Article View: comp.fonts
Article #2703comp.fonts FAQ.1A.General-Info (1/3)
From: Norman Walsh
Date: Mon, 21 Jun 1993 13:19
Date: Mon, 21 Jun 1993 13:19
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The
comp.fonts
Frequently Asked Questions
List
Version: 1.4.1
Date: June 21, 1993
Compiled by Norman Walsh <walsh@cs.umass.edu>
Subject: Table of Contents
1. General Information
1.1. Notes about the FAQ
1.2. Font Houses
1.3. What's the difference between type 1 fonts, type 3 fonts,
1.4. What about ``Multiple Master'' fonts?
1.5. Is there a methodology to describe and classify typefaces?
1.6. What is the ``f'' shaped ``s'' called?
1.7. What about ``Colonial'' Typefaces?
1.8. Where can I get _____ fonts.
1.9. Where can I get fonts for non-Roman alphabets?
1.10. What about fonts with the International Phonetic Alphabet
1.10.1. Shareware or free (PostScript Type 1 and/or TrueType):
1.10.2. Shareware or free (TeX):
1.10.3. Commercial:
1.11. How can I convert my _____ font to _____ format?
1.12. Are fonts copyrightable?
1.13. Typeface Protection
1.14. File Formats
1.14.1. File Format Extensions
1.14.2. Font Formats
1.14.3. Font Format Extensions
1.15. Ligatures
1.16. Standard Laser Printer Fonts
1.17. Glossary
1.18. Bibliography
1.19. (En)Coding Standards
1.20. TrueType
1.21. Unicode Information
1.21.1. Unicode Editing
1.22. Are there PostScript or TrueType fonts available?
1.23. Can I Print Checks with the MICR Font?
1.24. Rules of Thumb
1.25. Acknowledgements
1.26. A Brief Introduction to Typography
1.26.1. Comments by Laurence Penney:
1.26.2. Comments by Don Hosek:
1.27. Pronounciation of Font Names
1.28. What does `lorem ipsum dolor' mean?
2. Macintosh Information
2.1. Font formats
2.2. Frequently requested fonts
2.3. Commercial font sources
2.4. Font Installation
2.5. Font utilities
2.6. Making outline fonts
2.7. Problems and possible solutions
2.8. Creating Mac screen fonts from Type 1 outlines
3. MS-Dos Information
3.1. MS-DOS font notes
3.2. Frequently requested fonts
3.3. Font Installation
3.4. What exactly are the encodings of the DOS `code pages'?
3.5. Font utilities
3.6. Converting Macintosh Type1 fonts to MS-DOS format
3.6.1. The tools you need
3.6.2. How to do it
3.6.3. Other comments
3.7. Converting PC Type1 and TrueType fonts to Macintosh format
3.8. Converting PC Type1 fonts into TeX PK bitmap fonts
3.9. Converting TeX PK bitmaps into HP LaserJet softfonts (and
3.10. TrueType to HP LaserJet bitmap softfonts (HACK!)
3.11. MS-DOS Screen Fonts (EGA/VGA text-mode fonts)
4. OS/2 Information
4.1. OS/2 FAQ Copyright Information
4.2. Preliminaries
4.3. Fonts Under Dos
4.4. Windows
4.5. Differences between Windows and OS/2
4.6. Installation under Windows and Win-OS/2
4.7. FontSpecific PostScript Encoding
4.8. AdobeStandardEncoding
4.9. AdobeStandardEncoding under Windows (and Win-OS/2)
4.10. AdobeStandardEncoding under OS/2
4.11. Consequences for OS/2 users
4.12. Advice to the User
4.13. OS/2 2.1 and beyond
5. Unix Information
5.1. Please help!
6. Sun Information
6.1. Please help!
6.2. Fonts Under Open Windows
6.3. Does OpenWindows support Type 1 PostScript fonts?
6.4. Improving font rendering time
6.5. Making bitmap fonts for faster startup
6.6. Converting between font formats (convertfont, etc.)
6.7. Xview/OLIT fonts at 100 dpi
6.8. Where can I order F3 fonts for NeWSprint and OpenWindows?
7. NeXT Information
7.1. Please help!
7.2. Tell me about NeXT fonts
7.3. Tell me more about NeXT fonts
7.4. Porting fonts to the NeXT
7.4.1. Porting PC/Unix Type 1 Fonts
7.4.2. Porting Mac Type 1 Fonts
7.5. Font availability
7.6. Why can I only install 256 fonts on my NeXT?
8. X11 Information
8.1. Please help!
8.2. Where do I get X11?
8.3. X fonts and font utilities
9. Utilities
9.1. Notes about the utilities
9.2. PS2PK
9.2.1. When do you need ps2pk?
9.3. TeX Utilities
9.4. MFpic
9.5. fig2MF
9.6. GNU Font Utilities
9.7. Font editors
9.8. t1utils
9.9. Where to get bitmap versions of the fonts
9.10. Converting between font formats
9.11. Getting fonts by FTP and Mail
9.12. Metafont to PostScript conversion
9.13. How to use Metafont fonts with Troff
9.14. PKtoBDF / MFtoBDF
9.15. PKtoPS
9.16. PKtoSFP/SFPtoPK
9.17. PostScript to Metafont
9.17.1. pfb2pfa
9.17.2. pfa2chr
9.17.3. chr2ps
9.17.4. ps2mf
9.18. Converting Mac Bitmaps to BDF Format
10. Vendor Information
10.1. Vendor List
Subject: Chapter 1
General Information
Subject: 1.1. Notes about the FAQ
