Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!jarthur!sif.claremont.edu From: dhosek@sif.claremont.edu (Hosek, Donald A.) Newsgroups: comp.text.tex Subject: Re: TeXtures question Message-ID: <8068@jarthur.Claremont.EDU> Date: 9 Aug 90 07:44:11 GMT References: <0093AE22.A6D58A80@uclapp.physics.ucla.edu> <27878@netnews.upenn.edu> <0093AE45.4DA805A0@uclapp.physics.ucla.edu>,<27892@netnews Sender: news@jarthur.Claremont.EDU Reply-To: dhosek@sif.claremont.edu Organization: Harvey Mudd College Lines: 44 In article <0093AE7D.ADDF3D20@uclapp.physics.ucla.edu>, jprice@uclapp.physics.ucla.edu (John Price) writes... > I have run TeXtures on a Mac here at school, with a Deskwriter, and >the output is indeed very good for a bitmap font. However, the Deskwriter >is capable of much better. Using the Deskwriter fonts, (which, I believe, >are outline fonts), the quality is noticeably better. So, I *really* want >to do it this way, if I can. Actually, if all goes well, the best quality is given by bitmap fonts. Because Textures goes through the standard Mac printer driving software, I don't think it can take advantage of the full benefits of the DVItype rounding algorithim (some subtle interletter positioning is possible as anyone who has read and understood DVItype... I'm still realizing the immense benefits possible). All of this, however depends on a couple of things: (1) that the font is available AT THE SIZE REQUESTED. I don't like the fact that the Mac printer drivers will scale a bitmap font for you. This is why one gets those ugly chunk-style letters. (As an aside, this sort of behavior is not permitted to drivers which conform to the "Level 0" driver standard nearing completion). (2) The font is tuned to the printer technology. Bitmaps for, say, a Dataproducts printer are vastly different for those for an Apple Laserwriter, even though the resolution is the same (see the recent discussions about TrueType vs. PostScript in comp.lang.postscript and comp.fonts for information on this) and (3) the fact that the pixel spacing of a letter is not necessarily the TFM width rounded to pixels. Coincidentally, the 3 items are listed in order of glaring visual affect. Textures deals with 1 fine if you order the CM fonts package and 2 is not an issue as long as you stick with canon-engine laser printers (most people do), but I don't think that item 3 is possible given the restrictions that the Mac printing interface gives (if I'm wrong on this and Textures does handle this properly, I'm sure I'll be set straight on this issue). Note, however, that the output from Textures is still likely to be of quality equivalent to or better than output from other Mac applications. -dh --- Don Hosek TeX, LaTeX, and Metafont support, consulting dhosek@ymir.claremont.edu installation and production work. dhosek@ymir.bitnet Free Estimates. uunet!jarthur!ymir Phone: 714-625-0147 finger dhosek@ymir.claremont.edu for more info