Time to upgrade OS.

[Raven]

I've had my 24" iMac since 2010 and still on OS10.10.5. I always hesitate to update OS as each time I encounter glitches with something that can take days to fix. But it's time to go to 10.13! Which means a jump through several updates. As a semi-retired graphic designer, I have a bit of a lull time now to get it all right. 
Here are a few questions:

I've stayed away from Creative Cloud for several reasons.
Q1. Will I still be able to use my primary apps - Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign CS6?

I use Font Agent Pro and have 1200 fonts which is usually the most complex item to deal with to sort out. Kurt Lang has been a great help when it comes to streamlining fonts after updates.

Q2. What are the major changes from 10.10 to 10.13 that I will have to learn, or is it a simple learning curve?

Q3. Will my peripheral devices be able to adjust - Lexmark printers, Epson Perfection 2400 flatbed scanner?

Q3. Anything else to consider?

Just trying to anticipate any issues. I always appreciate TS help!!

[jchuzi]

A good place to start is Roaring Apps. I suspect that many of your apps won't work in 10.13. How are you going to get it? AFAIK, it's no longer available from Apple. Are you considering going to 10.14?

There are lots of changes from 10.5 but the learning curve shouldn't be too steep (of course, that's easy for me to say!).

As for peripherals, check the website and/or tech support for each.

[Xairbusdriver]

You can update to from Leopard to El Capitan, Sierra or High Sierra at these links. Just follow the 6 steps on the linked pages. There is also the upgrade to Mojave macOS 10.14. Obviously, you need to double-check the hardware requirements first. Second thing to do is re-read the instructions on those pages.

There are also pages offering 10.6 and 10.7 at Apple (which I will leave as an assignment for the reader), but those were still $20 upgrades. And you will no longer have security updates for those, either.

[Paddy]

Ok - let's get a few things straight.

1. A 2009 24" 2.66 GHz iMac cannot be updated past 10.11 (El Capitan). See: https://everymac.com/systems/apple/imac/specs/imac-core-2-duo-2.66-24-inch-aluminum-early-2009-specs.html

2. Raven is currently using 10.10.5 - not 10.5, guys.

3. For future reference for anyone else considering updates, Adobe CS6 will work fine in 10.13. I am still using everything no problem, other than InDesign looks like absolute crap, as does Acrobat. (not optimized for Retina screens, is my assumption). I am, however planning on transitioning away from Adobe now that they've broken their promise to keep the non-subscription option for Lightroom. There are lots of up and coming alternatives out there now - some of them very promising.

4. Never had any issues with fonts through all my updates. (Don't have quite as many as you have - but do have close to 500)

5. Your peripherals should be fine with the update to 10.11, but should you decide it's time for a new Mac, you should check on the manufacturer's website. Epson does say they will provide support for Epson products for 10.14, so you should be good to go. You'll need to check Lexmark's site.

[Raven]

Jchuzi, Xairbusdriver, Paddy:
THANK YOU again for this start. I have some homework to do prevent issues and downtime. It will be a week or two before I'm back to this thread.
You folks are the best, and I already owe you all numerous refreshments! 

One more thought...
Should I update all this first and make sure it all works - OS, Adobe and Apple apps, and peripherals, and then buy my new iMac?
Or the other way around?

[Paddy]

Raven, typically I find that the less difference between new and old versions of things, the better, but really what you need to do is look up the compatibility of each of your major apps with Mojave - as pretty much any new Mac will come with that installed (unless you buy a used one of a slightly earlier vintage)>

[Raven]

Paddy,
Seems like getting a new iMac is my best option.
BUT...
You did mention issues with Indesign CS6 in OSX10.13? That's still my primary design app. What specifically is the problem?

I am really hesitating to move to Adobe CC. I'm semi retired & part time. Maybe 5 more years of casual design work for me.
I hate to spend the monthly fees for 3 Adobe CS6 apps - ID, Illustrator, Photoshop.
And what happens the day I don't pay that anymore with all my 1000s of documents. Will I be able to access my work? Obviously another topic! :-(

[Paddy]

Paddy,
Seems like getting a new iMac is my best option.
BUT...
You did mention issues with Indesign CS6 in OSX10.13? That's still my primary design app. What specifically is the problem?

I am really hesitating to move to Adobe CC. I'm semi retired & part time. Maybe 5 more years of casual design work for me.
I hate to spend the monthly fees for 3 Adobe CS6 apps - ID, Illustrator, Photoshop.
And what happens the day I don't pay that anymore with all my 1000s of documents. Will I be able to access my work? Obviously another topic! :-(

InDesign CS6 still works fine in 10.13. It just looks horrid - fuzzy. I don't think it has anything to do with the OS - it's that I'm using a Retina iMac and ID CS6 isn't optimized for a decent screen. It isn't too bad UNTIL you see the same document in say, Affinity Publisher. Acrobat X has the same issue - though it's more noticeable in the modal windows.

Anyway - I won't be moving to CC. No way. As I noted, with the exchange, it's $800+ a year. As long as CS6 still works, we can open our existing docs. And save everything as a PDF too - while not (strictly speaking) editable - it will preserve the ability to see the documents. I'm looking to Affinity Publisher for future page layout. It's not quite there yet - but getting there. The photo app options are far wider and I have no doubt I'll settle on Lightroom & PS alternatives soonish. If I could just find the time to really investigate!!!

BTW - this entire thread might be worth checking out, but the last (most recent page) has some interesting tidbits. One guy says that CS5 works fine in Mojave. And there is the whole discussion of ID/Quark/Aff Publisher interoperability or lack thereof:

https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/65038-how-can-i-open-indesign-indd-and-idml-files-in-publisher/&page=14

[Raven]

Paddy,
I totally agree about resisting the CC move. I've saved $1000s not using it so far at the end of my career.

I will check with my printers to see what they suggest about CS6, CC vs Affinity. Can Affinity files be RIPed by commercial printers and sign suppliers, etc?

A few years ago there was an online survey with nearly 50,000 names opposed to Adobe's CC ONLY option. Not sure what those people are doing today. I will post back in  few weeks when I make my move. A bit apprehensive about this. 

[Paddy]

There are quite a few discussions of workflow on the Affinity Publisher forums - so probably a good idea to look there to see whether those questions have been answered.

https://forum.affinity.serif.com/index.php?/topic/64820-is-it-possible-to-package-a-project-in-publisher/ is one such thread. There are others.

For my purposes, exporting to PDF is all I need - with fonts embedded etc.

BTW - you can download the beta for free and take it out for a spin. As I said - it's not quite there yet, but it's pretty close and there have been regular updates.

https://affinity.serif.com/en-gb/publisher/