[comp.fonts] Postscript fonts for ATM under Windows 3.0

gt5139c@prism.gatech.EDU (PETER L. THOMAS) (01/21/91)

I'm really desperate for more fonts; the difference between a type I
font handled by ATM versus the fonts at cica.cica.indiana.edu (which are
the standard .fon files that Windows sans ATM uses) is simply phenomenal.

My brother, a Mac enthusiast, is trying to figure out how to transfer his
PD fonts to me; neither he nor I can figure it out.  How do you take a
font file that the Mac ATM uses and move it to an Windows/ATM system?

Are there two resourses for the outline and metric (have I got my
terminology right?) files?  How would we strip them from the file.

How about naming conventions?

Sources for pre-prepared PD fonts of the ATM variety?  (Do these
things not exist for the PC, yet?)

__HELP__ my documents and I will thank you.

JIM@auvm.auvm.edu (Jim McIntosh) (01/22/91)

In article <19985@hydra.gatech.EDU>, gt5139c@prism.gatech.EDU (PETER L. THOMAS)
says:
>I'm really desperate for more fonts; the difference between a type I
>font handled by ATM versus the fonts at cica.cica.indiana.edu (which are
>the standard .fon files that Windows sans ATM uses) is simply phenomenal.

When was the last time you checked cica? There are now a number of public
domain Type I  fonts available there. (Granted, some of  them are not the
best fonts in the world, but they  *are* there.) The Type I's at cica are
handled by Window/ATM.
---
Jim McIntosh (jim@auvm.auvm.edu)
The American University
Washington DC 20016-8019 USA

gt5139c@prism.gatech.EDU (PETER L. THOMAS) (01/23/91)

In article <91021.205654JIM@auvm.auvm.edu> JIM@auvm.auvm.edu (Jim McIntosh) writes:
>When was the last time you checked cica? There are now a number of public
>domain Type I  fonts available there. (Granted, some of  them are not the
>best fonts in the world, but they  *are* there.) The Type I's at cica are
>handled by Window/ATM.

You are indeed correct.  For those who might be confused, the PSR (postscipt
printer required) indicated on those files indicates the files contain the
actual Type I files you need (.PFM and .PFB).  Don't be put off if all you have
is a 24-pin (or worse)--if you've got ATM these zip's have what you need.

selig@udcps3.cps.udayton.edu (Paul D. Selig) (02/12/91)

> My brother, a Mac enthusiast, is trying to figure out how to transfer his
> PD fonts to me; neither he nor I can figure it out.  How do you take a
> font file that the Mac ATM uses and move it to an Windows/ATM system?

Well, let me explain how I've been accomplishing the conversion of Mac fonts
to the PC format for ATM.  I doubt this is the _best_ way, but it works.

Once you get your Mac font file (I've gotten some from Compu$erve and the
various Mac archives), use some of the shareware un-binhex and un-stuffit
utilities floating around.  This will give you a bunch of mac-format fonts.
Many .sit files for the Mac still don't work with unsit, use the utility
fixsit available on CompuServe or see below (DTPFORUM/Ibm Utilities).

I use a utility called Type-1 Tools available from Keith Cowgill in Columbus
Ohio.  For $12.50, you get a program which, simply, converts the Mac .PFB file
to a pc format .PFB file.  You can then take this file and use the downloader
included with Adobe Fonts or included with Type-1 Tools to get the font 
resident in your postscript printer.

To use the font with ATM - read on....

> Are there two resourses for the outline and metric (have I got my
> terminology right?) files?  How would we strip them from the file.

The only unfortunate thing is that ATM requires both a .PFB and a .PFM
file.  Type-1 Tools creates the .PFB file, but there is no easy way of
creating the .PFM file from the .AFM file.  I use the Corel Draw (2.0) WFNBOSS
program, inport the .PFB and .AFM files, use the WFNBOSS export utility to
export the font, which creates a .PFM (and another .PFB) file.  Using the
new .PFM and the old .PFB (not the one that Corel created), install the
font using ATM.  I don't use the Corel-generated PFB font because it
seems to have problems on the screen using ATM - I havn't tried it with
a postscript printer yet.

> How about naming conventions?

You can pretty much name the files anyway you want, just so long as you
know what it means.  You may want to use the Adobe-style of naming - see
one of the Adobe font brochures for details.  The actual name of the
font is contained in the postscript code, and doesn't change or depend
on your filenames.

> Sources for pre-prepared PD fonts of the ATM variety?  (Do these
> things not exist for the PC, yet?)

Look at the list of Mac anonymous FTP sites recently posted to comp.archives,
or use the "standard" archive sites and CompuServe (DTP Forum/Fonts).  If there
is any interest, I could make some IBM conversions of Mac fonts available
via anonymous FTP which would be ready to install with ATM.

The utilities that I mentioned above (Unsit for IBM, Fixsit for IBM, and
Type1tools for the IBM, is available from Keith Cowgill, 718 Mistletoe St.,
Columbus, Ohio, 43219.  The cost for type-1 tools is $12.50, I don't know
about the others.  You can also contact him at 73147.2253@compuserve.com.
I have no connection with him other than being a satisfied customer.

-- 
Paul Selig, Jr.			Unix Systems Administrator
The University of Dayton, Computer Science Department, Anderson Center 133
INTERNET: selig@udcps3.cps.udayton.edu	BITNET: selig@dayton.bitnet
    UUCP: ...!uunet!dayvb!udcps3!selig