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+\centerline{\bf Book Review}
+\medskip
+\noindent {\it Digital Typography, An Introduction to Type and Composition for
+Computer System Design, Richard Rubinstein, 340pp,
+Addison Wesley Publishing Company, \quid26.95, {\sc isbn:}
+0 201 17633 5.}
+\smallskip
+\noindent
+From the Preface (and the subtitle, `An Introduction to Type and Composition for
+Computer System Design') this book would seem to have a
+rather specialised and limited readership. If this is the
+intent, it is a great pity, since almost anyone with any
+concern or interest in typography, let alone digital
+typography (can you separate them now?) will find much that
+is stimulating and valuable in this book. True, it has its
+faults (the selection of Goudy Old Style for what is
+essentially a text book). The rather haphazard structure is
+due in part to the immature nature of the subject. It
+brings together a wealth of material from quite varied
+sources, presenting them in a form that most of us would
+find easy and straightforward to assimilate.
+
+Rubinstein, unlike many typographers with a strict art and design background
+does not appeal immediately to aesthetics, unless he can underpin them with a
+few numbers (and even some science). Take the issue of readibility of serif and
+sans serif typefaces (forgetting along the way the `serifs lead the eye'
+nonsense): the spatial sensitivity of the eye peaks at about 6--8 cycles per
+degree of visual angle (trust me). If we look at the power spectrum of printed
+text (in other words, generated from the alternation of black and white), a
+Times style typeface (as an example of sans serif) peaks at about 8 cycles per
+degree, and Helvtica at about 7 cycles per degree. Clearly,
+both values fall within the range of sensitivity, but
+Helvtica has a pronounced subsidiary peak at about
+12--14 cycles per degree --- a higher frequency harmonic
+which tends to confuse and confound. The Times spectrum is
+clearer and has less power distributed in such harmonics. A
+really dire example is something like a monospaced Courier,
+which has a whole series of regularly spaced harmonics.
+Although not a point which Rubinstein really makes, my
+feeling was that the spikey nature of the spectra were
+closely correlated with readibility. So what do serifs do?
+Consider a group of letters in a word like `minute': The
+serifs enable the interletter spacing in the pairs `mi',
+`in' and so on to remain about constant and to be about the
+same as the distances between the verical stems of the `m',
+`n', etc. If we then look at the same situation in a sans
+serif `{\sans minute}', we can see that the inter letter
+spacings are much smaller, contributing to the subsidiary
+peak in the power spectrum. At least, that's my guess.
+
+This discussion of the physiology of the eye is also used to explain the
+necessity of scanning at very high resolutions in order to be able to
+re-present the information at (say) 300\,dpi. In order to account for
+information at the eye's limit of sensitivity (about 60 cycles per degree),
+Rubinstein considers a scanning resolution of 1200 lines per inch is needed.
+
+A large proportion of the book is given over to a discussion of the technical
+characteristics of screens, marking engines and all the other physical
+bits and pieces we use. This is clearly reflected in the problems of matching
+screen output and page output. One rather fascinating example showed how it is
+possible to exploit the characteristics of charge deposition from a laser
+printer in order to create sharp corners, although a naive approach would have
+led to any corners being rounded as charge leaked away. Eventually this leads
+back to real typefaces, which are (or should be) designed to take into account
+the characteristics of the output environment --- paper, inks, printing
+pressure etc. Rubinstein points out that type wears out; if we copy an old
+typeface, we may be copying from old founts, or from old printed marks (seldom
+will we ever have the original drawings) --- only one realisation of the
+typefaces; and the creator will have designed his typeface to account for
+current papers and inks --- is there any point trying to turn (say) Garamond or
+Bodoni into a digital typeface?
+Even more modern typefaces like Zapf's Optima are not necessarily rendered
+easily into a digital form. Optima is `characterised by subtle changes in width
+and near-vertical edges' which are `difficult to represent digitally' (tell
+that to Adobe).
+
+Rubinstein also considers other topics, including, greyscale
+fonts, the typographic terms `colour', `weight', `contrast'
+and `bright', and gives a very good example of the
+difficulties inherent in type design on a small grid.
+Ennumerating the possible weights and contrasts of designs
+based on a 12 pixel high cell, he shows that all
+possibilities fall outside the generally accepted standards
+of weight and contrast.This is not the end of the story,
+since greyscale fonts could help here, and are starting to
+appear.
+
+The traditional aspects of kerning (pairwise or in context --- words like DAWN
+are not easily kerned, if approached in a pairwise fashion). He has some of the
+usual guidelines about layout, and a useful discusison about hyphenation and
+rivers.
+
+The book is quite nicely rounded out by an Appendix which suggested avenues of
+future research and development. One begins ``create a set of \TeX\
+macros\dots'' Hmm.
+
+The apparent haphazard structure of the book is reflection of the many
+apparently disparate topics which it covers. It may well be the only book which
+has seriously tried to approach current typography in this technological way,
+appealing to verifiable observation, rather than to opinion and dogma. I've heard
+it described as `typographically naive', but until there are intelligible,
+factual, scientific books which are typographically astute, it will be an
+extremely useful source.
+\smallskip
+\rightline{\sl Malcolm Clark}