laser-lovers@uw-beaver (03/26/85)
From: ihnp4!shell!buck@uw-beaver.arpa
information about their new PostScript phototypesetters.
[They just changed their name from Mergenthaler Linotype.]
Currently they sell the L300 (max 2540 lines/inch, $34k +
front end) and the L101 (max 1440 lines/inch, $23k + front
end) which have PostScript buried inside (according to the
salesman), but do not support the graphics primitives. The
newer P300 and P101 to be out in a few months will support
the full PostScript language, but prices were not available.
The front end terminal they require ranges from $5k to $10k,
but the salesman indicated that sometime they will be sel-
ling a bare phototypesetter with a communications port that
accepts PostScript input. Fonts from the Mergenthaler Lino-
type Stempel Haas digital typeface library are quite reason-
able, each one selling for about $180 in the complete range
of sizes (1pt to 186pt, in steps of .1 pt). Their digital
typeface directory is fascinating to browse through. It
gives examples of over 1700 fonts available in the library.
I would guess all the Mergenthaler fonts should be available
eventually in PostScript form to download to a LaserWriter,
but they will certainly be compressed in a proprietary way,
like Xerox does. The salesman told me how their fonts are
designed on a base of about 400pt, but their printers are
restricted from printing at full design size to keep people
from printing the full size font and re-digitizing. Somehow
that is not feasible from the smaller sizes because of a
built in algorithm for adjusting stroke weight, etc. as the
size of the font varies.
A. Lester Buck @ Shell Development Co.
{ihnp4, pur-ee, ut-sally}!shell!bucklaser-lovers@uw-beaver (03/28/85)
From: adobe!taft@Shasta (Ed Taft) I'd like to correct and clarify some of the information given in a recent message about Allied Linotype typesetters and PostScript. The Allied Linotype products that are currently on the market do not have anything to do with PostScript. The software controlling these typesetters and the page description languages for driving them are entirely different from PostScript. Likewise, the fonts used in the current products come directly from Merganthaler, and Adobe Systems has had no involvement in their production. When the P300 and P101 printers come on the market, they will have full PostScript capabilities. These printers will support both Merganthaler fonts and Adobe PostScript fonts licensed from Merganthaler and other typeface vendors. Each of the Adobe fonts is size-independent and is scaled automatically from a single description, just like the LaserWriter fonts. The Linotype PostScript printers will support a standard set of fonts similar to the LaserWriter's; and as new fonts are produced they will likely be made available for Linotype, LaserWriter, and other PostScript printers. However, downloadable font descriptions won't be directly interchangeable between these printers; each line of products will have its own corresponding line of fonts. This is not for technical reasons, but is necessary to conform to the typeface suppliers' copyright and licensing requirements. Ed Taft Adobe Systems, Inc. Notices: Linotronic 300 and Linotron 101 are trademarks of Allied Corporation PostScript is a trademark of Adobe Systems, Inc. LaserWriter is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc.