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- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS);faqs.283
-
-
-
- (1) The smallest component of written language that has semantic value.
- Character refers to the abstract idea, rather than a specific shape (see
- also glyph), though in code tables some form of visual representation is
- essential for the reader's understanding. (2) The basic unit of
- encoding for the Unicode character encoding, 16 bits of information.
- (3) Synonym for "code element". (4) The English name for the
- ideographic written elements of Chinese origin.
-
- download
-
- Downloading is the process of transferring information from one
- device to another. This transferral is called downloading when the
- transfer flows from a device of (relatively) more power to one of
- (relatively) less power. Sending new fonts to your printer so that
- it ``learns'' how to print characters in that font is called
- downloading.
-
- font
-
- A font is a collection of symbols that have similar characteristics.
- The symbols in a font have a fixed typeface, size, weight, style and
- symbol set. For example, upright, bold Times Roman at 10pt is a
- font. Contrast with typeface.
-
- More technically:
-
- A particular collection of characters of a typeface with unique
- parameters in the 'Variation vector', a particular instance of values
- for orientation, size, posture, weight, etc., values. The word font or
- fount is derived from the word foundry, where, originally, type was cast.
- It has come to mean the vehicle which holds the typeface character
- collection. A font can be metal, photographic film, or electronic media
- (cartridge, tape, disk).
-
- glyph
-
- A glyph is a more general term for a symbol that can appear in a
- font. Usually we refer to individual symbols in a font as characters
- (because they are things like ``A'' and ``&''). However, since any
- arbitrary smear of ink can occur in a font, a more general term is
- sometimes used.
-
- More technically:
-
- (1) The actual shape (bit pattern, outline) of a character image. For
- example, an italic 'a' and a roman 'a' are two different glyphs
- representing the same underlying character. In this strict sense, any
- two images which differ in shape constitute different glyphs. In this
- usage, "glyph" is a synonym for "character image", or simply "image".
- (2) A kind of idealized surface form derived from some combination of
- underlying characters in some specific context, rather than an actual
- character image. In this broad usage, two images would constitute the
- same glyph whenever they have essentially the same topology (as in
- oblique 'a' and roman 'a'), but different glyphs when one is written
- with a hooked top and the other without (the way one prints an 'a' by
- hand). In this usage, "glyph" is a synonym for "glyph type," where
- glyph is defined as in sense 1.
-
- 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.
-
- kerning
-
- Kerning refers to slight changes in the spacing between characters.
- Some letter combinations (``AV'' and ``To'', for example) appear
- farther apart than others because of the shapes of the individual
- letters. Many sophisticated word processors move these letter
- combinations closer together automatically.
-
- outline font/format
-
- See 'scalable font'
-
- scalable font
-
- A scalable font, unlike a bitmapped font, is defined mathematically
- and can be rendered at any requested size (within reason).
-
- softfont
-
- A softfont is a bitmapped or scalable description of a typeface or
- font. They can be downloaded to your printer and used just like any
- other printer font. Unlike built-in and cartridge fonts, softfonts
- use memory inside your printer. Downloading a lot of softfonts may
- reduce the printers ability to construct complex pages.
-
- symbol set
-
- The symbol set of a font describes the relative positions of
- individual characters within the font. Since there can only be 256
- characters in most fonts, and there are well over 256 different
- characters used in professional document preparation, there needs to
- --- [cut here] --- FAQ for comp.fonts: section 1, part 1 of 2 ---
- Xref: bloom-picayune.mit.edu comp.fonts:6625 news.answers:4477
- Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!enterpoop.mit.edu!think.com!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!caen!nic.umass.edu!dime!dime.cs.umass.edu!walsh
- From: walsh@cs.umass.edu (Norman Walsh)
- Newsgroups: comp.fonts,news.answers
- Subject: comp.fonts FAQ.A.VendorList
- Summary: This posting answers frequently asked questions about fonts.
