Introduction

theTypeBook is a Mac utility which aids in the creation and maintenence of a typeface reference book. This type of reference is extremely popular in the Graphics and Typesetting industries. It helps people (both clients and employees) select typefaces by demonstrating the various artistic attributes of each face on a printed page.

In the past, users of Mac DTP have had to generate typebooks themselves via the layout of each individual page in their favorite DTP application. Even when using a template strategy it is still necessary to select the Font and the FontStyle for each page, then edit the text so overflows and holes are controlled within reason. All this adds up to a significant amount of non-billable hours required to produce a typeface reference book.

theTypeBook eliminates the need for operator involvement in creating each page. Selection of the desired typefaces and issue of the Print command is all that is required. In fact there are no other direct functions available.

theTypeBook handles each typeface as an individual printing job. This has two advantages; it is not necessary to use the “Unlimited Downloadable Fonts” option except when printing layouts that show a number of fonts per page. If the printer is in a shared environment other printing jobs will be able to “slip-in” the printing queue. 

theTypeBook is compatible with virtually all printers. All current Postscript and Truetype fonts are supported. Background printing and SuperLaserSpool are supported as well.

Using theTypeBook

theTypeBook provides a variety of layouts with which a typeface reference catalog may be constructed.  Before beginning, the available layouts and options should be carefully considered. The production of a typeface reference is a sizeable task and theTypeBook will allow you to produce a number of specimens in short order. For all practical purposes the only bottleneck is the speed of the printer

The main “Sample Page” (described later) provides the most comprehensive showing of a typeface. It is a full-page layout, that is, one font per page. This is considered to be the main specimen format (but the choice is yours) and possesses the options for variation in the layout. These permit adjustment of the specimen to more closely match how you typically use type. Emphasis may be shifted from the default to predominately Display or to Body type.

Three other layouts are designed to consoldate type specimens into as few pages as possible by allowing multiple fonts per page. The “Index” page provides the greatest number  with a maximum of 90 on letter size, 200 on tabloid (11x17). The “Line Showings” page has an optional maximum of 15. The “Type Showings” (or 6-up) layout is fixed at a maximum of 6. Of course the amount of information displayed about each font is directly related to the number of maximum samples in each of the layouts. Generally, the more fonts there are, the less space there is.

There are two other utility layouts designed to suppliment those previous described. They may also suppliment each other when used for “dingbat” fonts. These are the “All Characters” layout and the “Keycaps” layout. In fact, all of the layouts are design to work in harmony with each other.

A complete typeface reference might consist of a Sample Page of each font, and on the back of each page use an All Characters layout to display every character as large as possible. A second section using the All Characters layout as the primary specimen for “dingbat” fonts with a KeyCaps chart on the back of the page. A third section of Index pages for quick scanning of available typefaces.

Another combination might use the Sample page for “parent” fonts only, with the style variations on the back using either the Line Showing, Type Showing, or Index Layouts. Combined with the individual layout options there are a many possible variations.

The layouts and the options you choose should be based upon the type of work you do and your particular preferences. The combinations suggested above may work well together but by no means are they mandatory. Refer to the “Printing Pages” section for additional information.

The Page Footer – As distributed the bottom 32pts. of the page holds theTypeBook logo and tag-line/address of Golden State Graphics. For a small fee I will create a customized version of the page footer using the artwork and information you provide. This customization may include almost any type of artwork/copy within the space available. This provides a professional touch to your presentations of available typefaces. (See “Registering theTypeBook”.)

Printing with theTypeBook

A number of options have been added to the standard print dialog. These are “Cropmarks”, “Family Page Breaks”, “Facing Pages: Left, Right, and Centered”, and “Alternate Left/Right”.  These are described in detail in the File Menu section on the Print Dialog. They are provided to make it possible to perform the printing operation in a convenient manner.

Cropmarks – are provided for those who plan to use theTypeBook with imagesetters. All of the options available in the standard Page Setup dialog are supported as well.

Facing Pages – adjusts the page margins for 3-ring punching. When using a two-sided combination for the book design, the first side may be run using the Left layout. Then reinserted into the paper tray in the opposite manner and the second side run using the Right layout.

Alternate Left/Right – causes the page margins to alternate between left and right facing during printer. The starting orientation is designated using the Left and Right selections. Some may find this preferrable when attacking the typeface reference from front to back as opposed to a series of operations.

Even/Odd page printing –   Odd prints only the left-facing pages, and Even prints only the right-facing pages from the currently selected range of typefaces. This greatly simplifies the creation of a catalog using two-sided page.

You may want to plan your printing sessions around times when your Mac is not is use, unless you are using background print spooling.  It takes about 45 seconds for theTypeBook to generate a page layout. However, the time it takes to image in the printer involves a number of other factors: the speed on the printer, the complexity of the specimen font, and the size and content of the layout selected.

Depending on the artwork supplied for customized versions the are usually 4 different versions of the logo installed inside the application. A postscript version (the original) is used for maximum resolution purposes and takes longest in terms of output time. The other three are high-resolution bitmaps: 360, 300, and 72 dpi. When output at the appropriate resolution these provide the faster output times with only a small decrease in quality (barely noticable).  

These are usually selected automatically by theTypeBook but if you have a postscript printer and just want to pump out pages... and don't mind a minor difference in the logo... use the Output Options (see The File Menu) to select Quickdraw only and then the resolution you are happy with.