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A Mac for graphic design
- Thread starter zoran
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I use a Mac Studio for my photo editing and am very pleased with it.
I got the Studio Display to go with it and the combination seems too work very well.
It was a fairly large investment to update from my older aging iMac but I feel worthwhile.
A decked out iMac would probably suffice… although they recently did away with the 27” iMac Pro model… thats the only way i would even think about buying into an Apple display… as they are terribly over priced otherwise. The Mac Studio would also be a decent option i you’re looking to have more power… but you will pay for it. if you go desktop such as the studio, then i would just advise you to shop around and compare other display/monitors… the Apple displays are fools bait for those who think the Apple logo makes something vastly superior… thats just not true, especially when it comes to computer monitors. Samsung, LG, and even Dell, amongst others, all make very good monitors and sell them for a fraction of the cost of an Apple branded device… - take the money you save by doing that and dump it back into the computer for extra RAM or GPU horsepower….
Of course thats all just IMHO. Also - avoid the Adobe products too.. Affinity is much more reasonable on the licensing costs and you can do all the same things.
Of course thats all just IMHO. Also - avoid the Adobe products too.. Affinity is much more reasonable on the licensing costs and you can do all the same things.
All Apple computers come with speakers built-in (some better than others) if all you want is to be able to hear system alerts, etc. If you're more interested in speakers for listening to music or watching movies on your Mac, you can buy a less than $50 pair of external speakers instead of spending nearly $2,000 on Apple's display.
The best Mac for designers is the 14in MacBook Pro (with an external display or two). In the past we'd have recommended the 27in iMac thanks to its 5K screen with 5,120 x 2,880 pixels.
The $2000 is the cost of the display. Im gonna need a display anyway. Its the price difference between the Apple Display and another 3rd party display that would be to compare... isnt that correct?
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Oh... but what makes the 14" better than the 16" for designers? I always thought that a designer would need the biggest display possible for his laptop... no?
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Yes. In order to get an Apple Studio Display with height adjustment, you have to spend over $2,000 after taxes. The speakers still aren't all that great, you can't pivot the display, the camera sucks, and it apparently (if you believe all the reports on virtually every web forum) plagued by all manner of issues. That's nearly as much money as I spent on an upgraded Mac Studio.
Instead, you can spend $1,200 and get a 34" 5k/2k display—a larger display with a 5k resolution you can actually use— with built-in height and pivot adjustments, and more I/O ports. You don't have an entire OS built-in to the display, so much fewer issues to contend with, and you can use the money you saved to get a $150-$200 webcam for camera/microphone, and another $25-$50 for a decent pair of speakers comparable to the Studio Display — and you still come in cheaper than the Studio Display.
Or you could go with an even larger 4k display for less money. There are so many options out there. I'm not saying the Studio Display is bad (it's a magnificent display panel!), but in my opinion, it doesn't justify the obscene price.
Pro Creative Director here working across digital and print. I would not recommend dropping a ton of money on a Studio Display. Get the best computer you can afford and look for an almost-new BenQ 24” or 27” display on Amazon. If you get something that approaches 99% sRGB accuracy, you’ll already be ahead of all your peers in terms of display quality. Oh and if you can afford a 16” MBP you won’t regret it.
Is there anyone that’s using a MacBookPro connected to a 27” (or bigger) display as his main computer for doing design work?
Would that be sufficient to cover the need of being able to working from anywhere and when back home still have the option to working with the larger display and at the same time still use a powerful computer and not get a MacStudio?,
Would that be sufficient to cover the need of being able to working from anywhere and when back home still have the option to working with the larger display and at the same time still use a powerful computer and not get a MacStudio?,
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As a graphic designer, I use the 16” MacBook Pro paired with Studio Display and it’s amazing for work on the go or at the desk. Since you no longer have to choose portability or performance, having the MBP is very liberating over the iMac I had before
Cheaper I’d imagine.I’ve always gone bigger but the 14” having performance parity makes it VERY tempting.
In what configuration is your mbpro equipped with?
And what apps are you mostly working with? Can you do Indesign work on the mbpro?
Definition of PARITY
the quality or state of being equal or equivalent; equivalence of a commodity price expressed in one currency to its price expressed in another; equality of purchasing power established by law between different kinds of money at a given ratio… See the full definition
As in: "the same", "equal".
My 16” MBP is M1 Max with 64GB and works great with InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver and Acrobat. Everything runs very smoothly
Yes, the 16” screen will fit the project window and all of the panels comfortably for InDesign. IMO, the 14” was a little cramped.
I use optimized Workspaces in the Adobe apps, one for the MBP and another for the Studio Display so you don‘t have to fiddle with panel placement going back and forth