Floppyshop 2

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Text File | 1997-04-16 | 14KB | 341 lines

DESK TOP PUBLISHING ON THE ST ============================= FONTS (OR IS IT FOUNTS?) It can be spelt either way, but I have never seen it spelt "Fount" when referring to the ST. It does appear that the modern way to spell it is "Font" so that it the way I will spell it from now on. As I said in the last issue of STEN, I will start going into more detail covering all the subjects that I have so far mentioned. As you can see from the heading, this issue it's "Fonts". * * * There are several types of Font available for use with the ST. It's a shame that the people concerned, didn't get their act together and make a universal font format. But alas, DTP is big money, so the penny pinching bureaucrats have to stitch us all up. GEM & GDOS FONTS are basically the same. They are used in various budget priced and some not so budget priced DTP, WP and Art programs. For example, Timeworks DTP uses GEM fonts so does Fleet Street Publisher. GEM FONTS are bit-mapped, which means that each character is made from individual pixels on the screen. Because of the way these fonts are constructed, the quality of the character on your screen will vary depending on the quality and resolution of your monitor. This quality is variable not only on your monitor, but on your output device as well. If you only have a 9-pin dot matrix printer the quality will not be as good obviously, as it would be if you have a laser printer. A way of getting a cheap better quality print-out is to do an ALT-HELP of the screen, which will give a very slow but better quality print-out. This is not really the best way to utilise your printers capabilities, because even a 9-pin printer is capable of some very good results. Read on and you'll see how! PRINTER FONTS - As well as GEM screen fonts, there are also Printer Fonts, which will print a character to the best resolution that your particular printer is capable of, it maybe slow but very good results are possible. The printer is controlled by a piece of software called a printer driver, which I'm sure most of you know about. On a 9-pin printer, a GEM printer driver is capable of 120 x 144 dpi (dots per inch). On a 24 pin printer the resolution would be 180 x 180 and 360 by 360 dpi and on a laser a quality of about 300 x 300 dpi can be achieved. Incidentally, a DTP printer driver, is much different from your basic WP printer driver. Many GEM fonts are available in the Public Domain, but the Printer fonts to go with them are often not available. There are ways of getting round this, but not to put too fine a point on it, it is a bit of a bodge. VECTOR FONTS - Otherwise known as 'Outline Fonts'. These fonts are mathematically configured as an outline font, then filled in. The beauty of this, is that a font size can be virtually unlimited, without loosing too much quality. Calamus is one package which uses these fonts, but then again, you get what you pay for. But saying that, although Calamus itself is expensive to buy, there are hundreds of fonts in the Public Domain which also include the printer fonts as well as the screen fonts. SIGNUM FONTS - These fonts are specifically for use within the Signum package and the Script package. I don't know too much about these. I do know that the ones that are available in the public domain also mainly come with screen and printer fonts. Maybe you could let me know some details for a future issue!! FONT EDITORS There are numerous Font Designers and Editors in the Public Domain, some of which are very good. Most of them run in high resolution only, but work well with a mono emulator. They all come with a supply of fonts to edit, and can be well worthwhile. There is also a very clever little program in the Public Domain called MacConvert, which cleverly seeks out fonts in a Mac Font Resource File and converts it to a GEM font. The .Docs don't tell you how to read the Resource files, but it must be possible. FONTMASTER is a GEM/GDOS font designer/editor which again is mono only, but also works with the emulators. To design anything with any clarity you really need to use a mono monitor, which therefore means that I have not used any of these, because I don't own one at present. A lot of fonts in the public domain have been designed by users of the various packages which they design for their own purpose, and then kindly put them out into the PD. ~~~OOOO~~~ THE FOUR STEPS TO SUCCESS (Remember if you see a '*' next to a word, refer to the Glossary of Terms for a definition). SO FAR IN STEN we have covered the basics of design aspects in DTP. This issue, I will be going over the four steps to successful, professional looking productions. We'll presume that you are producing an A4 paged advert. These rules apply to most things, but this is just to make things simpler. * * * STEP ONE Start by gathering together all the elements of the ad. I.E. *copy, clip art etc. You may find it useful to sketch a rough of what you have in mind, this makes laying out the page much easier than trying to work from your mind, it will also tell you roughly whether there's adequate space for all the things you want