Xref: utzoo comp.graphics:3585 comp.text:2748
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Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!dgp.toronto.edu!avi
From: avi@dgp.toronto.edu (Avi Naiman)
Subject: Re: Gray-scale antialiasing (yes, it can work)
Message-ID: <8811112202.AA21230@explorer.dgp.toronto.edu>
Keywords: grayscale fonts
Organization: University of Toronto, CSRI
References: <74013@sun.uucp> <148@internal.Apple.COM> <4763@mnetor.UUCP> <8811080203.AA15665@explorer.dgp.toronto.edu> <2173@ficc.uu.net>
Date: Fri, 11 Nov 88 17:02:18 EST

In article <2173@ficc.uu.net> peter@ficc.uu.net (Peter da Silva) writes:
>In article <8811080203.AA15665@explorer.dgp.toronto.edu>, avi@dgp.toronto.edu
>(Avi Naiman) explains why he needs sub-pixel positioning.
>
>Ah. Light dawns. You're considering greyscaling as a tool in increasing
>the effective resolution of a screen for the purpose of previewing a typeset
>document. 

Not necessarily.  Although previewing a typeset document is a good example,
I see the trend in windowing systems heading towards more 'ergonomic'
presentation of textual material.  This has been amply demonstrated in
'research' prototype user interfaces which use proporational spacing,
a variety of fonts and size, and context-sensitive typography.  These advances
are beneficial for editing, scanning, and reading all types of documents
(including programs).

>          This is not the only application for greyscaled fonts. Pixel
>positioning is fine for some applications... such as, for example, ordinary
>text editing. A typical text editor only gives you character positioning,
>after all. If greyscaled fonts can make the characters look better they're
>a net win.

Certainly.  Perhaps this is merely a question of how far down the road we're
looking.  As a researcher, I'm considering the possibilities 5 to 10 years
from now; as a developer needing to bring something to market now, I would
probably concentrate on doing a 'good' job on a fixed-pitch grayscale font
for a particular system.  I still contend, though, that we do not understand
what 'good' means yet -- in terms of the ramifications of using grayscale I
discussed in earlier postings -- and that is where research efforts need to
be focussed.
-- 
Avi Naiman
avi@dgp.toronto.edu