Many FAQs, including this one, are available on the anonymous ftp
archive site rtfm.mit.edu in the directory pub/usenet/news.answers.
The name under which a FAQ is archived appears in the Archive-name
header at the top of each article.
This FAQ is a work in progress. If you have any suggestions, I
would be delighted to hear them.
This FAQ was constructed by LameTeX. PostScript and DVI versions of
this FAQ are available on ibis.cs.umass.edu in
/pub/norm/comp.fonts.
The FAQ is formatted for easy searching. Most news readers can skip
from one question to the next by pressing control-G. (or by
searching for ``Subject:'' in column 1)
The Gopher server on port 70 at ibis.cs.umass.edu provides a
WAIS-indexed version of this FAQ.
All trademarks used in this document are the trademarks of their
respective owners.
Standard disclaimers apply.
The FAQ is maintained by Norm Walsh <walsh@cs.umass.edu>
Copyright (C) 1992, 93 by Norman Walsh.
Subject: 1.2. Font Houses
This section will be expanded on in the future. It contains notes
about various commercial font houses.
1.2.1 Compugraphic
See ``Miles, Agfa Division''
1.2.2 Miles, Agfa Division
Compugraphic which was for a while the Compugraphic division of
Agfa, is now calling itself "Miles, Agfa Division" (yes, the Miles
drug company), since CG's off-shore parent Agfa has been absorbed
by Miles. So typographically speaking, Compugraphic, CG, Agfa, A-G
ag, and Miles all refer to the same company and font library. Their
proprietary fonts are still CG Xyz, but the name is Miles Agfa.
Subject: 1.3. What's the difference between type 1 fonts, type 3 fonts,
type 5 fonts, Macintosh fonts, Windows fonts, LaserJet fonts, etc.
This question is not trivial to answer. It's analogous to asking
what the difference is between various graphics image file formats.
The short, somewhat pragmatic answer, is simply that they are
different ways of representing the same ``information'' and some of
them will work with your software/printer and others won't.
At one level, there are two major sorts of fonts: bitmapped and
outline (scalable). Bitmapped fonts are falling out of fashion as
various outline technologies grow in popularity and support.
Bitmapped fonts represent each character as a rectangular grid of
pixels. The bitmap for each character indicates precisely what
pixels should be on and off. Printing a bitmapped character is
simply a matter of blasting the right bits out to the printer.
There are a number of disadvantages to this approach. The bitmap
represents a particular instance of the character at a particular
size and resolution. It is very difficult to change the size,
shape, or resolution of a bitmapped character without significant
loss of quality in the image. On the other hand, it's easy to do
things like shading and filling with bitmapped characters.
Outline fonts represent each character mathematically as a series
of lines, curves, and 'hints'. When a character from an outline
font is to be printed, it must be 'rasterized' into a bitmap ``on
the fly''. PostScript printers, for example, do this in the print
engine. If the ``engine'' in the output device cannot do the
rasterizing, some front end has to do it first. Many of the
disadvantages that are inherent in the bitmapped format are not
present in outline fonts at all. Because an outline font is
represented mathematically, it can be drawn at any reasonable size.
At small sizes, the font renderer is guided by the 'hints' in the
font; at very small sizes, particularly on low-resolution output
devices such as screens, automatically scaled fonts become
unredable, and hand-tuned bitmaps are a better choice (if they are
available). Additionally, because it is rasterized ``on demand,''
the font can be adjusted for different resolutions and 'aspect
ratios'.
Werenfried Spit adds the following remark:
Well designed fonts are not scalable. I.e. a well designed 5pt font
is not simply its 10pt counterpart 50 scaled down. (One can verify
this by blowing up some small print in a copier and compare it with
large print; or see the example for computer modern in D.E. Knuth's
TeXbook.) Although this fact has no direct implications for any of
the two methods of font representation it has an indirect one:
users and word processor designers tend to blow up their 10pt fonts
to 20pt or scale them down to 5pt given this possibility. Subtle
details, but well...
