Windows XP to Mac OS X

[Qkarmark]

Hi, I recently convinced our manager to upgrade my system from a PC to a Mac (W00t!!), so now I feel so much more productive (design-wise).

In the meantime, however, the PC is where we used to operate our Fiery Command Workstation software and the attached server/Canon C1 ImagePRESS. The set-up included Acrobat 7.0 Standard and Enfocus Pitstop.

Some of the OS X installation software was included in our bundle of apps we received from the reseller, including a Mac version of Command Workstation, EFI viewer, printer drivers etc, and I already have Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro. (I could not find the Enfocus Pitstop software on any of the discs). To this point, this set of installed software allows me to remotely see, start, and cancel jobs printed by both myself and others on our network. But I have yet to restore the ability to impose jobs for saddle-stitch and X-up ganging etc. Nor does the Actions Menu>Properties tool work with Command Workstation (it's grayed out).

I'm asking the question here on the forums because the reseller that provided us this technology really hasn't been able to answer me yet. Their suggestion is to restore the software onto another PC (which is fine, but I would prefer the software to be on the same workstation that I use my other programs on.)

Does anyone out there have a similar OS X workflow (or work-around) for Fiery/Command Workstation?

I'm certainly aware of the option to use the VMWare Fusion avenue, too, but we'll see where this goes first.

 

[UncleSam]

Command Workstation for Mac

Command Workstation for Mac

There is a problem with the Command Workstation not fully working with OSX 10.4.11 or OSX Leopard. The reason is the updated Java. So, I suggest you go to Xerox Support site to download the most updated Command Workstation for Mac OS X.

 

[jonteo]

Qkarmark,

Can't help you with CWS on the Mac. We run it from a dedicated PC next to the engine. Our design team is all Mac.

If you have to run Windows virtualization software to get the functionality, have a look at Parallels. It runs XP at near native speed and you can have both OS running concurrently with XP in a window or full screen - no reboots necessary. But before you do that, you should raise a stink about Mac version not working correctly...

 

[Qkarmark]

@ UncleSam

thx - We've got a Canon C1 ImagePRESS - and the version of CMW for Mac included on the install CDs was 1.3 of39 (I've since installed the 1.4 that I located on the Canon.europe.com site) and after seeing your comment, I've also been able to locate a v1.5 (located here: Fuji Xerox Asia Pacific ) I'll try installing it and report back if that cures anything.

@jonteo:

I've been given the impression that VMWare Fusion is a worthy alternative to Parallels Desktop (not to mention that other users in our company are presently running Fusion). But the Mac version really should operate properly, as you stated: I'll pursue that before going into the virtualization arena for sure.

BTW: thanks for the prompt responses too!

 

[margadri]

I think that all depends in how you create the printer in OSX
Has to be a server printer with the correct IP
The driver on Mac is just for page sizes.

 

[Qkarmark]

So it was all for not: we decided to deploy the CWS and impose software onto the existing Fiery server - ala XP - and included a monitor, mouse and KB: it's now a dedicated Fiery workstation. No Mac OS X this time. Thanks for all your help nonetheless.

 

[kyle]

What about running VNC service (UltraVNC is free and works well) on the Fiery server, and using a VNC client (Chicken of the VNC is free and works well) to access it from the Mac? The version I used several years ago had some animations that could be turned off. If it's still like that, you may want to turn them off to increase the performance of the VNC connection.

 

[smatros]

Qkarmark,

Can't help you with CWS on the Mac. We run it from a dedicated PC next to the engine. Our design team is all Mac.

We do the same, and I suggest you the same as well. It is much more stable and safe, plus CWS is pretty system consumptive, especially if you process large files.

 

[Fiz]

This maybe beating a dead horse being 10 days later from original post, but there is a way to access a Fiery rip to get the most compatible software and printer files. If you know the IP address of your Fiery RIP you can dial that in with a web browser and download the Command Workstation and supporting files. I'm able to access remotely from my Mac and Windows machines instead of having to walk all the way over to the RIP that is connected to the printer.
Hope this is something useful of an answer.