CompuServe Messages

Generally speaking, when font vendors claim their face is "identical", what they really mean is that the font metrics are the same. For instance, when the Birmysetter first came out, it used Bitstream fonts exclusively. Their claim was that the Bitstream fonts had the same metrics as Adobe's and hence could be substituted for Adobe fonts with inpunity. (BTW, I never did see anyone who actually got that to *work*…) The Sept issue of MacUser had a great side-by-side comparison of "identical" fonts from Adobe and Bitstream. Needless to say, they weren't identical. In some cases, the metrics were even different enough to cause completely different line breaks. Differences in the cut of the face were generally only visible at very large sizes and then only under close scrutiny.