Re: [Cooker] Microsoft True Type Fonts for Contrib...

[Giuseppe Ghib�]

Igor Izyumin wrote:

>
> Pfaedit is a good outline editor, but it doesn't do hinting yet. Fontlab
> currently has the best hinting, but even that doesn't approach the quality of
> the Monotype (microsoft) fonts. I think Monotype just programmed the
> bytecode directly.
>

Are you talking about TTF or Type1. On type1 there is hinting, and regarding
TTF hinting there is a companion program called ttfmod
(http://pfaedit.sourceforge.net/TtfMod/), well, still incomplete bu usable.
Anyway AFAIK the hinting of fonts like webfonts are not done with graphics
font editor like fontlab, etc.; and hinting with TTF instruction is also
not very easy (it's not like adding a simple HSTEM, VSTEM, DSTEM): you have
almost to "program" a font. Furthermore AFAIK fontlab only supports a subset
of TTF hinting instructions.

>
> This is not the problem here. The Microsoft fonts appear fine on an
> unmodified Mandrake install without the bytecode interpreter. Type1 fonts
> don't, since their hinting mechanism is not designed for screen resolutions
> and since they aren't really hinted well.

IMHO when BCI is disabled unhinted TTF fonts are rendered much better than hinted TTF fonts. Regarding the Type1, I think I can get very good results when
fonts are well hinted (of course URW aren't, see for instance Palladio...).
Anyway latest freetype 2.1.3 has great improved rendering for hinted Type1 fonts.

Bye.
Giuseppe.