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authorNorbert Preining <norbert@preining.info>2019-09-02 13:46:59 +0900
committerNorbert Preining <norbert@preining.info>2019-09-02 13:46:59 +0900
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+\centerline{\bf PostScript and math}
+\medskip\noindent
+Various comments on this subject (mainly
+appearing in \TeX{\sc hax}) have finally goaded me into putting in my
+two cents' worth. For a publisher of mathematics, there are two problems
+with trying to generate \TeX\ output on a \PS\ typesetter --- fonts and
+speed.
+
+ Leaving aside the fact that some people just like other fonts
+better than Computer Modern, there is really no good alternative at present
+to the Computer Modern math fonts. And, in my opinion, even if they're
+generated from outlines in the ``native'' \PS\ fashion, the CM math
+shapes simply don't mix well with other styles. It's got to be possible
+to make other alphabets (e.g.~Times Italic) behave well in math --- in fact,
+it's been done at the American Math Society for some non-\PS\ Times fonts
+--- but it's a {\it lot} of work! And I didn't realize until the job was done,
+and I was seeing competent math coming out of our typesetter in Times, the
+extent of the subtlety in the Computer Modern math.
+
+With Computer Modern,
+someone with a trained eye can spot math very quickly. The spacing of the
+italic is clearly different from that of the math, but also, the shapes
+are different. (Take a closer look sometime.) This means that in theorems,
+traditionally set in italic (here I personally like Knuth's innovation of
+slanted, but my opinion is not shared by my employer's editorial staff),
+it's possible to distinguish math from text quite easily, even the single
+letter a ({\it a} versus $a$).
+I know of no other fonts, anywhere, where this sort of distinction
+has been made. (But I'd welcome hearing about it if anyone else does.)
+
+Regarding speed, most of the \PS\ rips (raster image
+processors) are geared for low-resolution production, say 300\,dpi, the
+resolution that requires 1\,Mbyte of memory to hold a full bitmap of a US
+letter-size page. Even keeping up
+with a relatively fast print engine like the 40\,ppm {\sc dec}\-server40 is child's
+play compared to keeping up with the rated speed of a real typesetter,
+with over 1000\,dpi resolution. I would welcome
+some statistics for typesetters performing ``real'' jobs --- using a large
+selection of (native) fonts in several sizes. Without outline fonts for
+math, any math job statistics are probably meaningless, since the time
+to download bitmaps is relatively much greater than to use outline fonts.
+
+A promising development I've read about recently ({\it Seybold Report}, Dec 28)
+is a new rip designed to handle Alphatype's Alphacomposer, which has a
+resolution of $5300\times5300$\,dpi and runs at a maximum speed of 3 minutes/page.
+That's a 280\,Mbyte bitmap requirement for $8\times10\,\hbox {in}$! (The same article gives
+benchmark results from Linotype showing that its present rip can't even
+keep up with a 1270\,dpi engine.) The new rip is supposed to be ready for
+demonstration sometime during the first quarter of 88; it was developed
+by Medianet, not Alphatype, and the agreement is non-exclusive. This
+looks like it's worth watching. Until this kind of speed is available
+for \PS\ typesetters, they just won't be practical for technical
+publishers, and 300\,dpi (even 600\,dpi) just isn't good enough for the
+highest-quality typesetting that most major publishers are looking for.
+
+\rightline{\sl Barbara Beeton}
+