erhanb
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The difference between True Type & Post Script Fonts
Hi guys, I know this is really trivial but I need to know what the difference between Postscript Type 1 fonts & True type fonts. Also, if it makes a difference if I use a graphic with true-type fonts when using post-script printers & how to convert true type to post script. I know its essentially 3 questions in one so i've adjusted the points accordingly.
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basically TT has no kerning pairs, but can embed more characters in its unicode version (several characters sets in a single font whereas T1 have only one).
So TT is used mainly by desktop apps, and T1 by graphic arts;
Open type will clear the situation by having both advantages and being crossplatform. (Supported by XP and osX natively so far, can be installed as extra on 2000 also.)
Using TT on a PS printer is normally no problem since most drivers generate vector information in the PS file. Some old Apple printers were able to use native TT fonts, but this has now disappeared. In case of reluctant printers, it is advisable to convert the file to PDF using a distiller which will convert or substitute fonts to PS automatically.
So TT is used mainly by desktop apps, and T1 by graphic arts;
Open type will clear the situation by having both advantages and being crossplatform. (Supported by XP and osX natively so far, can be installed as extra on 2000 also.)
Using TT on a PS printer is normally no problem since most drivers generate vector information in the PS file. Some old Apple printers were able to use native TT fonts, but this has now disappeared. In case of reluctant printers, it is advisable to convert the file to PDF using a distiller which will convert or substitute fonts to PS automatically.
I know that it's a bit late for this, but I have a few more links, and some information regarding PostScript and PDF:
http://www.font.to/downloads/TT_PS_OT.pdf and the same article as HTML file at http://www.truetype.demon.co.uk/articles/ttvst1.htm
Any recent PostScript interpreter can handle TrueType fonts directly, so there should not be a problem using them in any document. PostScript has of course no problem with Type 1 fonts. Converting the document to PDF would not help, because PDF also supports TrueType directly, so any TrueType font will be used as is in a PDF file.
If your printer cannot deal with PostScript files, one option is to output PostScript Level 1 instead of the level that your printer actually supports. This will potentially decrease the complexity of the PostScript output.
A TrueType font may need more memory to render it's characters than the same Type 1 font. So you may run into problems with a printer that only has a relatively small amount of memory if you want to print a document containing TT fonts.
http://www.font.to/downloads/TT_PS_OT.pdf and the same article as HTML file at http://www.truetype.demon.co.uk/articles/ttvst1.htm
Any recent PostScript interpreter can handle TrueType fonts directly, so there should not be a problem using them in any document. PostScript has of course no problem with Type 1 fonts. Converting the document to PDF would not help, because PDF also supports TrueType directly, so any TrueType font will be used as is in a PDF file.
If your printer cannot deal with PostScript files, one option is to output PostScript Level 1 instead of the level that your printer actually supports. This will potentially decrease the complexity of the PostScript output.
A TrueType font may need more memory to render it's characters than the same Type 1 font. So you may run into problems with a printer that only has a relatively small amount of memory if you want to print a document containing TT fonts.
The issue has been more pronounced on linux....