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diff --git a/info/digests/texline/no14/fonts.tex b/info/digests/texline/no14/fonts.tex new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..1f31bb9740 --- /dev/null +++ b/info/digests/texline/no14/fonts.tex @@ -0,0 +1,301 @@ +\title{BCS ep group meetings} +The next meeting of the BCS ep group +is at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in +London on Wednesday 1st~April and will be +concerned with `Text Management and +Indexing', or `how to help the reader find what +s/he wants'. Topics to be covered will include: +`The way in' to documents; aspects of indexing +and indexing software; databases, both text +and relational; various case studies. + +The next two planned meetings will be on +Thursday 4th June, again at SOAS, when the +topic will be `Input and Output Devices', and +Tuesday 2nd September at Nottingham. The +latter meeting is at the invitation of Professor +David Brailsford and his Electronic +Publishing Research Group and will centre on +the work they are doing. This is mainly in the +area of document structure. It is planned that, +as well as speakers from Nottingham, there +will be other speakers on this topic. + +For more details, contact + +{\parindent10pt\obeylines +David Penfold +BCS ep Office +30 Edgerton Road +Huddersfield HD3 3AD +tel: 0484 519462} + + +\bar +\title{Typefaces Meeting} +The BCS Electronic Publishing group held a +meeting on 15th October 1991 at +the St Bride Foundation Institute (just +off Fleet Street), a suitable +venue in view of its historical relevance to +printing (unfortunately, not so suitable +acoustically, with much of the audience +finding it difficult to hear all the speakers, +having to deal with poor sound dispersion, +echoes, and street sounds!). + +Alison Black, who is freelance consultant on +information design, and Paul Stiff of Reading +University (hence, Stiff\&Black) began, with a talk entitled `Cut the +Hype about Type'. They looked at a number +of `received wisdoms', especially those foisted +on us by manufacturers, and compared these +with the customers' requirements. For +example, there is the `democratic fallacy' -- +everyone will be able to have typefaces to suit +their personal needs. But the problem is +not enough fonts, but not enough users who +know how to use those that are already +available. The manufacturers are not so much +responding to demand but creating it, to +produce a world of type-fanciers and type-% +addicts who will need more and more fonts to +satisfy their cravings! + +James Mosley (St Bride Printing Library) +took us on what he called 'a brief canter +through history', tracing the development of +the Bodoni typeface and the historical +influences that have a bearing on modern text +design, including the thick\slash thin stresses that +arose from using reeds, quills and brushes, +and the pure geometry of styles on wax. +Bodoni is characterised by very pronounced +thicks and thins, which required exceptional +press work to reproduce well in letterpress; +offset litho helped to refine them even further. + +Mary Dyson (Reading University) updated us +on the {\sc didot} (Digitising and Designing for +Type) project. This multinational European +project has been going for just over a year and +has another two to run. Its main activity for +the next two years is to design, implement and +evaluate a curriculum for digital typography. +It will also organise +seminars, workshops and summer schools for +typographers\slash graphic artists and computer +specialists, trying to bring these two fields +together. The computer specialists tend to see +`digital typography' in terms of type design, +font acquisition, font manipulation and +rendering, whereas the typographers tend to +be interested in the broader context of letter +spacing, word spacing, leading, line length, +type area, page margins. Bringing them +together allows useful exploration of such +issues as image processing, printing and +display technology, character recognition, +curve-fitting techniques, cultural and artistic +tradition, visual perception, {\sc cad}, and +knowledge-based systems. To date, {\sc didot} +seminars have been more successful in +attracting designers, but later meetings have +been better balanced. + +Probably the most controversial presenation +was given by Lyn Woosey of Adobe. She +gamely introduced us to Multiple Mastering +(MM) which is an extension to Adobe's Type~1 +font format. Instead of using hints and +encryptions to cope with the problems of +scaling one master outline font, MM gives you +different masters for different sizes. This +doesn't mean you'll have to buy a master for +every conceivable point size because MM +allows interpolation between master designs. +That is, if you buy a 6\,pt master and a 12\,pt +master but you want 8\,pt, MM will be able to +produce this by `intelligent interpolation'. But +interpolation doesn't stop there -- you can +interpolate between roman and italic, +condensed and expanded, even serif and san-% +serif if the font is available in both varieties -- +you name a set of typographic variables and +you can interpolate to your heart's content, at +least in principle. Now, it seems only fair to +point out that this horrified the audience +rather than gratified them. Remembering +Alison Black and Paul Stiff's strictures earlier +in the day, we had visions of font anarchy. +However, it looks likely that Adobe will not +give its customers a completely free hand. +Some practical examples of the uses of MM +were given, for example, fitting type to measure, +equalising columns of text translated into +various languages, simulating character +widths when there is a need to print from a +printer not loaded vith the right typeface. +However, the examples tended to be seen as +either solvable by other means, of limited +application, or trivial. The first multiple +masters should be