CompuServe Messages

Stephen…you know, rumor has it that the Adobe hinting algorithm has or shortly will be broken. There are three people working on throughout the country – probably more, but three known to be good and likely to break it. I think that not being able to use Adobe font is a limiting factor, yes, but not a killer issue. Bitstream has a larger library than Adobe (available to OEMs like Birmy) and URW will have a giant library soon. Don't discount CG either. I think that there are more people using Linos in limited environments than there are service bureaus. Estimates suggest that there are between 1200 and 1900 PostScript Linos out there. You can bet that there aren't that many service bureaus. So it stands to reason that if someone has a Birmy (or Itek, etc.) they could adapt rather easily to that environment. You have to also remember that the folks making these super compatibles know very well the perceived market limitations of not using Adobe fonts and have gone to great lengths to (1) secure, at a minimum, 35 outlines that match the LW Plus set exactly and (2) font downloaders that allow you to assign any names to fonts. My shop will be running a machine just for Ventura users. All we have to do is give out clients proper width tables. Screen fonts are nice (and will be provided) but aren't necessary. The rest of the time the machine will be used for our in-house book production and we know the Birmy will be great for that… As soon as version 49.3 really makes it to the market I'll be doing several benchmarks between all of the PS and PS-clone machines.