- It addresses both general font questions and questions that
- are specific to a particular platform.
- Message-ID: <WALSH.92Dec7141742@ibis.cs.umass.edu>
- Date: 7 Dec 92 19:17:42 GMT
- Expires: 8 Jan 93 00:00:00 GMT
- References: <9212071410.WW57338@cs.umass.EDU>
- Sender: news@dime.cs.umass.edu
- Reply-To: walsh@cs.umass.edu (Norm Walsh)
- Followup-To: poster
- Organization: Dept of Comp and Info Sci, Univ of Mass (Amherst)
- Lines: 606
- Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.Edu
-
- Archive-name: fonts-faq/part10
- Version: 1.1.1.
-
- FAQ for comp.fonts: Chapter Appendix A: Vendor List
-
- Version 1.1.1., Release 07DEC92
-
- Welcome to the comp.fonts FAQ. These articles, posted monthly, describe many
- of the basic questions that seem to be repeated frequently on comp.fonts.
- Your comments are both welcome and encouraged.
-
- The FAQ is divided into chapters. The first chapter is a general overview.
- Most of the remaining chapters are more-or-less platform specific.
-
- For more information about the FAQ, please consult the beginning of the first
- chapter. The FAQ is always available via anonymous ftp from ibis.cs.umass.edu
- in /pub/norm/comp.fonts/FAQ*
-
- Masumi Abe <abe@adobe.com> contributed the following list of commercial
- font vendors. Since a number of people have suggested other vendors for
- fonts (both commercial and shareware), I have taken the liberty of merging
- those suggestions into a single vendor list. If there are any errors in
- the following list, please blame norm <walsh@cs.umass.edu>, not Masumi.
-
- I've made some effort to continue Masumi's annotations regarding available
- font types, platforms, and languages. Innacuracies and ommisions are
- both present and accidental. Updates are always welcome.
-
- --------------
-
- Acorn Plus, Inc. (HP/IBM)
- 4219 W. Olive Ave. #2011
- Burbank, CA 91505
- (213) 876-5237
-
- ADH Software (Mac)
- P.O. Box 67129
- Los Angeles, CA 90067
-
- Adobe Systems Incorporated : The Adobe Typeface Library (Mac)
- 1585 Charleston Rd. (Mac) (HP/IBM)
- P.O. Box 7900
- Mountain View, CA 94039-7900
- (415) 961-4400
- (800) 344-8335
-
- Advanced Vision Research (HP/IBM)
- 2201 Qume Dr.
- San Jose, CA 95131
- (408) 434-1115
-
- AGFA Compugraphic Corp. : CG Type
- 90 Industrial way
- Wilmington, MA 01887
- (800) 622-8973
-
- Allotype Typographics : Downloadable Fonts (Mac)
- 1600 Packard Rd. Suite #5 Kadmos (Greek)
- Ann Arbor, MI 48104 Czasy & Szwajcarskie
- (313) 663-1989 Demotiki
-
- Alphabets, Inc.
- P.O. Box 5448
- Evanston, IL 60204-5448
- (312) 328-2733
-
- Alphatype Corp.
- 220 Campus Dr., Suite 103
- Arlington Heights, IL 60004
- (312) 259-6800
-
- Altsys Corporation : FONTastic Fonts, Fontographer Fonts (
- Mac)
- 720 Avenue F, Suite #109
- Plano, TX 75074
- (214) 424-4888
-
- Artworx Software Co. (Mac)
- 1844 Penfield Rd. Hebrew Typefaces
- Penfield, NY 14526
- (716) 385-6120
- (800) 828-6573
-
- Architext, Inc. (HP/IBM)
- 121 Interpark Blvd. Suite 1101
- San Antonio, TX 78216
- (512) 490-2240
-
- Asiagraphics Technology Ltd. (Mac)
- 9A GreatMany Centre Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai
- 109 Queen's Road East
- Wanchai, Hong Kong
- (5) 8655-225
- Fax: (5) 8655-250
- Modem: (5) 865-4816
-
- Autologic, Inc. (Mac)
- 1050 Rancho Conejo Blvd.
