This article originally appeared in TidBITS on 1991-06-10 at 12:00 p.m.
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Type 3 to Type 1

by Adam C. Engst

Since I also purchased FontMonger while I was in the process of converting Type 1 to TrueType, I went ahead and performed a second test. For this test, I first converted the Type 1 font to a Type 3 font, thereby stripping it of the hinting that was initially part of the font. I then took the Type 3 font and converted it back into a Type 1 font, thereby relying on the converters' hinting techniques. In this test, I'd have to give the edge to FontMonger. Both conversions were almost indistinguishable - the controlling factor for Type 1 fonts is that you must install bitmaps and the bitmaps control factors such as leading. Whereas the leading varied greatly in the TrueType conversions, there was no difference since the bitmaps were the same. Although both conversions were very good, the Metamorphosis Professional had one serious glitch between 6 point and 11 point. In the word "point" on the printed page, the hinting of its Type 1 font caused the left side of the stem of the "i" to look like it had a semicircular chunk taken out of it, almost as if the "o" had a thick, white outline around it. Oddly enough, this effect varied in intensity between 6 and 11 point and disappeared at 12 point.