CompuServe Thread

Type 1 fonts are fonts that are encrypted (secret code) and use Adobe's proprietary hinting technology for low resolution display. Type 1 fonts decode the font information using the 'eexec' operator (documentation to which should be released within a few months). Type 3 fonts are fonts created by anybody else using plain and simple PostScript definitions, be it packed or unpacked arrays, for the character descriptions and everything else dealing with that particular font. Fontographer creates Type 3 fonts, for example. Or you can hack out a piece of PostScript code (copied from one of Adobe's or someone else's books) that define a few characters of a Type 3 font.

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^