- Newbury Park, CA 91320
- (805) 498-9611
-
- Berthold of North America
- 7711 N. Merrimac Avenue
- Niles, IL 60648
- (312) 965-8800
-
- Bitstream, Inc.
- Athenaeum House
- 215 First St.
- Cambridge, MA 02142
- (617) 497-6222
- (800) 237-3335
-
- A representative of Bitstream sent the following correction to me.
-
- Bitstream offers:
-
- **1100 PostScript Type 1 fonts for the Mac & PC. (These can
- be ordered direct from Bitstream or thru several resellers.)
-
- ** Bitstream Type Treasury -- the Bitstream Type Library for
- the Mac (Type 1 format) on CD ROM.
-
- ** Bitsteram Type Essentials--a series of 4 Typeface
- Packages for PC & Mac that were selected to work well for
- different jobs (Letters, Memos & Faxes; Newsletters,
- Brochures & Announcements; Spreadsheets, Graphs &
- Presentations; Headlines).
-
- **Bitstream Typeface Packages for the PC -- 52 packages
- (most with 4 faces each) that include a total of over 200
- faces, with mutiple font formats in each package (Bitstream
- Speedo, Type 1, Bitstream Fontware)
-
- ** Bitstream TrueType Font Packs 1 & 2 for Microsoft Windows
- ** Bitstream PostScript Font Packs 1 & 2 for the PC
-
- ** Bitstream FaceLift for Windows
- ** Bitstream FaceLift for WordPerfect
- - both are font scaling/font management utilities.
-
- ** Bitstream MakeUp for Windows - a type manipulation/
- special effects program.
-
- ** Bitstream Li'l Bits -- a new product line of novelty
- fonts in TrueType format for Windows 3.1. The first release
- began shipping last week and includes The Star Trek Font
- Pack, The Flintstones Font Pack and The Winter Holiday Font
- Pack.
-
- We offer OEM customers an extensive range of non-latin type
- (as you have noted in the current listing), but these faces
- are not currently available to individual end-users.
-
- We also offer font-scaling and rasterizing technology to
- OEM customers.
-
- Blaha Software/Janus Associates : Big Foot (Mac) (HP/IBM)
- 991 Massachusetts Ave.
- Cambridge, MA 02138
- (617) 354-1999
-
- Blue Sky Research : Computer Modern Fonts
- 534 SW Third Avenue, #816
- Portland, OR 97204
- (800) 622-8398
-
- Canon Canon Font Gothic, Canon Font Mincho
-
- Casady & Greene, Inc. : Fluent Fonts, Fluent Laser Fonts (Mac)
- 26080 Carmel Rancho Blvd. #202 Russian/Ukranian/Bulgarian/Serbian
- P.O. Box 223779 Cyrillic, Greek, Hebrew, Kana, Polish
- Carmel, CA 93922 Glasnost
- (408) 484-9228
- (800) 331-4321 -------------no longer valid
- (800) 851-1986 (California)-no longer valid
-
- Caseys' Page Mill (Mac)
- 6528 S. Oneida Court
- Englewood, CO 80111
- (303) 220-1463
-
- Century Software (MacTography) font developer for MacTographyc
- 702 Twinbrook Parkway : LaserFonts (Mac)
- Rockville, MD 20851
- (301) 424-1357
-
- Coda Music Software
- 1401 E. 79th St.
- Mineapolis, MN 55425-1126
- (612) 854-1288
- (800) 843-1337
-
- Compugraphic Corporation (Mac) (HP/IBM)
- Type Division
- 90 Industrial Way
- Wilmington, MA 01887
- (800) 622-8973 (U.S.)