LaserJet .SFP and .SFL files, TeX PK, PXL, and GF files, Macintosh
Screen Fonts, and GEM .GFX files are all examples of bitmapped font
formats.
PostScript Type 1, Type 3, and Type 5 fonts, Nimbus Q fonts,
TrueType fonts, Sun F3, MetaFont .mf files, and LaserJet .SFS files
are all examples of outline font formats.
Neither of these lists is even close to being exhaustive.
To complicate the issue further, identical formats on different
platforms are not necessarily the same. For example Type 1 fonts on
the Macintosh are not directly usable under MS-DOS or Unix, and
vice-versa.
It has been pointed out that the following description shows signs
of its age (for example, the eexec encryption has been thoroughly
hacked). I don't dispute the observation and I encourage anyone
with the knowledge and time to submit a more up to date
description.
It has further been suggested that this commentary is biased toward
Kingsley/ATF. The omission of details about Bitstream (and possibly
Bauer) may be considered serious since their software lies inside
many 3rd-party PostScript interpreters.
The moderators of this FAQ would gladly accept other descriptions/
explanations/viewpoints on the issues discussed in this (and every
other) section.
[ Ed Note: Liam R. E. Quim supplied many changes to the following
section in an attempt to bring it up to date. Hopefully it is a
better reflection of the state of the world today (12/07/92) than
it was in earlier FAQs ]
Henry Schneiker <reachable electronically?> wrote the following
description of the differences between several scalable font
technologies:
There has been a lot of confusion about font technologies in recent
times, especially when it comes to Type 1 versus Type 3 fonts,
``hints,'' PostScript compatibility, encryption, character
regularizing, kerning, and the like.
* Encryption (eexec)
All fonts produced with Adobe's font technology are protected
through data encryption. The decryption is provided by the
`eexec' (encrypted execute) PostScript operator and, until
recently, was only present in Adobe's licensed PostScript.
Adobe has published the details of the Type 1 font format in the
`Black Book', Adobe Type 1 Font Format (version 1.1), Adobe
Systems Inc., 1990. The encryption was mainly used because of
font copyright problems; unencrypted fonts can also be used, but
these tend to use an efficient binary encoding, also in
documented the Type 1 book, and so are still not readable
PostScript.
* Type 1, Type 3, and Type 5 font formats
There are generally three font formats used in Adobe PostScript
printers: Type 1, Type 3, and Type 5. Type 1 fonts are Adobe's
downloadable format. Type 3 fonts are third-party downloadable
format. Type 5 fonts are the ROM-based fonts that are part of
your printer.
There is no functional difference between a Type 1, Type 3, or
Type 5 font. A Type 3 font can do anything a Type 1 or Type 5
font can do. The only real difference between them is where the
`BuildChar' routine comes from. For Type 1 and Type 5 fonts it's
built into the printer. For Type 3 fonts it's built into the
font. In other words, anything a Type 1 font can do a Type 3 font
can also do.
[ Ed note: the reverse is not true. Type3 fonts can do things
that Type1 fonts cannot. But they aren't hinted... ]
When PostScript is asked to generate a character, PostScript
looks in the font's dictionary for FontType. If FontType is 1 or
5 PostScript executes an internal routine that knows how to
interpret the font data stored in CharStrings. If FontType is 3
PostScript executes the routine BuildChar from the font's
dictionary to interpret the font data (often stored in
CharStrings).
However, each BuildChar routine is written to read data formatted
in a method convenient to the vendor. Adobe, Altsys, Bitstream,
and Kingsley/ATF all format their font data differently and,
hence, have different BuildChar routines.
[ Ed note: relative hard disk efficiency of Kingsley vs. Adobe
fonts deleted on 12/07/92 ]
Type 5 fonts are special in that they often include hand-tuned
bitmaps for the commonly used sizes, such as 10- and 12-point.
Other sizes are generated from the outlines in normal fashion.
Don't confuse Type 1, Type 3, and Type 5 fonts with Bitstream's
Type A, Type B, Type C, and Type F. They are not the same and
serve only to confuse the issue.
* Resolution `hints'
When a character is described in outline format the outline has
unlimited resolution. If you make it ten times as big, it is just
as accurate as if it were ten times as small.
However, to be of use, we must transfer the character outline to
a sheet of paper through a device called a raster image processor
(RIP). The RIP builds the image of the character out of lots of
little squares called picture elements (pixels).
The problem is, a pixel has physical size and can be printed only
as either black or white. Look at a sheet of graph paper. Rows
and columns of little squares (think: pixels). Draw a large `O'
in the middle of the graph paper. Darken in all the squares
touched by the O. Do the darkened squares form a letter that
looks like the O you drew? This is the problem with low
resolution (300 dpi). Which pixels do you turn on and which do
you leave off to most accurately reproduce the character?
