rohlicek@bbn.com (Robin Rohlicek) (03/16/88)
I am interested in (semi-) automatically generating scalable postscript fonts from bitmaps. Specifically, I would like to take the bitmap metafont output and scanned hand-created fonts and make postscript spline outlines. Has anyone looked at this problem lately? A recall a paper I read several years ago from Xerox PARC (I think) which looked at a similar problem (using a dynamic programming algorithm for knot placement). Does anyone have any information that might help? Thanks, Robin Rohlicek.
hburford@enprt.Wichita.NCR.COM (Harry Burford) (03/17/88)
In article <22148@bbn.COM> rohlicek@bbn.com (Robin Rohlicek) writes: >I am interested in (semi-) automatically generating scalable >postscript fonts from bitmaps. Specifically, I would like to take the >bitmap metafont output and scanned hand-created fonts and make >postscript spline outlines. Robin: You might want to give Z-Softs Type Foundry a look. They provide an editor that runs in a microsoft Windows environment on a PC that lets you edit either bit or outline fonts. There are also programs included to allow you to convert between the formats. Interesting way to make Laserjet fonts from a Postscript outline or vice-versa. Good-Luck -- Harry Burford - NCR E & M Wichita, Printer Engineering PHONE: 316-688-8016 FAX: 316-688-8889 Harry.Burford@Wichita.NCR.COM C-Serve: 76367,151
rce229@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (03/18/88)
> I am interested in (semi-) automatically generating scalable > postscript fonts from bitmaps. There are two companies in the Macintosh world that claim to have programs to convert bitmaps into Postscript object-oriented descriptions: Silicon Beach Software and and T/Maker (I think). These might help in producing the character description part of the font. A longer but tested method is to trace (on a Macintosh) the scanned images into Postscript using Adobe Illustrator or Fontographer (by Altsys). The latter program will generate all the Postscript to go along with the descriptions; if you use Illustrator you need to write it all yourself. Illustrator, however, makes much nicer looking curves (which is why I had to use it for two fonts I converted). I don't know if any of these tasks can be accomplished without these Macintosh programs. - Rob rce229@uxa.cso.uiuc.cso