- (800) 533-9795 (Canada)
-
- Computer EdiType Systems (HP/IBM)
- 509 Cathedral Parkway, Ste. 10A
- New York, NY 10025
- (212) 222-8148
-
- Computer Peripherals, Inc. : JetWare (HP/IBM)
- 2635 Lavery Ct. #5
- Newbury Park, CA 91320
- (805) 499-5751
-
- Computer Prod. Unlimited (Mac)
- 78 Bridge St.
- Newburgh, NY 12550
- (914) 565-6262
-
- Conographic Corp. (Mac) (HP/IBM)
- 17841 Fitch
- Irvine, CA 92714
-
- (714) 474-1188
-
- Corel Systems Corp. (HP/IBM)
- 1600 Carling Ave.
- Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA KIZ 7M4
- (613) 728-8200
-
- Data Transforms (HP/IBM)
- 616 Washington St.
- Denver, CO 80203
- (303) 832-1501
-
- Davka Corp. (Mac)
- 845 N. Michigan Ave., Ste. 843 Arabic, Hebrew
- Chicago, IL 60611
- (312) 944-4047
-
- Devonian International software Co. (Mac)
- P.O. Box 2351 Cyrillic
- Montclair, CA 91763
- (714) 621-0973
-
- Digi-Fonts (HP/IBM)
- 528 Commons Drive Greek, Cyrillic
- Golden, Colorado 80401
- (303) 526-9435
- Fax: (303) 526-9501
-
- Digital Type Systems (DTS) (HP/IBM)
- 38 Profile Circle
- Nashua, NH 03063
- (603) 880-7541
-
- Dubl-Click Software, Inc. : World Class Fonts (Mac)
- 9316 Deering Ave.
- Chatsworth, CA 91311
- (818) 700-9525
-
- Eastern Language Systems, Inc. (Mac)
- 39 W. 300 North Arabic, Hebrew
- Prove, UT 84601
- (801) 377-4558
-
- Ecological Linguistics (Mac)
- P.O. Box 15156 Cyrillic, Greek
- Washington, DC 20003
- (202) 546-5862
-
- The Electric Typographer
- 2216 Cliff Dr.
- Santa Barbara, CA 93109
- (805) 966-7563
-
- EmDash : EmDash Fonts (Mac)
- P.O. Box 8256
- Northfield, IL 60093
- (312) 441-6699
-
- The Font Company
- 12629 N. Tatum Boulevard
- Suite 210
- Phoenix, AZ 85032
- (602) 996-6606
-
- The Font Factory (HP/IBM)
- 2400 Central Parkway
- Ste. J-2
- Houston, TX 77092
-
- FontCenter (HP/IBM)
- 509 Marin St., #121
- Thousand Oaks, CA 91360
- (805) 373-1919
-
- Font FunHouse CD-ROM (PC/Mac)
- Wayzata
- PO Box 807
- Grand Rapids, Minnesota 55744
- (800) 735-7321
-
- Font World (Mac)
- 2021 Scottsville Rd. Cyrillic, Hebrew
- Rochester, NY 14623-2021
- (716) 235-6861
-
- Genny Software R&D (Mac)
- P.O. Box 5909
- Beaumont, TX 77706
- (409) 860-5817
-
- Gradco Systems Inc.
- 7 Morgan
- Irvine, CA 92718
- (714) 770-1223
-
- Hewlett-Packard (HP/IBM)
- P.O. Box 15
- Boise, ID 83707
- (208) 323-6000
-
- ICOM Simulations, Inc.
- 648 S. Wheeling Rd.
- Wheeling, IL 60090
- (312) 520-4440
- (880) 877-4266
-
- Image Club Graphics, Inc. : Laser Type (Mac)
- 1902 11th Street SE, #5
- Calgary, Alberta
- T2G 3G2 Canada
- (800) 661-9410
- (403) 262-8008 (Canada)
-
- Image Processing Systems :Turbofonts (HP/IBM)
- 6409 Appalachian Way, Box 5016
- Madison, WI 53705
- (608) 233-5033
-
- Invincible Software (Mac)
- 9534 Burwick
- San Antonio, TX 78230
- (512) 344-4228
-
- Keller Software (HP/IBM)
- 1825 Westcliff Dr.