All methods of hinting strive to fit (map) the outline of a
character onto the pixel grid and produce the most
pleasing/recognizable character no matter how coarse the grid is.
[ Ed note: deleted some paragraphs that are no longer true. Times
change... ]
* Optical Scaling
Optical Scaling modifies the relative shape of a character to
compensate for the visual effects of changing a character's size.
As a character gets smaller, the relative thickness of strokes,
the size of serifs, the width of the character, the
intercharacter spacing, and interline spacing should increase.
Conversely, as a character gets larger, the relative thickness,
widths, and spacing should decrease.
Contrast this with linear scaling, in which all parts of a
character get larger or smaller at the same rate, making large
characters look wide and heavy (strokes are too thick, serifs are
too big) while small characters look thin and weak.
* Kerning
As applied to PostScript fonts, kerning refers to kern pairs. A
kern pair specifies two characters (e.g., A and V) and the
distance to move the second character relative to the first. The
typical use of a kern pair is to remove excessive space between a
pair of characters. However, it may also be used to add space.
* PostScript clones
There are currently several printer manufacturers on the market
with PostScript clones. To be viable, a PostScript clone must
comply with the `red book' (PS Language Reference Manual).
In order to avoid paying royalties to Adobe, and because Adobe's
Type 1 font format was originally preprietary, many PostScript
interpreters use some other font format. Sun uses F3, and some
other vendors use Bitstream's Speedo format, for example. The
only real problem this causes is that the widths of characters
(the `font matrics') may vary from Adobe's, so that programs that
assume the Adobe character widths will produce poor quality
output. Bitstream fonts used to be particularly bad in the early
days, but they and most or all of the other vendors have solved
those problems.
* Apple TrueType [ Ed note: formerly ``Royal (`sfnt')'' ] format
and System 7
Apple's new System 7.0 supports a new format of outline font that
will allow high-quality characters of any size to be displayed on
the screen. TrueType stores font outlines as B-spline curves
along with programmed resolution hints. B-spline curves are
faster to compute and easier to manipulate than the Bezier curves
used in PostScript.
Adobe is not going to support Apple's new format by converting
the Adobe/Linotype library to B-spline format. There are two
reasons for this: First, there is no support for font encryption
(yes, the hooks are there, but nothing is implemented). Second,
Adobe does not want to dilute PostScript and its font library.
However, the Macintosh is too big a market to simply turn away
from. Therefore, Adobe will provide its Font Manager to display
its own fonts on the Mac screen. Apple ships Adobe's ATM for this
purpose.
Subject: 1.4. What about ``Multiple Master'' fonts?
Multiple Master Fonts are an extension to the Adobe font format.
providing the ability to interpolate smoothly between several
``design axes'' from a single font. Design axes can include weight,
size, and even some whacko notions like serif to sans serif.
Adobes' first Multiple Master Font was Myriad -- a two-axis font
with WEIGHT (light to black) on one axis, and WIDTH (condensed to
expanded) along the other axis. In the case of Myriad, there are
four ``polar'' designs at the ``corners'' of the design space. The
four designs are light condensed, black condensed, light expanded,
and black expanded.
Given polar designs, you can set up a ``weight vector'' which
interpolates to any point within the design space to produce a
unique font for a specific purpose. So you can get a ``more or less
condensed, somewhat black face''.
Multiple Master Fonts can be used on any PostScript printer.
Multiple Master Fonts need a new PostScript operator known as
makeblendedfont. The current crop of Multiple Master Fonts supply
an emulation of this operator so the printer doesn't need this
operator.
A short tutorial on Multiple Master Fonts and makeblendedfont
appears in PostScript by Example, by Henry McGilton and Mary
Campione, published by Addison-Wesley.
Subject: 1.5. Is there a methodology to describe and classify typefaces?
There is a standard, Panose, but it is mostly ignored by
typographers (not because it's bad, just because they don't need
it). The Panose system is documented, among other places, in the
Microsoft Windows 3.1 Programmer's Reference from Microsoft Press.
The ISO also has a scheme, but it is not Panose.
At least one book by a respected authority, Alexander Lawson,
Printing Types: An Introduction, describes another, less rigorous
system [ ed: of his own ] , which is exposited in ``An
Introduction'' and used without exposition in his later ``Anatomy
of a Typeface''.
There is another book, Rookledges International Typefinder, which
has a very complete system that uses tell-tales of individual
glyphs as well as overall style to index most known faces right in
the book.
J. Ben Leiberman has another book on type face description.
Terry O'Donnell adds the following comments:
The current ISO system was initiated (I believe) by Archie Provan
of RIT---a successor to Mr. Lawson. Whereas in typographic practice
or teaching---only a high level classification is necessary - times
have changed and the current ISO system aims to accomplish
something beyond the high level. A major goal is to aid software to
help users make selections. For example, a naive user might ask for
all fonts on a font server which have a Roman old style appearance.
