers in the same room in the same networks.

Here are the results

iMac vs Mac Pro real world produciton environment tests. We loaded up these 2 computers with identical software and opened the same files hand-picked from our archives as being pain in the butt large files. Despite expert predictions of a sweep by the Mac Pro the GOLD MEDAL winner is the iMac.

Question: Why is the RAM config different?

We were advised that by installing 12 GB RAM in the tower in a specific configuration per core that it would perform better than if we installed 16 GB RAM. Again, this is not a technical article so I am not going to get into more detail. Suffice it to say the experts told us it would be no contest. They were wrong as far as CS4 was concerned.

Cost is another factor

Apple has out done themselves. The iMac while not significantly better in dealing with the Photoshop file, more than held its own with the Vector file. For me, dollar for dollar, the iMac i7 is my mid-level production machine of choice. If you have the budget and need super power you could spend more than double the cost of the iMac for the Tower alone (without monitor) before you see better results. The new towers purported to be coming out soon may change all this but for now we have what we have.

iMac Cost – Canadian Dollars $3,859

Mac Pro Tower Cost (as configured above in the chart) $4,180

Add a 24″ monitor to that = $5,179

That’s an extra $1,320 CAD for a comparable (and yes, more expandable) machine and a slightly smaller monitor. Not a huge difference but consider this: If you have 10 artists that’s $13,320 in savings and the iMacs would make useful admin machines when their production life is over – again, without having to shell out for more monitors for your admin staff if you decided to do the same with your towers.

The Mac Olympics are over and iMac wins hands down!

David

February 22nd, 2010 | Tags: benchmark, Compare, graphic artist, illustrator, iMac, is iMac faster than mac pro, Mac Pro, photoshop, Test, vector, vs | Category: graphic artist's resource, industry notes | Comments (1)

There are difficult clients, difficult suppliers, and of course we can ourselves be difficult and not even know it. Often being difficult is more a function of poor communication rather than conflicting personalities. Misunderstandings arising from poorly worded emails, lack of understanding regarding a process or medium, or unrealistic expectations create difficult situations and so – instead of blaming the other guy – look for the root cause and work to educate, communicate and partner with your clients and suppliers to put them at ease abut you and the project. More »

February 1st, 2010 | Tags: artist, client, difficult, graphic, income, professional, questionnaire, staff, suppliers, websites | Category: graphic artist's resource, industry notes | Leave a comment

The Problem

Transparent PNGs appear with Blue Boxes where the transparency should be in Windows IE 6 and earlier. WHY? Simply put, the support for transparent PNG images was not implemented in Windows IE until version 7. More »

October 20th, 2009 | Tags: 6, blue box, explorer, IE, javascript, png, solution, transparency, transparent, web, Windows | Category: wed development | Leave a comment

This is an amazing web resource that offers photosets of figures, (male / female / nude / clothed / with props) all free as a resource for artists and illustrators.

http://www.characterdesigns.com

Why? well according to their website

About CharacterDesigns.com

The goal for his website is to provide high quality free images to artists so that they might grow in their endeavor to pursue traditional and digital Figurative Art. With a growing collection of thousands of images, Hong provides artists with a useful resource for artists of all stripes that was previously difficult to find on the web. He hopes that his site will encourage artists to grow, connect, and learn from one another in a new way.

wow

david

January 26th, 2009 | Tags: character, clothed, drawing, female, free, Hong, illustration, male, nude, photosets | Category: drawing | Comments (1)

As a follow up to my article on Communication Design, which related to my discovery of the term, I Googled it to see what its current status was in the industry and who was using it. More »

January 13th, 2009 | Tags: communication design, definition, designer, graphic artist, SGD, society of graphic artists | Category: graphic artist's resource, industry notes | Comments (4)

A very common but very costly mistake in a project’s lifeline occurs the moment the project leaves your hands and ends up in another’s… namely a service provider like a printer or film house. More »

January 7th, 2009 | Tags: collect, disc, Disk, FTP, instructions, PDF, printouts, ship | Category: graphic artist's resource, print production, tutorials | Comments (1)

There are lots of pre-made web buttons floating around out there you can grab whenever you need a “button” look. But when you have to create something specific, perhaps a little more realistic than the standard glassy button – or a little less symmetrical – then you have to roll up your sleeves and do it yourself.

Think of it this way… do you want the same buttons as everyone else or do you want to create unique graphics for yourself or your clients? Whatever the answer is there is no harm in knowing how they are built using Adobe Illustrator.

Finished Image

January 6th, 2009 | Tags: adobe, button, clipping mask, CMYK, coke sign, gradient, graphic artist, how to, illustrator, Outer Glow, print production, RGB, tips, transparency mask, tutorial | Category: graphic artist's resource, illustrator, tutorials | Leave a comment

Tag Line:
“Behind the scenes tour of of an award-winning creative farm, juicing process and distribution in South West England.

The South West produces some of the UK’s finest creative work (animation, web design, design, fashion, architecture….) Now you know why….nice conditions, space to breathe and opportunities with some of the best firms around.”

More »

July 2nd, 2008 | Category: graphic artist's resource | Comments (3)

Who’d have thought?

Something as simple as the definition of a printing term would cause so much discussion. Once, a heated discussion was had at the office over the use of the word LIVE AREA. More »

May 23rd, 2008 | Tags: definition, glossary, live area, printing terms, safe area | Category: graphic artist's resource, industry notes, print production | Comments (4)