RE: Embedding fonts

Just to pick up a few points in Todd's mail. 

The point at which antialiasing is switched on and off by Windows is decided
by the type designer. They set values in the font's GASP table in ppem sizes
(pixel per em) not points. The type designer could choose to turn
antialiasing on and hints off at all sizes if they like (this is what
Bitstream has done with the TrueType fonts that their TrueDoc plug in
creates). 

The Windows default (ie for fonts without a GASP table) roughly coincides
with the point that most fonts break to two pixels. The reason for this is
at smaller sizes you would get solid single pixel stems and gray diagonals
and curves (because of hinting and gridfitting). Bitstream avoid this by
turning off their hints and smoothing at all sizes, so you get fluffy stems
as well as fluffy curves. 

There seem to be two camps when it comes to antialiasing. On one side there
was the Legibility is Everything Brigade (favoring  the gridfit + hint +
antialias approach) and the Wysiwyg is King Crew (throw the hints away and
antialias). It would be nice if future operating systems/CSS let the
user/designer choose between these two approaches. 

Si

Check the TrueType/OpenType spec for more details about the GASP table -
http://www.microsoft.com/typography/

If you like you prefer fluffy type, antialiased at all sizes, you can run
your fonts through a little tool that sets the GASP to smooth at all sizes -
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Lakes/8162/. The resulting font could
be embedded.

Received on Monday, 11 May 1998 17:35:59 UTC