Another goal would be to help users with multi-lingual text: a user
creating a document in English using e.g. Baskerville wants to know
what Arabic or Japanese language font on his system/file server
would harmonize well with the Baskerville. It is not all in place
yet---but the more detailed ISO classes---and the current addition
of non-latin typefaces---are an attempt to address this issue.
A second goal is to help with the font substitution problem.
Neither ISO or Panose address the metrics issues in font
substitution---but both might aid software in picking the nearest
style of available available fonts.
Subject: 1.6. What is the ``f'' shaped ``s'' called?
Both the ``f'' with half a crosbar (roman) and the integral sign
(italic) are called long-S.
Subject: 1.7. What about ``Colonial'' Typefaces?
1.7.1 Why does colonial printing have that ``Colonial'' feel?
Colonial type was either very roughly treated by moist salt air on
the crossing and in colonial port cities, or was copied locally by
tacky techniques (such as driving used foundry type into soft lead
to make very soft deformable matrices), and the paper was very
rough, which abrades both the serifs and the hairlines. So except
for the best work done with new, european types, the serifs were
much smaller, even broken off, than the original
founder/punchcutter intended. Thins could be abraded by rough paper
to nothingness, esp after humid salt air had leached the hardner
out of the alloy.
1.7.2 What fonts are good for mock-colonial uses?
For example, what fonts have the following features: old-style
figures (non-lining numbers), the long s character, slightly
irregular shapes (a la type produced by colonial printers), and a
decent complement of ligatures. And what about free or cheap faces
like this?
I don't know if any exist with all of 1-5. As I believe you get
what you pay for, especially in fonts, I haven't looked at free and
cheap-copy fonts.
Microsoft's expansion set for their Win3.1 optional fonts has
Garamond Expert & Expert Extensions, which has a good complement of
ligatures and I think I remember it haveing the long ess too. I
forget about OSFigs; it should tho'. Monotype's metal faces ``16th
Century Roman'' and ``Poliphilus'' may be available in digital; if
so, they imitate early presswork with early and are very close to
what one wants.
``A commercial supplier [ not yet sampled ] is Image Club Graphics
in Calgary (1-800-661-9410). It is called Caslon Antique. It is
supplied as both roman and italic, together, for 25. They advertise
in MacWorld/MacUser/MacBlah. I am unable to tell from abcDEF123 if
the numerals are old-style, but I think not. Ligatures? long-S? Not
yet known. Guillemots, though, are there. ... Letraset, circa 1977,
showing a Caslon Antique with modern numerals, no ligatures, and
only UKPounds and German ss extensions.'' [ Ike Stoddard ]
NB: Caslon Antique is not a Caslon per se: ``The last Caslon to
mention is that ubiquitous but unrelated Caslon Antique, which
possesses no similarity whatsoever to the original. This old
reprobate was introduced by Barnhart Brothers of Chicago under the
name Fifteenth Century. Its negative reception lasted until about
1918, when, with a simple name change to Caslon Antique, it became
the most commonly selected type for reproductions of colonial
American printing. It is now seen in everything from liquor
advertisments to furniture commercials'' [ Lawson, 1990,Anatomy ]
Miles Agfa (Compugraphic) has always had a Caslon Antique; I don't
know if it is available for TrueType or Type 1, but Agfa has been
doing TrueType bundles at reasonable prices. [ wdr ]
1.7.3 What fonts could a colonial printer have had?
According to D.B.Updike in the classic reference ``Printing Types:
Their History, Forms & Use'', he indicates that most colonial work
was with types of the Caslon Old Style fonts and cheap copies of
same in the 18th C. Before that, it would have been the older Dutch
& English faces, almost always lagging English tastes. If you can
find the Oxford Fell types, they are classic
Dutch-as-used-by-englishmen. Anything with a Dutch moniker and the
Oldstyle adjective is probably ok; Van Dijck if you find it, say
(died 1673).
Ben Franklin recommended Caslon faces. But these were not available
in England before 1720, first full broadside in 1734. Lawson
declares that the first printing of the Declaration of Independance
was in Caslon.
Wilson's Scotch Modern was the ``modern'' font that surfaced in
quantity in america. If the Scotch Roman your vendor has is sort-of
like-Bodoni but nicer than his Bodoni, that's it. It wasn't
available until late 1700s, though.
Subject: 1.8. Where can I get _____ fonts.
Before I go any farther, let me extol the virtues of the Archie
servers. If you need to find something on the net, and you have any
idea what it might be called, Archie is the place to go. In North
America, telnet to ``archie.rutgers.edu'' and login as ``archie''.
There are many other servers around the world, any Archie server
can give you a list of other servers. There are better documents
than this to describe Archie and you should be able to find them
from the above starting point. If you have trouble, feel free to
ask norm <walsh@cs.umass.edu> (via Email please, no need to clutter
comp.fonts with a query about Archie ;-).