- Newport Beach, CA 92600
- (714) 854-8211
-
- Kensington Microware Ltd. (Mac)
- 251 Park Ave. S
- New York, NY 10010
- (212) 475-5200
-
- Kingsley/ATF Type Corp. (Mac)
- 200 Elmora Ave.
- Elizabeth, NJ 07202
- (201) 353-1000
- (800) 289-TYPE
-
- Laser Technologies International : Lenord Storch Soft Fonts
- 15403 East Alondra Blvd. (HP/IBM)
- La Mirada, CA 90638
- (714) 739-2478
-
- LaserMaster Corp. : LM Fonts (HP/IBM)
- 7156 Shady Oak Rd.
- Eden Prairie, MN 55344
- (612) 944-9330
- (800) LMC-PLOT
- Fax: (612) 944-0522
-
- LeBaugh Software Corp : LeFont (HP/IBM)
- 2720 Greene Ave.
- Onaha, NE 68147
- (800) 532-2844
-
- Letraset USA : LetraFont (Mac)
- 40 Eissenhower Dr.
- Paramus, NJ 07653
- (201) 845-6100
- (800) 634-3463
-
- Linguists' Software, Inc. (Mac)
- P.O.Box 580 Cyrillic, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, Farsi,
- Edmonds, WA 98020-0580 Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Thai,
- Tibetan,
- (206) 775-1130 Hindi, Sanskrit, Gujarati, Tamil,
- Punjabi
- Fax: (206) 771-5911 Burmese,
-
- Linotype Company (Mac)
- 425 Oser Ave.
- Hauppauge, NY 11788
- (800) 645-5764 (US)
- (800) 832-5288 (NY)
- (800) 387-9553 (Canada)
-
- MacTography
- 326-D North Stonestreet Ave.
- Rockville, MD 20850
- (301) 424-3942
-
- Megatherium Enterprises : Mac The Linguist 2 (Mac)
- P.O. Box 7000-417
- Redondo Beach, CA 90277
- (213) 545-5913
-
- Metro Software, Inc. (HP/IBM)
- 2509 N. Cambell Ave., Ste. 214
- Tucson, AZ 85719
- (602) 299-7313
-
- Modern Graphics :Organic Fonts (Mac)
- P.O. Box 21366
- Indianapolis, IL 46221
- (317) 253-4316
-
- Monotype Typography Inc.
- Suite 504-53 West Jackson Blvd.
- Chicago, IL 60604
- (312) 855-1444
- (800) MONOTYPE
-
- Network Technology Corp. : LaserTEX Font Library (HP/IBM)
- 6825 Lamp Post Lane
- Alexandria, VA 22306
- (703) 765-4506
-
- Nippon Information Science Ltd. (NIS) (Mac)
- Sumire Bldg. 4F
- 5-4-4 Koishikawa
- Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 112
- Japan
- (03) 945-5955
-
- Olduvai Corporation : Art Fonts (Mac)
- 7520 Red Road, Suite A
- South Miami, FL 33143
- (305) 665-4665
- (800) 822-0772 (FL)
-
- Page Studio Graphics : PIXymbols (Mac)
- 3175 N. Price Rd. #1050
- Chandler, AZ 85224
- (602) 839-2763
-
- Paperback Software : KeyCap Fonts
- 2830 9th St.
- Berkeley, CA 94710
- (415) 644-2116
-
- Prosoft (HP/IBM)
- 7248 Bellair Ave., P.O. Box 560
- North Hollywood, CA 91605
- (818) 764 3131
-
- Qume Corp. (HP/IBM)
- 2350 Qume Dr.
- San Jose, CA 95131
- (800) 223-2479
-
- R.M.C. : PrintR fonts (HP/IBM)
- 12046 Willowood Dr.
