Do you need a desktop computer with a large screen for pro proofreading and editing?

Q&A with Louise: Do you need a desktop computer with a large screen for pro proofreading and editing?

23/1/2018

Anna is training to be a proofreader and plans to set up her own business in the near future. She’s ready to upgrade her kit but wants to make sure her investment is fit for purpose.

The question

Anna said: At the moment I am working on an old-ish MacBook Pro but know I need to upgrade very soon. The dilemma is whether to buy an improved laptop or move to a desktop. My preference is for Apple products as I know my way around them better.

I’m tempted to get a better laptop. I like the freedom of being able to move around and I often travel. But I know that a desktop would give me a significantly bigger screen.

What are your thoughts on screen size for proofreading? How important is it to have a large screen, or is it easier to use two screens side by side at times? And if you use a laptop how small a screen would you consider too small?

The greedy option

Hi, Anna! Great question. In short, I think you should go for what suits your lifestyle best. But let's look at some options.

You could go down the route of having multiple large screens. For example, I have two large screens, plus a backup 14” notebook.

Some of my editing colleagues have three or four large screens rigged up to their desktops. That’s great if your machine can handle it (some can’t) and if you have the space (some don’t).

There was a time when I considered it unthinkable to work five hours a day on my HP Pavilion notebook. My desktop and double-screen setup was a necessity.

But, actually, that’s hogwash.

In November 2017, a family member became poorly and I had to relocate from the shed-based office at the bottom of my garden to the dining table in my house.
That remained the situation until the end of January the following year. And you know what? It was fine.

Plus, another editor told me about an app called Duet that allowed me to hook up my Windows notebook to an an iPad ... MS to iOS. It worked like dream and gave me little more flexibility.

The light option

You say you like to travel. Another editor friend was location independent for several years. She worked with a laptop and nothing else. It gave her the flexibility and mobility she needed to travel the world.

Prior to that, she had multiple large monitors, but she adapted. Given your itchy feet, you might like to read her posts about location-independent editing and proofreading (see the Taking Your Proofreading Service on the Road series via For Editors and Proofreaders section on the Kateproof blog). There are lots of tips and tools on offer for editors who want to lighten the load.

One of Kate’s favourite pieces of equipment is the lightweight, foldable Roost laptop stand.

If you decide to commit to a new laptop but want an additional largish monitor, hook up your existing MacBook Pro or splash out on an additional monitor especially for home use.

What’s too small?

I’d recommend a screen that's at least big enough to house the full width of one page at a viewing scale that’s readable, with some room in the margins to spare.

That way you can call up a navigation pane in the sidebar without having to scroll across the page. Additional navigation panes could include the Find pane in Word or the Bookmarks pane in a PDF reader.

I can achieve this comfortably with my 14” notebook screen.

Beyond the screen: RAM and processor

I think that screen size is less important than RAM and a decent processor. That's because the more programs we’re running, the bigger the demands on our kit.

When we’re professionally editing and proofreading, we’ll likely have multiple files open simultaneously. We’ll be running Word and/or PDF readers. We’ll be using additional software (macros, for example) to complement our beady eyes. And there are online tools and resources (e.g. email, dictionary and style manuals) that we’ll need to access.

Regardless of whether seeing all that stuff requires a quick keyboard toggle or is viewable on multiple screens, it’s RAM-greedy.

Focus on performance first and screen size second. Smaller screens can be adapted to. Poor processor performance and memory can’t – they're just a frustration and will slow you down.

Back to my notebook: the screen I was using at the time was only 14" but it had an Intel Core i5 7th gen processor (not the highest spec but good enough), 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD, all of which means the machine could fire on all cylinders while I'm putting it through its paces. By 2026 I'd upgraded my laptop to a Dell Latitude 3420. It has Windows 11, an 11th gen processor and 16GB of RAM. The SSD and screen size are the same.

In a nutshell

You don’t need one large screen to do a pro job. You certainly don’t need three. You might well find them rather marvellous if you have room and are not looking to go anywhere anytime soon, and having large monitors certainly makes life easier.

However, if they’re going to clutter up your living space and remain unused much of the time because you’re on the road, they’re probably not a wise investment for you at this point.

Invest in the equipment you feel comfortable with and that works hard for you, and you’ll not go far wrong.

Good luck with your travelling!

About Louise Harnby

Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.

She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.

Get in touch: Louise Harnby | Crime Fiction & Thriller Editor
Connect: X @LouiseHarnby, Facebook and LinkedIn
Learn: Books and courses
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8 Comments

Kathie York link

26/1/2018 09:34:58 pm

Louise:

I have a set-up similar to yours, as does my husband … and he isn’t even in this profession!

The two screens is a ‘must’ for us. He does a lot of PowerPoint work, so it makes sense.

Anna:

Four suggestions:

1. Yes … two screens!

2. Whether or not you ‘go mobile,’ invest in a good portable hard drive for backups.
If you go ONLY with mobile (which I don’t suggest), I’d backup to the portable hard drive every day. If you’re on the road, that sucker is GONNA be dropped.

3. Whatever the suggested RAM to make a computer zip along? Double it!

4. Make sure you’re plugged into a good UPS (uninterruptable power source) at all times. I use APC products, but I’m sure there are other good options.

