Computer Hardware Suggestions

Computer Hardware Suggestions

Computer Systems

PC Clone
The best value in the computer market can most likely be found from a local PC assembler. Make sure to find a company that has been around for awhile. Most major metropolitan areas have a computer publication with advertising from local vendors.

PC Name Brand
If you feel the need to have a name brand attached to your computer keep the following in mind: You will pay more for the brand name. You will need to go exclusively to the PC manufacturer for certain types of upgrades to your PC. You will pay more for these upgrades. In most cases you will need to ship your computer back to the manufacturer for warranty repair service.

With all that said I can recommend a few manufactures that have a good track record:

Gateway 2000
Dell Computers

The Minimum PC to Get:
Pentium III 800mhz
256 MB RAM
40 GB Hard Drive
Windows XP

Apple Macintosh
Macintosh has traditionally been labeled as the graphic arts standard. If your starting a small business and would like to run other parts of your business on your computer such as: accounting, word processing, spreadsheet, etc you may be better off with a PC. Most large businesses involved with the graphic arts industry have both types of systems.

Minimum Mac to get:
Power Mac G4
256 MB RAM
40 GB Hard Drive
Mac OS X

Monitors
The monitor is one of the most important parts of the graphic arts workstation. Today 19" Color monitors are very affordable. Dot pitch for a graphic arts monitor should be .28dpi or lower.

Printers

Laser is the best choice
For the sandcarving industry you need a have a Laser printer with a minimum resolution of 600dpi. Inkjet printers will not work without specialized inkjet film. It is recommended that you test any laser printer that you plan on buying with UV Vellum. To ensure that the printer can print very opaque blacks. If the printer has a toner saver or EconoMode, make sure that this feature is turned off. We have found through our experience that Hewlett Packard printers have been most reliable.

If you want to have the ability to produce half tone photos, you need to make sure your printer has Postscript. You will need Postscript to set a line screen for your photo. More information can be found on our help page for sandcarving photos.

HP Laserjet 2100se (1200dpi 10ppm)
Street Price: $699.95

Scanners

Make sure that you select a scanner with a minimum of 600x600dpi optical resolution. Today's mainstream scanners have an optical resolution of 1200dpi. Epson and HP have a good reputation with their scanner products.

HP ScanJet 6200Cse
Street Price: $399.95

Accessories

Digital drawing tablets are most useful for photo touch up in Photoshop. The advantages are currently limited when it comes to Illustration software. Prices can range from $150 to $1000 depending on the size of tablet and accompanying accessories. This is definitely not a necessity for the standard sandcarving shop, but even in Illustration software it has the concrete advantage of being a highly accurate input device. No more "stuck mouse."

Wacom 12X18 Tablet, Pen, and 4D Mouse
Street Price: $689.95

All prices given were obtained from the vendors below. Contact the vendors listed below for current pricing and availability information.