In addition to the telnet option, several archie clients exist
including a very nice X11 implementation (Xarchie)
* Adobe Type 1 Fonts in MS-DOS/Unix Format:
ftp.cica.indiana.edu:/pub/pc/win3/fonts
ftp.cica.indiana.edu:/pub/pc/win3/fonts/atm
archive.umich.edu:/msdos/mswindows/fonts
* Adobe Type 1 Fonts in Mac Format:
mac.archive.umich.edu:/mac/system.extensions/font/type1
sumex-aim.stanford.edu:/info-mac/font
* Adobe Type 3 Fonts in Mac Format:
mac.archive.umich.edu:/mac/system.extensions/font/type3
* TrueType fonts in MS-DOS Format:
ftp.cica.indiana.edu:/pub/pc/win3/truetype
* TrueType fonts in Mac Format:
mac.archive.umich.edu:/mac/system.extensions/font/truetype
* TeX PK/PXL/GF fonts:
The TeX community has it's own support groups that can provide
better answers to this question. The canonical list of MetaFont
fonts is posted occasionally to comp.text.tex. The comp.text.tex
newsgroup (or the Info-TeX mailing list, if you do not have
access to news) are good places to start. Email norm
<walsh@cs.umass.edu> if you need more specific information.
* LaserJet bitmap fonts:
wuarchive.wustl.edu:/mirrors/msdos/laser
Also on other simtel20 mirrors...
If you know of other archive sites (the above list is no where near
complete) or other formats that are available on the net, please
let us know.
The sites above represent places where shareware and public domain
fonts are available. Many, many typefaces are not available in
shareware form. And many shareware faces are less than adequate for
a variety of reasons, particularly at small sizes. It seems to be
the consensus of the comp.fonts community that ``you get what you
pay for.'' If you need a professional quality font, you should
probably buy it from a professional.
A list of font vendors (annotated with information about non-Roman
alphabets) was contributed by Masumi Abe <abe@adobe.com>. Masumi is
Adobe's Manager of Typographic Marketing for Asia. [ ed: as of 7/92
]
The list is quite long and it is posted separately. It can be
retrieved via anonymous ftp from /pub/norm/comp.fonts on
ibis.cs.umass.edu.
Subject: 1.9. Where can I get fonts for non-Roman alphabets?
As mentioned above, the list of font vendors is annotated with
information about non-Roman alphabets. Commercially, Masumi
<abe@adobe.com> suggests that Linguists' Software is the current [
ed: as of 7/92 ] leading supplier of non-Roman fonts.
Subject: 1.10. What about fonts with the International Phonetic Alphabet
(IPA) symbols?
I summarized Scott Brumage's <brumage@mailer.acns.fsu.edu> recent
post for the FAQ:
1.10.1. Shareware or free (PostScript Type 1 and/or TrueType):
* TechPhon
Seems to lack some characters and has no zero-offset characters
(for accents).
* PalPhon
A phonetic font which you can get by anonymous ftp from
mac.archive.umich.edu. It is called PalPhon. There are actually
two fonts: the basic PalPhon and one with additional accents and
symbols called PalPi. The package includes some documents on
using the fonts as well.
* SIL-IPA
SIL-IPA is a set of scalable IPA fonts containing the full
International Phonetic Alphabet with 1990 Kiel revisions. Three
typefaces are included:
* SIL Doulos (similar to Times)
* SIL Sophia (similar to Helvetica)
* SIL Manuscript (monowidth)
Each font contains all the standard IPA discrete characters and
non-spacing diacritics as well as some suprasegmental and
puncuation marks. Each font comes in both PostScript Type 1 and
TrueType formats. The fonts are also available for Microsoft
Windows.
These fonts were designed by the Printing Arts Department of the
Summer Institute of Linguistics, Dallas, Texas.
1.10.2. Shareware or free (TeX):
METAFONT sources of the phonetic symbols developed by
Tokyo-Shoseki-Printing and Sanseido are available. The font
contains all of IPA (Internatioanl Phonetic Alphabet) symbols.
You can get phonetic symbols METAFONT (named TSIPA) from
ftp.foretune.co.jp:/pub/tools/TeX/Fonts
The IP address for ftp.foretune.co.jp is 133.123.1.2.
1.10.3. Commercial:
Linguist's Software Adobe (ITC Stone Phonetic [ 255 ] , Times
Phonetic [ 278 ] )
Subject: 1.11. How can I convert my _____ font to _____ format?
Conversion from one bitmapped format to another is not generally
too difficult. Conversion from one scalable format to another is
very difficult. Several commercial software packages claim to
perform these tasks, but none has been favorably reviewed by the
comp.fonts community. ATech's AllType program, in particular, has
had poor reviews [ ed: as of 7/92 ] .