- Woodbridge, VA 22192
- (703) 494-2633
-
- S. Anthony Studios : Fonts Vol. 1
- 889 DeHaro Street
- San Francisco, CA 94107
-
- ScenicSoft Inc. : PC-Monochrome (Mac)
- 250 Harbor Bldg.
- 100 2nd Ave. S
- Edmonds, WA 98020
- (206) 776-7760
-
- SMK (Mac)
- 5760 S. Blackstone Ave.
- Chicago, IL 60637
- (312) 947-9157
-
- SoftCraft, Inc. : Fancy Font (HP/IBM)
- 16 North Carrol St., Suite 500
- Madison, WI 53703
- (608) 257-3300
-
- SoftDisk Publishing : DTPublisher Fonts
- P.O. Box 30008
- Shreveport, LA 71130-0008
- (318) 221-8718 or
- (800) 831-2694
-
- Software Apple-cations (Mac)
- 1934 Ridge Point Way
- Boise, ID 83712
- (208) 345-0547
-
- Software Complement : Complementary Type (Mac)
- 8 Penn Ave.
- Metamoras, PA 18366
- (717) 491-2492
-
- Software Shop : Studio 231 (Mac)
- 233 Bedford Ave.
- Bellmore, Long Island, NY 11710
- (516) 785-41447
-
- Software Touch : FontWorks
- 9625 Black Mountain Rd.
- San Diego, CA 92126
- (619) 549-3091
-
- Specific Solutions : FontPacks (Mac) (HP/IBM)
- 1898 Anthony Ct.
- Mountain View, CA 94040
- (415) 941-3941
-
- Springboard Software, Inc.
- 7808 Creekridge Circle
- Minneapolis, MN 55435
- (612) 944-3915
- (800) 445-4780 (US & Canada)
-
- Straightforward : ZFont (HP/IBM)
- 15000 Halldale Ave.
- Gardena, CA 90249
- (213) 324-8827
-
- Studio 231, Inc.
- 231 Bedford Ave.
- Bellmore, NY 11710
- (516) 785-4422
-
- SWFTE International (HP/IBM)
- Box 5773
- Wilmington, DE 19808
- (800) 237-9383
-
- T/Maker Company : LaserLetters (Mac)
- 1390 Villa St.
- MountainView, CA 94041
- (415) 962-0195
-
- Treacyfaces, Inc : Treasyfaces (Mac)
- 303 Conway Ave.
- Narverth, PA 19072
- (215) 668-8548
-
- TypeXpress
- 150 Fencl Lane
- Hillside, IL 60162
- (800) 343-4424
-
- Typographics Ltd. : Typo
- 46, Hehalutz St.
- Jerusalem 96222
- Israel
-
- U-Design, Inc. : Type Foundry
- 201 Ann St.
- Hartford, CT 06102
- (201) 278-3648
-
- The Underground Phont Archive (TrueType,Shareware)
- 395 Kaymar Dr.
- Amherst, NY 14228
- USA.
-
- Varityper, Inc. (Mac)
- 11 Mt. Pleasant Ave.
- East Hanover, NJ 07936
- (800) 631-8134 (US except NJ)
- (201) 887-8000 ext. 999 (NJ)
-
- VS Software (HP/IBM)
- P.O. Box 6158
- Little Rock, AR 72216
- (501) 376-2083
-
- Weaver Graphics : LJ Fonts (Mac) (HP/IBM)
- 5165 S. Hwy A1A
- Melbourne Beach, FL 32951
- (407) 728-4000
- Fax: (407) 728-5978
-
- Wikes Publishing Corp. : Softjet (HP/IBM)
- 25251 Paseo de Alicia #200
- Laguna Hills, CA 92653
- (714) 855-0730
-
- Wu Corp. : FeiMa (Mac) Chinese wordprocessor
- 46 West Avon Rd.
- Avon, CT 06001
- (203) 673-4796
-
- Xiphias : Digital Type Fonts (HP/IBM)
- 13464 Washington Blvd.
