Chapters 6 & 7
PostScript
PostScript fonts were once believed
to be the only font for any job, but with today’s world of computers that’s not
the case. The PostScript fonts are two file fonts that consist of a bitmap element
and a printer element, which contains the actually instructions for printing a
certain character. With todays operating systems such as Windows and Macintosh
PostScript fonts can now be rasterized for onscreen display.
TrueType
The
TrueType font was something that came about with collaboration between the
Apple computer and Microsoft. The font is one that consists of a single file.
Which just means that this font doesn’t need a separate screen and printer font
because it’s all packaged together. Not very long ago this type of font
would’ve seemed impossible. In todays world of fonts though the TrueType is
just as easy as the PostScript.
OpenType
Another
single-file font is OpenType fonts, which goes beyond PostScript fonts because
whereas PostScript fonts are restricted to 256 characters. OpenType fonts can
have as many as 65,000 glyphs. This just means the sky is the limit for the
things a font can do. So bottom line is
that OpenType fonts allow you to get creative when it comes to typing something
up. So whatever you’re designing I am sure there is a font for that.
Font Family
When it
comes to font families there are many out there. To specify a font family in
general it is just a set
of fonts, which include the
same typeface,
but with different sizes, weights and slants (italicized).
Glyphs
The world
of Glyphs just allows for fancier fonts with a distinct letterform, which can
consist of numbers, and lowercase letter changes. Glyphs usually have many alternates. Now it
many be easy for you to confuse a glyph with a character, but a character only
has one single position whereas the multiple glyphs can exist for one
character.
DFonts
The dfonts
are consider to be hard to work with just because if the job is created by
different people then it is very possible that the font may have different
versions. Basically all a dfont consist of is your basic font that’s been used
millions of times.
Multiple Master
Fonts
Having
multiple master fonts was a great idea because this allows for multiple
weights, angles, and widths of a single font. But the multiple master font idea
has really died out because the creative promise that was giving has died out,
but can still be used in some instances.
Licensing
When it
comes to licensing fonts it is done just like a license for a software. So when
it comes to getting your project printed one must have a license or permission
to use the fonts that is in the project.
It is crazy to think fonts have license, but once you think about it
fonts are actually art because someone has to build each letter or character so
therefor it’s a lot of work to create a font. With that being said you can tell
why most fonts have agreements and licenses.
File naming
With file
naming it is best to keep it simple, but never use punctuation, like !@#$*%. So
only use letters and numbers when it comes to naming files. Also try to stay
short and sweet.
Extensions
File
extensions clarify the type of file you are dealing with whether it be a text
file (.txt or .doc) or it be a photo file which maybe (.jpg or .tiff). The file
extensions are great ways to help for human identification of certain files. There are many file extensions out there so
make you are using the right extensions because if failure to do so you could
then have problems opening certain files.
Formats That Can
Cross Platforms
OpenType
fonts are the best when it comes to having formats that can cross platforms. These
fonts allow for different operating systems to see the same project without any
problems. In many circumstances its best to have a format that can cross
platforms, because you never know how your project is going to be uploaded. So I
suggest if you want to try something that you’re not totally sure about to ask the
person receiving the project to see how their going to handle the project.
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