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Using a Windows PC for Desktop Publishing

By Jacci Howard Bear, About.com

For years professional design and production was done primarily on a Mac. PCs were for office workers, game-players, and non-designers. But with the PC dominating the computing world as well as advances in the Windows operating system, the reasons for using only a Mac for serious design work began slipping away. But myths persist and new designers are faced with making a decision about whether to get a Mac or plunge ahead and prove that whatever the Mac can do, the PC can do as well.

What's all the Fuss About?

The introduction of scads of consumer desktop publishing software programs for the Windows platform meant that eventually more and more of these PC users would be drawn to doing professional desktop publishing and design work. And they wanted to keep their PCs. But Mac has traditionally been the platform of choice for professional design work and these Windows users were and sometimes still are viewed as non-serious amateurs.

As some of these new designers moved into the professional realm, rather than abandoning their platform of choice they attempted to make it work for them in the Mac-dominated arena of desktop publishing. Others made the switch. There are still those who insist that the Macintosh platform is superior for serious design work, but the differences are harder to recognize and emotional factors and old news dominate most arguments pro or con.

Jacci Howard Bear
Guide since 1997

Jacci Howard Bear
Desktop Publishing Guide

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