I, too, have been a guilt-ridden lurker on the list for some time now. I'm
a scientific illustrator at the University of California, Berkeley, who
formerly was illustrating entomological subjects but now finds herself
mostly doing scanning and page design/layout. Recently, uncertain of
Apple's fate, my supervisors have wanted to explore switching me from a Mac
to a Windows NT workstation environment. The current plan is to set up an
NT workstation side by side with my Mac, and purchase peripherals that will
function well with either platform. At least this way we will have an
opportunity to test if I can manage to do the same graphic tasks and
interface with print and other vendors without undo glitches on a Windows
platform BEFORE the switch is a done deal. (Note: I use Illustrator,
FreeHand, Photoshop, PageMaker, QuarkXPress, PowerPoint, Persuasion, and
DeltaGraph Pro to do my work.)

The only given we have so far is that we're purchasing a HP laserjet (5M?)
printer, since my inhouse technical support finds that HPs function
reliably with both platforms.

We're looking to purchase both a slide scanner and a good quality color
scanner for non-transparent material. Currently, I use a shared Nikon
CoolScan for scanning slides and an older (4 years?) UMAX 1260 for
everything else.

I remember a discussion some time back on the listserve comparing the
CoolScan with some other brand of slide scanner (which I believe either
Frank Ippolito or Britt Griswold liked better and/or said did a faster job
of scanning). I will comb the SciArt archives for that info, but if anyone
has any input I'd love to hear his/her acquired wisdom on the subject. (I
find there is no magazine review or in-store demo that can substitute for
the experience of subscribers on this list.) Ditto on the flatbed
non-transparency scanner. I'm ideally looking for a flatbed in the price
range of $2,000 or less, that does a good job scanning line art as well as
color images.

Last question: I need to purchase a good, crisp 20" (or so) monitor to go
with the Windows machine (but could also be paired with the Power Mac
8100). I'm MOST concerned about whether it really appears sharp to the user
across the whole screen. I currently have a Sony Trinitron that, in my
opinion, is better than the equivalent Apple monitor. However, I wonder if
anyone has experience with any other brand whose clarity and crispness they
would recommend?

Sorry for the big info request, but any and all input would be welcome.
(Gosh and golly, I love this listserve!) Thanks a bunch.





Christina L. Jordan, Principal Illustrator
University of California, Berkeley
College of Natural Resources
Dean's Office
101 Giannini Hall #3100
Berkeley, CA 94720-3100
Phone: 510/642-4167, FAX: 510/642-4612
E-mail: [log in to unmask]