- Marina Del Ray, CA 90292
- (213) 821-0074
-
- ZSoft Corp. : Soft Type
- 450 Franklin Rd. Suite 100
- Marietta, GA 30067
- (404) 428-0008
- Fax: (404) 427-1150
-
- -- END OF PART Appendix A --
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- Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!micro-heart-of-gold.mit.edu!wupost!usc!rpi!usenet.coe.montana.edu!caen!nic.umass.edu!dime!dime.cs.umass.edu!walsh
- From: walsh@cs.umass.edu (Norman Walsh)
- Newsgroups: comp.fonts,news.answers
- Subject: comp.fonts FAQ: part 2 of 5
- Summary: This posting answers frequently asked questions about fonts.
- It addresses both general font questions and questions that
- are specific to a particular platform.
- Message-ID: <WALSH.92Oct2140538@ibis.cs.umass.edu>
- Date: 2 Oct 92 18:05:38 GMT
- Expires: 6 Nov 92 00:00:00 GMT
- References: <9210021355.WW15298@cs.umass.EDU>
- Sender: news@dime.cs.umass.edu
- Reply-To: walsh@cs.umass.edu (Norm Walsh)
- Followup-To: poster
- Organization: Dept of Comp and Info Sci, Univ of Mass (Amherst)
- Lines: 521
- Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.Edu
-
- Archive-Name: fonts-faq/part2
- Version: 1.0.0
-
- --- [cut here] --- FAQ for comp.fonts: section 1, part 2 of 2 ---
- be some way to map characters into positions within the font. The
- symbol set serves this purpose. It identifies the ``map'' used to
- position characters within the font.
-
- typeface
-
- A typeface is a collection of symbols with a similar style. Times
- Roman and Helvetica are typefaces. Contrast with font.
-
- More technically:
-
- The features by which a character's design is recognized, hence the word
- face. Within the Latin language group of graphic shapes are the
- following forms: Uncial, Blackletter, Serif, Sans Serif, Scripts, and
- Decorative. Each form characterizes one or more designs. Example:
- Serif form contains four designs called Old Style, Transitional, Modern,
- and Slab Serif designs. The typeface called Bodoni is a Modern design,
- while Times Roman is a Transitional design.
-
- 7. Bibliography / Other Resources
-
- Editors note: the following books have been suggested by readers of
- comp.fonts. They are listed in no particular order. I have lost the
- citations for some of the submissions. If you wrote a review that
- appears below and you aren't credited, please let norm
- <walsh@cs.umass.edu> know.
-
- I have decided that this is the best section for pointers to other
- font resources (specs and other documents, for example). These appear
- after the traditional bibliographic entries. As usual I will happily
- accept entries for this section. As of 9/92, the only files listed
- are the TrueType font information files available from Microsoft
-
- 7.1. The Bibliography
-
- _The Mac is Not a Typewriter_, Robin Williams, Peachpit Press.
-
- A good, clear explanation of what typography is, and how to get it from
- your computer. Mac-specific, but full of excellent general advice. I
- think there's also a PC version. Available at most computer bookstores
-
- _Rhyme and Reason: A Typographic Novel_, Erik Spiekermann.
-
- _Typographical attitude!_, H. Berthold AG, ISBN 3-9800722-5-8.
-
- _Printing Types_ (2 vols), Daniel Berkely Updike, Dover Press.
-
- Affordable edition of the most readable history of type, lots of
- illustrations.
-
- _The Art of Hand Lettering_, Helm Wotzkow, Dover Press, reprint from 1952.
-
- _Looking Good In Print_, Roger C. Parker, Ventana Press,
- ISBN: 0-940087-32-4.
-
- Well, as a beginner's book, [it] isn't bad. I can't say that I agree
- with the author's tastes all the time, but he at least gives some good
- examples. Also there are some nice _Publish_-style makeovers.
