Xref: utzoo comp.lang.postscript:846 comp.fonts:285
Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!bellcore!rutgers!ucsd!ucbvax!decwrl!adobe!ondine!greid
From: greid@ondine.COM (Glenn Reid)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.postscript,comp.fonts
Subject: Re: PostScript Fonts, was (Re: PostScript compatible printers)
Message-ID: <4155@adobe.COM>
Date: 10 Aug 88 17:44:46 GMT
References: <5426@gryphon.CTS.COM>
Sender: news@adobe.COM
Reply-To: greid@ondine.UUCP (Glenn Reid)
Organization: Adobe Systems Incorporated, Mountain View
Lines: 51

Here are a few more followups on questions to my original posting on
PostScript fonts.

> In article <4145@adobe.COM> greid@ondine.UUCP (Glenn Reid) writes:
> >The "Adobe" downloadable fonts are, in fact, just PostScript programs.
> >They are encrypted, however, as a mechanism for protecting the font
> >outlines themselves which we have licensed from various typeface
> >companies.  That is what the "eexec" operator does (encrypted exec).
> >The idea is to keep the programs themselves from being visible.  After
> >all, the typeface itself is not protected under copyright law, only the
> >name.  The font vendors have a vested interest in keeping the outline
> >data in a protected form.
> 
In article <5426@gryphon.CTS.COM> richard@gryphon.CTS.COM (Richard Sexton) writes:
> But is there not 68000 code in there as well ? Sombody sent me a note
> saying that Adobe fonts would not work in DEC's laser printer becasue
> it used a uVAX not a 68000 cpu, in spite of the fact it has
> real Adobe PostScript.

No, there is no 68000 code or any other machine code.  Adobe fonts work
fine in DEC's laser printers (at least the PostScript ones) and with
all other Adobe PostScript interpreters.  That's the whole point of
them.  Buy some fonts.  You'll see :-)

> So it's not really fair to say you're just encrypting the outlines, is it ?

Yes.

> >Also, Digital
> >Equipment Corporation, NeXT, and Scitex have also licensed Adobe
> >interpreters for Display PostScript, gaining instant compatibility with
> >the entire library of PostScript fonts.
> 
> Do I take this to mean that can all interpret Adobe fonts correctly ?

Yes.

> My question then, is, how satisfied have people been with non-adobe
> PostScript fonts ? These ones I bought look like hell below 18 pts,
> whereas Adobe fonts still look quite good at 6 pts.

I don't really know how satisfied people have been with other fonts.
We work hard on our fonts.  It is certainly possible to produce fonts
which don't look good at small point sizes.  I would think that 18
point is a bit large to start seeing problems, though.

I hope this clears things up a bit.

--
Glenn Reid
Adobe Systems