Font Types
Michael,
In PostScript, the information in a font (character shape, bounding box, etc.)
is stored as a "dictionary," and certain entries in the dictionary are
required. Among them is an entry called "FontType," which consists of an
integer indicating the font format.
Adobe uses a special encrypted format for storing their fonts called Type 1.
Their fonts are "hinted" so they print well on low-resolution printers. They
print faster.
Most other font vendors have constructed their PostScript fonts as
"user-defined fonts" where the FontType was 3. These fonts are not encrypted
(the shapes of the characters are accessible to other programs), and they print
more slowly. They usually are not hinted.
This past spring Adobe began licensing its Type 1 font technology, notably to
Agfa/Compugraphic, Tegra/Varityper, Monotype and others. On September 20, John
Warnock announced at Seybold that, under pressure from the Apple/Microsoft font
alliance, Adobe would be opening up its specs for Type 1 fonts by the end of
this year.
^Steve^