- Don Hosek <dhosek@ymir.claremont.edu>
-
- _Book Design: A Practical Introduction_, Douglas Martin, Van Nostrand
- Reinhold, New York: 1989. 206pp.
-
- Along with Jan White's book (see below), this provides a fairly
- complete guide to book design. Martin's book is somewhat more
- conservative in outlook and also reflects his UK background.
- Don Hosek <dhosek@ymir.claremont.edu>
-
- _Digital Typography: An Introduction to Type and Composition for Computer
- System Design_, Richard Rubinstein, Addison-Wesley, Reading, Massachusetts:
- 1988. 340pp.
-
- An interesting, technological approach to typography which is worth
- reading although not necessarily always worth believing. A not
- insubstantial portion of the text is dedicated to representing type on
- a CRT display and Rubinstein devotes some time to expressing
- characteristics of typography numerically.
- Don Hosek <dhosek@ymir.claremont.edu>
-
- _Graphic Design for the Electronic Age_, Jan V. White, Watson-Guptill
- Publications, New York: 1988. 212pp.
-
- A good handbook for document design. In a well-organized approach,
- White covers the principles for laying out most of the typographics
- features of a technical document. White is a bit overeager to embrace
- sans-serif types and in places his layout ideas seem a bit garish, but
- it's still a quite worthwhile book.
- Don Hosek <dhosek@ymir.claremont.edu>
-
- _Xerox Publishing Standards: A Manual of Style and Design_, Watson-Guptill
- Publications, New York: 1988. 400pp.
-
- Overall, a disappointing book. It is divided into four sections of
- widely varying intent: ``Publishing Process,'' ``Document
- Organization,'' ``Writing and Style'' and ``Visual Design.'' None of
- them is really adequate for the task and all are highly centered on the
- Xerox method for publishing. As a guide to Xerox' process, it succeeds,
- but as a manual for general use, it falls far short. In print.
- Don Hosek <dhosek@ymir.claremont.edu>
-
- _Methods of Book Design (3rd edition)_, Hugh Williamson, Yale University
- Press, New Haven: 1983. 408pp.
-
- It is a bit out-of-date as regards technology, but on issues relating
- purely to design it is comprehensive and definitive. Well, I suppose
- it could be argued that printing technology influences design -- e.g.
- some types look fine in metal but lousy in digital imagesetting -- and
- therefore a book that is out-of-date in technology can't really be
- "definitive" in matters of design either. In any event, _Methods_
- is more than adequate for a beginner's needs. My paper-bound copy
- (ISBN 0-300-03035-5) was $13.95; cheap at twice the price!
- Cameron Smith <cameron@symcom.math.uiuc.edu>
-
- _The Thames & Hudson Manual of typography_, Rauri McLean, Thames & Hudson
-
- An excellent book if you start getting more interested in type. Look
- for Rauri McLean's other books after this one...
- Liam R.E. Quim <lee@sq.sq.com>
-
-
- _Typography and Why it matters_, Fernand Baudin.
-
- There is no better introduction than [it]. It's not a primer on
- subjects such as "what does Avant Garde look like," or "This is a good
- font for books." It is a good primer on the things you need to know
- before the rest should be considered. He's a lovely writer, to boot.
-
- [My copy is at work, so I may have munged the title--look up Baudin
- in "Books in Print" and improvise :-)]
-
- Ari Davidow <ari@netcom.com>
-
- _Better Type_, Betty Binns
-
- It's definitely not a lightweight beginner's introduction, but I've
- found [it] to be indispensable. It's a large-format hardcover, but
- you can find it remaindered for cheap if you look around. The book
- goes into great detail about how factors like line spacing, line
- length, point size, and design of typeface (evenness of stroke
- weight, x-height, etc.) affect readability. When you've gotten the
- basics out of the way and want to learn more about the fine nuances
- of type color, this book is an absolute must.
- David Mandl <dmandl@bilbo.shearson.com>
-