to incorporate. Now ask yourself these questions: * What is the purpose of the publication? * Who is the audience? * What are the important points I want to communicate? * Which design approach will best attract my audience's attention and communicate my message? STEP TWO Decide on a format, and stick to it White space at the bottom of columns or between columns or illustrations. If possible stick to the suggestions that I made in earlier issues of STEN for design, or if you like make up your own and then compare your ideas with my suggestions STEP THREE Successful graphic design makes it easy for readers to separate the important elements from the less important. This is achieved by selectively adding emphasis. I once heard a good example of this, which was "A cannon exploding in battle is not as dramatic as a crisp packet rustling during a quiet moment at a symphony concert" STEP FOUR Most of you won't be getting your work printed, or output from a bureau. You will just be running to your 9 or 24 pin printer, or if you're lucky a laser printer. But if you are, or if you are printing multiple copies on your printer, check for accuracy before running. Pay special attention to names and phone numbers. Print it out once, and check for visual consistency, i.e. *kerning. You can always add the finishing touches after an initial draft print. Often simple changes in word and letter spacing will make all the difference. CONCLUSION DTP is not as easy as it looks, and to get perfection will take plenty of practice. Search for perfection on a step-by-step basis. Be willing to learn from your mistakes and from the experience of others. Each time you complete a project, take a critical look at it. Take each completed project as a stepping stone toward better projects in the future. Search for ways that next time you can improve on something. By viewing each project in this way, your graphic skills will increase each time you try something new. The best way to learn is from other people's publications. Although a lot of magazines these days are done on Macs, a lot of them aren't very well thought out. DTP can be very rewarding, but people can go too far. Try to identify good publications from bad ones. Keep a scrapbook of good ideas and bad ideas, which contrast each other. Let the work of others improve your own and motivate you onto bigger and better projects. Next issue I haven't got a clue what I'm going to cover, so why don't you tell me! Write to me direct with your suggestions or questions. ~~~OOOO~~~ GLOSSARY OF TERMS * * * A * * * ASCENDER The opposite of Descender. The upward stroke on a letter such as a b or d, which goes above the x-height. * * * B * * * BULLET A black square, circle etc at the beginning of a line, used for emphasis. * * * C * * * CASTING OFF A formula used to determine type size that should be used to set a large amount text to a specific number of pages. * * * D * * * DESCENDER Opposite of Ascender. The tail of a letter that falls below the base line. DOGS COCK An exclamation mark! * * * E * * * EM RULE A line/rule one em long of set width. E.G. If setting in 10 point type the rule will be ten points long. EN RULE Half of an Em rule. * * * F * * * FLICK OFF A system of counting the amount of lines in a book manuscript to ascertain page breaks. FONT/FOUNT A complete set of characters belong to the same style. Another name for a typeface. Pronounced the same. FULL POINT A Full Stop. * * * G * * * GUTTER The space between columns or between pages. In tabs, it is known as the Gutter Tab. * * * K * * * KERNING Closing up letter spacing on letters such as Y and A together, which leave unatural white space between them, which equals up visual spacing. * * * L * * * LEADER A dot used to fill out a line. LEADING The depth from the base line of one line, to the baseline of the next line. I.E. if a block of text is set in 9 on 10 pt. Then the type is 9 point and it is 10 points to the base line of the following line. * * * M * * * MAST HEAD The banner name at the top of a front cover. I.E. ST Format or The Sun etc. * * * O * * * ORPHAN A single word at the end of a paragraph, that because of pagination, falls at the top of a page. * * * P * * * POINT The printers measurement. There are 4.2 points to a mm. PICA Also the printers measurement. There are 12 points to a Pica. * * * Q * * * QUERY A question mark. * * * R * * * RE-COUNTED As 'Reformat' on First Word +. Re- justifies and re-hypehenates lines after any corrections or alterations are made. RECTO Right hand or odd numbered page. * * * S * * * SORT Put elements of copy into alphabetical or numerical order. * * * T * * * THUMBNAIL A reduced sized layout of a document, to show how it will look when complete. TYPESCALE A gauge used for measuring line measures, leading, height of type etc. Usually contains 12 point ems, 10 point ems, 8 point ems, millimetres and inches. * * * V * * * VERSO Left hand or even numbered page. * * * W * * * WIDOW A single word at the end of a paragraph, which falls by itself on the last line of a page or paragraph. This glossary will be added to each issue, as I think of new words to add. If you have got any additions, then please send them to me.