PostScript Font Problem Fixed, but Everything Looks Darker in Snow Leopard
Apple’s Mac OS X 10.6.2 update does fix the PostScript font issue that affected QuarkXPress (yay!), but here’s another little issue to watch out for:
In Mac OS X 10.6 “Snow Leopard”, Apple has switched to a default gamma of 2.2, which is what Windows has always used because it’s closer to a home television. Because of this, colors that aren’t color-managed are going to look darker — closer to what Windows users see.
All previous versions of the Mac operating system used a gamma of 1.8, which is closer to how text and images appear on paper.
To compound the problem, other than Pantone’s ColorMunki, all the color calibrators rely on PowerPC code, which requires Rosetta be installed on Mac OS X. Rosetta is not installed by default, but can be downloaded from Apple’s website.
Jeff Gamet is a contributing editor for Design Tools Monthly, the executive summary of graphic design news. He is also the morning editor and reviews editor for The Mac Observer and iPodObserver.com, and contributing writer for Layers Magazine and Photoshop User. He writes the InBrief column for InDesign Magazine, and is the author of “The Designer’s Guide to Mac OS X,” from Peachpit Press
When Jeff isn’t writing about the graphic design world, he’s talking about it on the Design Tools Weekly podcast with co-host Jay Nelson. He also talks about Apple and the Mac world every week on The Mac Observer’s Apple Weekly Report.
Jeff studies, tests and reviews new software and technologies for the Macintosh community as well as the design and print industries. He is a former Pre-press specialist, and has nearly 25 years experience with computer technology. Jeff trains, lectures and consults on techniques for more efficiently using Mac OS X in creative environments throughout the country.
In the rare moments when he can get away from his MacBook Pro, Jeff spends his time climbing and biking in the Colorado mountains.
Apple also recommended people switched to 2.2 pre Snow Leopard. Just don’t think anybody did.
I am having problems with fonts not showing up in Quark 8.5 and 9! When I make a multi page pdf some of the pages are blank.