Q(PostScript): ISO Latin 2
Robert
Does a font designer have appropriate metrics for positioning the
diacritics in the basic set of PostScript fonts (viz., the four Times,
Courier, Helvetica and Helvetica-Narrow fonts), so that I can enrich the
CharStrings dictionary with print routines for the characters of ISO
Latin 2?
I know how to re-encode the font, and to define the individual
characters; it is pleasing font metrics which I lack the skill to
determine.
ISO Latin 2 is the character set needed for many (not all) of the
Central European languages, including Polish, Czech, Slovak, Croatian
and Hungarian.
For the lower-case t-, l-, and d- haczek, I intend to use the
apostrophe, appropriately positioned; for the d-stroke of Croatian, I
intend to use the macron or n-dash (whatever the font-designer regarded
as appropriate), unless the font-designer felt it was more appropriate
to actually DRAW the additional marks for these characters. The
remaining diacritics are available in the fonts, as delivered.
Thank you for your kind attention.
P.S. I wouldn't mind having appropriate metrics for Latin 3 (used for
Turkish, the Baltic languages, and Esperanto) as well.
Hilmar Schlegel
In message Tue, 13 Aug 1996 11:48:13 -0400,
Robert <r...@cyberspace.org> writes:
> Does a font designer have appropriate metrics for positioning the
> diacritics in the basic set of PostScript fonts (viz., the four Times,
> Courier, Helvetica and Helvetica-Narrow fonts), so that I can enrich the
> CharStrings dictionary with print routines for the characters of ISO
> Latin 2?
>
> I know how to re-encode the font, and to define the individual
> characters; it is pleasing font metrics which I lack the skill to
> determine.
>
If you mean you need the corresponding composites data then you have to use
a tool to adjust these according optical appearance to go for optimal
quality.
Then there exist tools to add the new character definitions to the font
(without destroying it like FOG and its ilk).
However if you want to go the easy way by SEAC you will arrive at fonts which
are in general not ATM-compatible - but fully functional on PS-printers -
due to a nasty bug in ATM. As far as I know Adobe ATM-staff is simply to
lazy to fix that ;-)
For characters like a-ogonek and d-bar you should be aware that constructed
composites lead in general not to a full-featured font like the one made in a
font editor with new drawn outlines: you can see this if you render
the characters as outlines...
As for your question: the lack of these data is a big source of money for
people who sell their "own fonts" which have merely these characters added.
Therefore the probability to get at the plain data for free is quite low.
On the other hand side major vendors provide CE sets which contain the
considered range of characters already. (TimesTenCE, HelveticaNeueCE &c)
In case you have a certain application in mind for which you need the fonts
with additional diacritics for printing only you are most economical done
by manual determination of the positioning and adding the SEAC instructions
to the disassembled fonts.
The obvious alternatives I can save in this message ;-)
> Turkish, the Baltic languages, and Esperanto) as well.
Who speaks Esperanto?? ;-)
Fazit:
Sorry for the not too optimistic recommendation to rethink what you really
need.
Please write if you need more details.
###
#########################################################################
Hilmar Schlegel
(h...@semic.ag-berlin.mpg.de) (52.31/13.32)