In an effort to settle a long-running and oft-asked question, I'll
be blunt: as of today [ 6/93 ] , THERE ARE NO NON-COMMERCIAL
PROGRAMS WHICH WILL CONVERT FROM ONE SCALABLE FORMAT TO ANOTHER.
Not from TrueType to PostScript Type 1, Type 3, Type 5, or any
other scalable PostScript format. Not from PostScript Type 1 to
TrueType. Not to or from Intellifont. Not to or from Sun F3 format.
There are some commercial programs: AllType, Metamorphosis, Font
Monger, and even MoreFonts (to/from some proprietary format, I
believe). And there are probably other commercial programs as well.
However, as several people have noted, conversion from one scalable
format to another is a bad idea. If the original font was well
hinted, the converted font will not be. Of course, if the original
was poorly hinted, maybe it won't matter much.
For specific conversions, check the platform specific parts of the
FAQ. Most of the conversions discussed require platform specific
tools.
Here is a summary of the conversions discussed (and the section in
which they appear):
From To Notes
------------------------- ------------------------- -------------
Mac Type1 PostScript PC Type1 PostScript MS-DOS
PC Type1 PostScript Mac Type1 PostScript Mac, commercial
TrueType Type1 PostScript > No answer as
Type1 PostScript TrueType > of 7/92
PC Type1 PostScript TeX PK MS-DOS
TeX PK HP LaserJet bitmaps MS-DOS
HP LaserJet bitmaps TeX PK MS-DOS
TrueType HP LaserJet bitmaps MS-DOS, hack!!
In addition, Adobe ships a copy of Adobe Font Foundry with all of
its fonts which can convert Type 1 fonts into HP LaserJet
softfonts.
Subject: 1.12. Are fonts copyrightable?
This topic is hotly debated at regular intervals on comp.fonts.
Terry Carroll <tjc50@juts.ccc.amdahl.COM> provides the following
analysis of current [ ed: as of 6/92 ] legislation and regulation
regarding fonts and copyrights in the United States. Terry is
``Editor in Chief'' of Volume 10 of the Santa Clara Computer and
High Technology Law Journal. Members of the comp.fonts community
are encouraged to submit other materials that add clarity to the
issue.
It has been pointed out that this section deals primarily font
copyright issues relevant to the United States and that this
situation is not universal. For example, in many parts of Europe
typeface designs are protectable.
``First, the short answer in the USA: Typefaces are not
copyrightable; bitmapped fonts are not copyrightable, but scalable
fonts are copyrightable. Authorities for these conclusions follow.
Before we get started, let's get some terminology down:
A typeface is a set of letters, numbers, or other symbolic
characters, whose forms are related by repeating design elements
consistently applied in a notational system and are intended to be
embodied in articles whose intrinsic utilitarian function is for
use in composing text or other cognizable combinations of
characters.
A font is the computer file or program that is used to represent or
create the typeface.
Now, on to the legal authorities:
Volume 37 of the Code of Federal Regulations specifies this about
the copyrightability of typefaces:
``The following are examples of works not subject to copyright and
applications for registration of such works cannot be entertained:
. . . typeface as typeface'' 37 CFR 202.1(e).
By the way, you won't find that in the most recent (7/1/91) edition
of the CFR; the addition was enacted 2/21/92. It'll be in the next
edition, though. It's described in the 2/21/92 edition of the
Federal Register, page 6201 (57 FR 6201). The change didn't
actually change the law, it just clarified it, and codified
existing Copyright Office policy.
The regulation is in accordance with the House of Representatives
report that accompanied the new copyright law, when it was passed
in 1976:
``The Committee has considered, but chosen to defer, the
possibility of protecting the design of typefaces. A 'typeface' can
be defined as a set of letters, numbers, or other symbolic
characters, whose forms are related by repeating design elements
consistently applied in a notational system and are intended to be
embodied in articles whose intrinsic utilitarian function is for
use in composing text or other cognizable combinations of
characters. The Committee does not regard the design of typeface,
as thus defined, to be a copyrightable 'pictorial, graphic, or
sculptural work' within the meaning of this bill and the
application of the dividing line in section 101.'' H. R. Rep. No.
94-1476, 94th Congress, 2d Session at 55 (1976), reprinted in 1978
U.S. Cong. and Admin. News 5659, 5668.
It's also in accordance with the one court case I know of that has
considered the matter: Eltra Corp. V. Ringer, 579 F.2d 294, 208
USPQ 1 (1978, C.A. 4, Va.).
