diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'info/digests/texline/no7/about-fac.tex')
-rw-r--r-- | info/digests/texline/no7/about-fac.tex | 186 |
1 files changed, 186 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/info/digests/texline/no7/about-fac.tex b/info/digests/texline/no7/about-fac.tex new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..db1dd8f6a2 --- /dev/null +++ b/info/digests/texline/no7/about-fac.tex @@ -0,0 +1,186 @@ +\centerline{\bf About Face!} +\medskip +\noindent +Sub-titled ``Design, Choice and use of `Type' in +Electronic Publishing and Page Design'', this +was {\it another} {\sc bcs-ep} meeting, this time +held on February 11th, at the usual venue, the +School of African and Oriental Studies in Bloomsbury. +This was a very well attended meeting, with +many people who were not {\sc bcs-ep} regulars +(as well as a number of familiar faces). + +The first talk was from David Saunders of Monotype. +He presented a historical account of the rise +of typefaces, from their early, handwritten origins, +via Trajan's column through the rise of moveable type +to the present day. Naturally covering such a sweep +meant that he was selective, but he was also fascinating, +interesting, educational and thought provoking. + +One of his themes was the interaction between design +and technology. This is inevitable, but often the +constraints are not obvious after the event. +Early typefaces were derived from calligraphy (especially +lower case, for which there were no stone cut originals). +But gradually the calligraphic characteristics disappear, +to be replaced by conventions more suited to the medium. + + +Saunders also noted that new letterforms arose in the +early industrial revolution, notably sans serifs, which +were then regarded as expressions of the new age. + +In comparing quality we were shown comparisons between +various laser printed and `conventionally' printed +letterforms. The key issue here was that with good quality +paper, laser printed material could be of good quality, +and that all conventional printing was not automatically +good. There are (or can be) problems with all types of +printing. A conclusion to be drawn +was that higher resolution does not ensure higher quality. + + +From looking at the way in which typefaces have evolved, +we looked next at some of the physiological and psychological +bases for recognising the marks on the paper. +John Richardson of Loughborough University described +some of the results of studies which has been done +by psychologists in this area. Most of this work is rather +old now. From the +way in which the eye handles text, it would seem that +speed of reading for type of 9--12 points is about +the same, but that it reduces for both smaller and larger +sizes. Not surprisingly, there is a certain amount +of visual interference in type set solid. The eye +has difficulty skipping to the beginning of the next line. +In the end we would seem to have to quote Eric Gill, +who, in 1931 wrote ``Legibility, in practise, amounts +simply to what one is accustomed to''. + +John Durham, assisted by the keyboard skills of Jenny +Hearne, described the font editing +software which has been developed by Archetype to +permit modification of the fonts used by the large +high volume laser printers (Xerox 9700). + +Essentially the system permits bitmap editing. Durham +argued that hand tuning of algorithmic fonts would still +be needed, and that simply scaling of a font to another +size could not be expected to give good results. +In order to achieve some degree of fidelity between +screen and page, they used a high resolution monitor +--- 100\,dpi, and grey scale fonts. In other words, the +monitor's pixels were not simply black and white, but +black, white and a range of grey. +He also touched briefly on the problem of font licensing, +since of course some of the fonts on these laser +printers are proprietry. + +This was an interesting example of a small company +siezing on a niche which the original vendor had +failed to fill (for whatever reason), and exploiting it +rather thoroughly. + +After lunch Kathy Lang +described some font practicalities. In most ways she +seemed most interested in larger scale typographic +issues, but she described the sorts of things you expect to +get in the better known dtp packages. +I was surprised to see letterspacing included as +something one expected, since I had just +finished reading in Kleper's book that +``letterspacing should be avoided if possible''. Perhaps this +is a feature incorporated because it is easy to do, +regardless of its desirability (like `strike through' and +underlining --- easy to implement, but useless). +Lang went on to discuss the relative merits of +`write white' and `write black' laser printers. +One of the audience was able to reveal that the new +Apple LaserWriter II is capable of 400\,dpi +(although it only does 300\,dpi just now). + +John Miles, of Banks \& Miles +described the employment of dtp in his design +studio. Even if you don't realise, you +will be familiar with some of the output of this studio. +They designed the logos for the Post Office and British +Telecom (among other well known corporate identifiers). The studio +uses a couple of Macs with PageMaker and RSG!. +But before describing what they did with the Macs, +he stood back a little to explain what it was they +were trying to achieve in the first place. He identified +a necessary focussing on function. What was the intention +of the material, how would it be used? One of the distinctions he made +was between legibility (the property of a typeface) +and readability (a function of the arrangement of typefaces). + +Most of this talk was illustrated with reference to designs +on bits of paper, rather than a screen, but tempered by +the knowledge that they would end up as grids on a +dtp system. The starting point was a sheet of paper, +not the screen. +He noted that it was the job of the designer to +fulfill the function expected by the client, not +to demonstrate the versatility of the equipment. +He also attempted to dispell the myth that there was +anything valuable to be gained by changing typeface +or leading etc.\ `at a stroke'. Any designer worthy of +his hire would know these characteristics before he started +to look at the computer. + +The last talk was by the type designer, Richard Southall, who, as +many will know bears some responsibility for some bits of +Computer Modern, and who has a considerable ability +with \MF. But even if you didn't know that, +you would be familiar with Richard's work. He designed +the sub-titling font which is used by the {\sc bbc} +for its films (also seen on Channel 4). + +Early in his talk Richard made the distinction between +\item{$\bullet$}a character image --- the marks which +a marking engine makes for readers to see. This includes +the letters made by laser printers, dot matrix printers, or +even those made on a vdu screen. +\item{$\bullet$}a font --- a set of instructions to a marking +engine to make a character image. This might be a bit map +or an algorithm, or even a piece of type. +\item{$\bullet$}typeface --- the sets of visual attributes for the +characters of a script. As such a typeface has no concrete +existence, it is an abstract object. The nearest concrete +entity is probably the designer's original drawings. +\smallskip +Richard expressed the view that the changes which were +taking place now, since the introduction of dtp in 1984 +closely paralleled those which took place between 1965 +(with the introduction of photo composition) and the virtual +extinction of hot metal typesetting in 1971. + He also pointed +out the short period which had elapsed since the introduction +of digital photocomposition (in 1965). To an extent the old +constraints had been removed, such that almost anyone +can now design a typeface. + +He pointed out that the commercial pressures to use +outline fonts were overwhelming, but that the +outline was a long way distanced from the typeface it +purported to represent. He commented too on the use of +intelligent outlines, citing \PS, but also the more +recently announced Bitstream, Compugraphics and Imagen +fonts which add information to the character outlines. +But he also said that he could not ``see how to make the +outline intelligent enough''. + +However, Richard has slightly retracted from his earlier +view that \MF\ was unusable, and he now expresses the +view that, subject to some pretty massive constraints, +`You can use \MF' + +A good set of talks which from the extent +of interest shown and the questions asked +met some sort of need. The next {\sc bsc-ep} meeting +is on April 28th. Later this year there will be a meeting +on technical typesetting. + +\rightline{\sl Malcolm W. Clark} +\bigskip |