🚀 go-pugleaf

> It was very interesting to note that not all 35 fonts on the Apple 
> LaserWriter+ actually exist.  Adobe seems to have squeezed a lot more than
> control points in order to get them into the ROMS.  One look at the following
> FontMatrix entries on the LaserWriter+ convinced me that these fonts are not
> what they should be.  

There is a big difference between an Oblique font and an Italic font.
Obliques are actually just transformations on the upright faces.
Generally, obliques are only appropriate for sans serif faces, and not
even for all of them.  In the LaserWriter Plus, for instance, the
Times, Bookman, Palatino, and New Century Schoolbook faces have true
italics, whereas the AvantGarde, Helvetica, and Courier fonts use
obliques.  The obliquing can be done optically as well as
algorithmically.  Adobe wasn't cutting corners to do this; it is
actually the appropriate way to implement an oblique face.

The Helvetica-Narrow family, on the other hand, is an invention.  Adobe
has since come out with the true (designed) Helvetica-Condensed family
which is considered better than the Narrow version.

--
Glenn Reid
Adobe Systems