Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!steinmetz!ge-dab!codas!killer!wnp
From: wnp@killer.UUCP (Wolf Paul)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: ? HP Laser Fonts ?
Message-ID: <2556@killer.UUCP>
Date: 23 Dec 87 21:06:53 GMT
References: <9608@udenva.cair.du.edu> <27000006@ccvaxa>
Reply-To: wnp@killer.UUCP (Wolf Paul)
Organization: The Unix(R) Connection BBS, Dallas, Tx
Lines: 55
Summary: Comment on Quality of SOFTCRAFT fonts

In article <27000006@ccvaxa> kworrell@ccvaxa.UUCP writes:
>
>Be careful with softcraft.  Although they seem to have a very good program
>and lots of helpful manuals (the program is really very good), some of their
>fonts are real trash.  Others are ok.  Try to get a look at them before
>you spend any money.

Write and ask for their "Product & Font Catalog". It SHOWS every font, lists 
the available sizes, etc.

>I looked at a russian font which they were selling (at a non-prohibitive
>cost ~$20) and it was really junk, very thin, only one size, no bold/ital...

Currently sells for $15, and contains 3 sizes (8-12-14). Disk #48.

>The IMPRESSION I got was that there was some professor somewhere who
>spent the time (and not too much I might add) to get a russian font for
>his/her students.  This professor then gave this font (free of charge) to
>SoftCraft who are now selling it (no legality replies please).
>
>The characters were poorly shaped, drawn, and the ordering of the
>characters within the font was of no known sequence dealing with either
>a russian keyboard or any permutation of an english keyboard.

No professor. The Cyrillic font distributed by SoftCraft is generated from
the Hershey database with SoftCraft's Cfont program, which unfortunately is not
very good at filling our the vectors.

>Other fonts (ENGLISH) looked just great.  For these, I got the IMPRESSION
>that SoftCraft had found some font designer and paid them real american
>dollars to do a good job.

SoftCraft sells (a) Bitstream Typefoundry Fonts (not sold as individual fonts
but as outlines with a font manipulation program), which are extra-high quality
fonts, which they license from Bitstream; and (b) SoftCraft Standard Fonts,
which are sold on font disks at $15 each, most of which I suspect were
scanned from printed fonts. Others are user-contributed fonts of varying
quality, sold as-is.

>Like I said, seeing it first helps to make a rational decision.

That's why you should write or call for their "Product and Font Catalog":
   
	SoftCraft, Inc.
	16 N. Carroll Street, Suite 500
	Madison, WI 53703
	1-800-351-0500 or (608) 257-3300

Their catalog is pretty honest in what it shows: It'll really print like
that on your printer.

DISCLAIMER: I have no connection with SoftCraft except as a satisfied user.

Wolf N. Paul
ihnp4!killer!dcs!wnp