available early 1992. + +Following lunch, Peter Rosenfeld spoke about +Font Technology and Intelligent Font Scaling. +Peter works for URW, a German company +who produce type tools such as Ikarus +(designing typefaces), Linus (autotracing) and +Nimbus (intelligent font scaling). They +digitise about 200 new typefaces a year. Most +of this is hand-digitised (using a digitising +tablet) rather than scanned, and most designs +are created manually rather than designed on +screen. (Screens are not accurate enough, and +a design takes longer, especially if corrections +are required.) + +The day ended with Glenn Jones giving a +fascinating account of the effect of desktop +publishing on his +company (GBM), an advertising typesetting +house in Manchester. This used to be a +Berthold house, and resisted moving to +Macintoshes initially because of the lower +quality. However, Macintoshes allowed access +to a much wider type library and the ability to +create one's own type, which is very important +in this market. Berthold were dragging their +feet, so the plunge to Macs was made. Two +years ago, there were ten advertising +typesetters in Manchester, all Berthold; now +there are two, both using Macs. Their work +has diversified, so that in addition to +typesetting, they now also offer bureau work +and font digitisation. They are very pleased to +find that, as the requirement for trade +typesetting has declined (with the recession +hitting advertising badly, and many companies +now producing their own adverts), they have +found a future that builds upon their previous +experience. + +The formal part of the meeting ended with a +lively question-and-answer session, following +which all attendees were kindly invited by +James Mosley to take a look around the +Printing Library -- a wonderful opportuniy to +see some mediaeval digitisation, interpolated +on the fly!\author{Cliff Morgan} + +\bar\title{Update on Didot} +With the {\sc didot} (Digitising and Designing of +Type) project now in its second year, it must +be time to look at some of the past +activities. + +We should remind ourselves of the +aims of this three year, {\sc comett ii} project. +These are to: +\bitem design, implement and evaluate a +curriculum for digital typography, +\bitem organise seminars\slash workshops for +typographers\slash graphic artists and +computer specialists; +\bitem publish and distribute information. + +The main activities to date have been: + 1990,18th--19th September, Introduction to +\PS, held in Lausanne; 23 October, +Presentation of {\sc didot} project, also in +Lausanne; 4 December, Fonts, in Paris. +1991: 28th February--1st March, Type design: +radition and innovation, held in Reading; +23rd--28th September, First European Summer +School in Digital Typography, in Lausanne, +yet again. + +In more detail, the 1991 activities started off +with a seminar\slash workshop at Reading University. +We worked together with our partners at +Basel, Sch\"ule f\"ur Gestaltung, and with the UK +Associate of URW to put on this +seminar\slash workshop. The main purpose of this +workshop was to explore ways of introducing +people to some of the issues surrounding +letterform design. + +Workshop activities ranged from exercises in +producing letterforms by making marks on +paper, to demonstrations of type production +methods. The traditional methods of punch +cutting, matrix making and type casting were +contrasted with computer-based methods, +IkarusM. + +Seminars dealt with the concept of a +workshop, in conjunction with workshop +activities. There were also lectures which gave +us an insight into the major influences on the +development of the letterform, and a view of +what digital techniques have done to the +relationship between designer, production +method and final result. + +We were hoping to meet designers, educators, +and computer scientists, but the 30 +participants were mostly from backgrounds of +type design or production, and education. +Despite this bias, the meeting did bring +together an unlikely mix of people, and an +unusual juxtaposition of old and new +technologies. The problem with mixing +people in this way is that we don't know how +to talk to each other. The language of the +seminars was not the normal language of +computer scientists. But, we hope that {\sc didot} +and more of these meetings will break down +these barriers. + +The next activity, the Lausanne Summer School was a larger +scale affair, lasting a week, with about fifty +participants. Activities spanned technical +talks, talks combined with workshops, +computer-aided type design workshops, and +lectures on relaed issues. If we chose to be +technical in the mornings, we learned about +font metrics, rasterisation grid fitting +techniques, splines, autohinting, font +descriptions, autotracing, and type forms for +grey scale. If we preferred getting our hands +on mice and keyboards, we were given +opportunities with workshops on +Fontographer, {\sc Typo}, Ikarus, the design of +grey level fonts, or grappling with complexity +in font design. + +Because of the choice provided in the +programme, a sense of frustration did develop +amongst those people who wished to do all +things. But a very positive aspect of the week +was the flexible organisation. In response to +demand, we were offered mini workshops to +enable us to sample virtually all the systems. +The only difficulty remaining was to decide +whether to wear a technical hat or a design +hat. Don't we wear the one that we know fits +us well, so that we don't have to struggle in the +wind? Yes, there we were in our niches, +confirming the need for the {\sc didot} project. + + +If you would like to be added to the database +of those interested in the project, you can +contact Jacques Andr\'e directly (project +coordinator) or I will pass on your details: +Jacques Andr\'e (email: {\tt jandre@irisa.fr}). +\author{Mary Dyson} + + + +\endinput |