I know this is a scary/exciting time. Go for it

Richard Adin

4/2/2018 07:18:45 am

As always, Louise, an excellent article. I differ on two points, however.

First, studies show that multiple screens can increase efficiency and productivity. Three screens seems to be the sweet spot as the increase is only 5% when one goes from 3 screens to 4.

Second, that if necessity doesn't dictate a laptop, then a custom-built desktop is, I believe, the superior choice. There are several reasons for my belief. (1) Laptops are more difficult and more time-consuming to repair should repair be necessary. Downtime is lost time. Desktops tend to be repairable by just about anyone these days. (2) Laptops are very difficult to customize. You have a choice among preconfigured configurations, but that is about it. Lack of customization is particularly problematic with Apple products, desktop or laptop. In contrast, a desktop can be easily custom built locally. For example, my desktop has 4 SSD drives all of which are removable and hot-swappable plus 2 standard hard drives. The SSDs, however, are key for me. When I got hit (thanks to a careless client and my own stupidity) with ransomware that froze my computer, I pulled out the affected SSD and popped in my SSD that was a clone of the affected SSD and in 5 minutes was working away again while my computer reformatted the ransomware drive. I paid $0 in ransom and $0 for computer repair and lost just the time it took to swap the drives and add a couple of passwords. Can't do that so easily with a laptop. BTW, I have so many drives because the 2 non-SSD drives are terabyte local backup drives and 2 of the SSD drives are clones (done weekly) of the primary SSD drives. A negative in my mind to a laptop is that they are usually single drives that are partitioned (and some people don't even partition them), which means if you get hit with malware, it hits both programs and data. In my system, the OS and programs are on one physical drive and data on another so I do not need to worry about my entire operation being compromised. In addition to local backups, I also do cloud backups (Carbonite, primarily). And the removable drives let me remove the hard drives and store them elsewhere when I traveled.

There are other advantages to custom building a desktop. When I doubled my RAM (from 8 to 16 GB), it was easy. When I wanted to upgrade my processor, all I had to do was change the motherboard and chip; I didn't have to replace the entire system.

For me, the list goes on and I would never use a laptop as my primary tool for editing. But, then, necessity hasn't required it.

Louise Harnby

4/2/2018 10:12:54 am

All excellent points that I agree with, Rich, IF productivity is your primary goal. But for some editors, including Kate and Anna, portability and mobility are top of the list, and multiple screeens and desktops simply don’t make the cut.

If Anna had told me she wanted to set up a home office, my answer would have been different. But she’s location-independent part of the time.

It’s important that new entrants to our field understand that mobile working is perfectly doable. I wouldn’t want anyone thinking they couldn’t do my job because they choose different operating systems and working environments. Indeed, Rich and Louises’s everyday preferences are restrictive for some!

A person who wants to travel and edit will find efficiencies and productivity solutions in ways that make little sense to us as home-based workers. Kate’s session at last year’s SfEP conference was illuminating. She had all sorts of tips for working effectively in non-standard environments, and the session was a good reminder of how flexible an editing career can be!

5/2/2018 09:57:59 pm

Rich,

Thanks for bringing up what I call the 'unreliability' of a laptop.

I've seen more than one person lose it all because all they have is a portable computer.

However, when I travel, that's all I have. I'm vveerryy good friends with a couple of flash drives (:->) and save early save often whenever I'm on a portable!

Pritti

2/3/2018 02:11:31 pm

Thanks so much for the pointers! They were most helpful.

I am looking to buy a new laptop and I wanted to know if getting a Macbook would work fine with editing or whether it would be problematic?
I like the lightness of the Macbook air and I'm constantly on the go!

I have searched extensively on the internet for suggestions/advice and have found nothing that helps to come to a resolve on the issue.

Thanks!
P.

2/3/2018 02:29:54 pm

I know lots of editors who work with Macs, Pritti. I don't so I can't share any personal experiences, but if the Apple operating system is your preference, that's fine. The only downside at the moment is that you won't be able to use PerfectIt but Daniel is bringing out a cloud-based version of the software that should resolve the issue. I'm not sure what the time frame is on that.You'd have to contact him via the Intelligent Editing website. In the mean time, you can run something like Parallels to enable you to work with Windows software on an iOS device. Some Mac-using editors have a cheap Windows laptop too. It's worth joining some of the FB editing forums, like the Editors Association of Earth, and asking in there. You'll find lots of Mac users who can share their experiences.

Terence Park link

1/2/2021 04:18:05 pm

Two screens is a yes for me. A lap top is a poor second choice over a desktop - sure they're handy but for serious error free typing the reach over the touchpad to the flat keyboard is a hassle, and the non-standard layouts for non-QWERTY keys means stopping to correct pressing Pgdn instead of End (etc.). As long your machine that runs your favoured writing software - at a minimum Word, Excel and writing software (I'm trialling Write It Now atm).
Not to forget desk space when typing out hand written notes (also somewhere to put the beverage of inspiration)
Mobile? ok for notes. I always, always email them to myself.
Backups. One per day. I discovered the hard way that Word or OO Writer or whatever, is little use if there's a need to discover how a particular stretch of narrative developed.
Also backup: completed projects to an external drive(s). I follow an annual cycle.