greid@adobe.com (Glenn Reid) (03/11/89)
[I've added comp.lang.postscript to the Newsgroups line.] In article <25@crdgw1.crd.ge.com> barnett@crdgw1.crd.ge.com (Bruce Barnett) writes: >In article <26962@apple.Apple.COM>, chuq@Apple (Chuq Von Rospach) writes: >>The obvious question is "Why bother? What (other than not giving Adobe >>royalties) are the advantages of Open Fonts over Adobe's technology?" > >Royalty is important. I think the cost for all of the Adobe fonts on a >CD is several thousand dollars. I don't know what the cost would be per >workstation. With Display PostScript and NeWS, doing the proper thing >with PostScript fonts is difficult, from a system manager's view. Notice that Sun is not supplying fonts, but font technology. The fonts will still come from the font vendors, who will be interested in protecting their outlines and in charging royalties. I would be a bit surprised if the font format were not encrypted, and if it isn't, you might see great hesitation on the part of the font vendors in making their outlines available, since they can't be protected under current law. >If I could get 100 new fonts for my workstation, and use them on >a LaserWriter and typesetter, and have the same environment for every >other workstation anywhere, I would be more likely to make use of those > fonts, instead of limiting myself to Helvetica, Courier, and Times. I think you're describing Display PostScript :-) Bear in mind that if you want these fonts to work on a LaserWriter and typesetter, that they must be in PostScript language form, because they understand only that. Which brings up memory-se issues and the difficulties of producing good PostScript language fonts. I don't know whether or not the Sun TypeScaling technology includes the PostScript language code, or just C code. I suspect that you will have to build a new ("clone") printer to take real advantage of this technology on printers. It will certainly be valuable in NeWS, however, which is probably why it was developed. Just thoughts, Glenn Reid Adobe Systems
barnett@crdgw1.crd.ge.com (Bruce Barnett) (03/13/89)
In article <629@adobe.UUCP>, greid@adobe (Glenn Reid) writes: >[I've added comp.lang.postscript to the Newsgroups line.] >Notice that Sun is not supplying fonts, but font technology. The fonts >will still come from the font vendors, who will be interested in >protecting their outlines and in charging royalties. I would be a bit >surprised if the font format were not encrypted, and if it isn't, you >might see great hesitation on the part of the font vendors in making >their outlines available, since they can't be protected under current >law. From the press release: MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.-- March 6, 1989-- Sun Microsystems today reported it has signed licensing agreements with five of the leading type vendors in graphic arts and publishing: Linotype AG, The Monotype Corporation Plc., H. Berthold AG, ITC and the design studio of Bigelow & Holmes. The five vendors will license Sun's just-introduced OpenFonts(TM) technology, thereby making a wide selection of brand-name fonts available to developers and end-users in a non-proprietary intelligent outline description called the F3(TM) format. [] The entire Linotype library will be converted to F3, using Sun's TypeMaker, beginning with several hundred fonts within the year. It includes well-known typefaces like Times Roman(R) and Helvetica(R). Linotype AG has also obtained the right to sublicense Sun's TypeScaler software to OEMs for inclusion in printer controllers and window servers. -------------------- I said: >>If I could get 100 new fonts for my workstation, and use them on >>a LaserWriter and typesetter, and have the same environment for every >>other workstation anywhere, I would be more likely to make use of those >> fonts, instead of limiting myself to Helvetica, Courier, and Times. > >I think you're describing Display PostScript :-) No, I am describing something much better. PostScript requires me to get a license from Adobe using an Adobe product (e.g. a PostScript printer, or Display PostScript). OpenFonts can be used with any window system and any raster printer. I can purchase the sources if I want, which is something I cannot do with PostScript. Please correct me if I am wrong. >Bear in mind that if you want these fonts to work on a LaserWriter and >typesetter, that they must be in PostScript language form, because they >understand only that. Which brings up memory-se issues and the >difficulties of producing good PostScript language fonts. I don't know >whether or not the Sun TypeScaling technology includes the PostScript >language code, or just C code. The package allows you to create a data format usable in any reasonable computer language. And is not restricted to PostScript. Or to the Roman alphabet. >I suspect that you will have to build a new ("clone") printer to take >real advantage of this technology on printers. I do not believe you need a "new" printer to make use of the technology. Look at the PostScript printer on the NeXT machine. It is a PostScript printer without the PostScript language. I don't see why you can't have a LaserJet make use of an OpenFont. > It will certainly be >valuable in NeWS, however, which is probably why it was developed. It was developed for raster devices by Folio. Sun purchased Folio. I would guess that the original intention was for Laser Printers and typesetters. Using this sort of technology for displays seems like overkill. But I can get used to it. :-) >Just thoughts, >Glenn Reid >Adobe Systems And I appreciate them. Follow-up to comp.fonts. -- Bruce G. Barnett barnett@ge-crd.ARPA, barnett@steinmetz.ge.com uunet!steinmetz!barnett