The U.S. Copyright Office holds that a bitmapped font is nothing
more than a computerized representation of a typeface, and as such
is not copyrightable:
``The [ September 29, 1988 ] Policy Decision [ published at 53 FR
38110 ] based on the [ October 10, ] 1986 Notice of Inquiry [
published at 51 FR 36410 ] reiterated a number of previous
registration decisions made by the [ Copyright ] Office. First,
under existing law, typeface as such is not registerable. The
Policy Decision then went on to state the Office's position that
'data that merely represents an electronic depiction of a
particular typeface or individual letterform' [ that is, a
bitmapped font ] is also not registerable.'' 57 FR 6201.
However, scalable fonts are, in the opinion of the Copyright
Office, computer programs, and as such are copyrightable:
``... the Copyright Office is persuaded that creating scalable
typefonts using already-digitized typeface represents a significant
change in the industry since our previous [ September 29, 1988 ]
Policy Decision. We are also persuaded that computer programs
designed for generating typeface in conjunction with low resolution
and other printing devices may involve original computer
instructions entitled protection under the Copyright Act. For
example, the creation of scalable font output programs to produce
harmonious fonts consisting of hundreds of characters typically
involves many decisions in drafting the instructions that drive the
printer. The expression of these decisions is neither limited by
the unprotectable shape of the letters nor functionally mandated.
This expression, assuming it meets the usual standard of
authorship, is thus registerable as a computer program.'' 57 FR
6202.''
Subject: 1.13. Typeface Protection
[ Ed: The following article was written by Charles Bigelow several
years ago. In the past, I have resisted including this in the FAQ
because I do not know the status of any copyrights that may exist
on it. However, I've decided to assume that Mr. Bigelow would like
to see it distributed as widely as possible so it's more-or-less
acceptable to include it here. If anyone knows of a reason why I
shouldn't include it, please let me know. norm 2/93 ]
1.13.1 Preamble
The main question of typeface protection is: Is there anything
there worth protecting? To that the answer must certainly be: Yes.
Typeface designs are a form of artistic and intellectual property.
To understand this better, it is helpful to look at who designs
type, and what the task requires.
1.13.2 Who Makes Type Designs?
Like other artistic forms, type is created by skilled artisans.
They may be called type designers, lettering artists,
punch-cutters, calligraphers, or related terms, depending on the
milieu in which the designer works and the technology used for
making the designs or for producing the type.
Type designer and lettering artist are self-explanatory terms.
Punch- cutter refers to the traditional craft of cutting the master
image of a typographic letter at the actual size on a blank of
steel that is then used to make the matrix from which metal type is
cast. Punch-cutting is an obsolete though not quite extinct craft.
Seeking a link to the tradition, modern makers of digital type
sometimes use the anachronistic term digital punch- cutter.
Calligrapher means literally one who makes beautiful marks. The
particular marks are usually hand-written letters, though
calligraphers may design type, and type designers may do
calligraphy.
It usually takes about seven years of study and practice to become
a competent type designer. This seems to be true whether one has a
Phd. in computer science, an art-school diploma, or no academic
degree. The skill is acquired through study of the visual forms and
practice in making them. As with geometry, there is no royal road.
The designing of a typeface can require several months to several
years. A family of typefaces of four different styles, say roman,
italic, bold roman, and bold italic, is a major investment of time
and effort. Most type designers work as individuals. A few work in
partnership (Times Roman(R), Helvetica(R), and Lucida(R) were all,
in different ways, the result of design collaboration.) In Japan,
the large character sets required for a typeface containing Kanji,
Katakana, and Hirakana induce designers to work in teams of several
people.
Although comparisons with other media can only be approximate, a
typeface family is an accomplishment on the order of a novel, a
feature film screenplay, a computer language design and
implementation, a major musical composition, a monumental
sculpture, or other artistic or technical endeavors that consume a
year or more of intensive creative effort. These other creative
activities can be protected by copyright or other forms of
intellectual property protection. It is reasonable to protect
typefaces in the same way.
1.13.3 The Problem of Plagiarism
A lack of protection for typeface designs leads to plagiarism,
piracy, and related deplorable activities. They are deplorable
because they harm a broad range of people beyond the original
The plagiarists do not understand the nature of the designs they
are imitating, are unwiling to spend the necessary time and effort
to do good work, and consequently botch the job. They then try to
fob off their junk on unsuspecting users (authors, editors, and
readers). Without copyright, the original designer cannot require
the reproducer of a type to do a good job of reproduction. Hence,
type quality is degraded by unauthorized copying.
Technical Details
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From: walsh@cs.umass.edu (Norman Walsh)
Newsgroups: comp.fonts,comp.answers,news.answers
Subject: comp.fonts FAQ.1A.General-Info (1/3)
Followup-To: poster
Date: 21 Jun 1993 13:19:05 GMT
Organization: Dept of Comp and Info Sci, Univ of Mass (Amherst)
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Summary: This posting answers frequently asked questions about fonts.
It addresses both general font questions and questions that
are specific to a particular platform.