Chapter 6 & 7

Chapter 6

Chapter 6 talks about fonts and the kinds there are plus tells you the problems you could run into with some fonts compared to others. PostScript is referred to as Type 1. The 3 major categories of fonts are PostScript, TrueType, and OpenType. PostScript fonts consist of two files and they are a bitmap "screen font", which is used for an onscreen display, and printer component that contains instruction for PostScript. Since this is made of pixels, the bitmap component alone can not provide the correct resolution for the output, so the big thing you can do is not misplace the printer font or it will end badly. Don't get rid of the screen font either. It also contains additional resources you may need. According to the Print Production Book, "TrueType was the result of a collaboration between Apple Computer and Microsoft and consists of a single file (that is, no separate components for screen and printer font component)." There is no need to keep track of the two different components for screen and print. TrueType could also cause terror to a prepress operator because RIPS can't interpret them so they changed the feel of it to a PostScript.

OpenType fonts are single-file fonts. They do not have a separate screen and printer fonts to keep track of. These fonts are a cross platform. The same font file of an OpenType can be opened using either Mac or PC with no special handling. The next topic introduced is a glyph. A glyph is a distinct letter form, a number, or lowercase p, or an ampersand. This would allow a font designer to include swashes, contextual ligatures, titling alternates, even fractions, all in one font. All this information is from the book Print Production with Adobe Creative Suite Applications by Claudi McCue. According to Print Production with Adobe Creative Suite Applications by Claudi McCue, "The entirety of a font family that previously required separate expert and titling sets can now be contained in one font." Not every font in OpenType contains glyphs.You can use OpenType fonts without having any worries about imaging problems. They are very compatible with RIPs. They can also be activated by a Font Book application on a Macintosh or by Windows Fonts control panel of a PC.

Dfonts is a moniker derived from the fact the fonts are data-only, and not a two headed file consisting of a data fork and a resource fork. According to the book, if this doesn't mean much to you then don't worry about it. Dfonts are very problematic because their names are not recognized from their PostScript counterparts. They are usually active by default. Macintosh systems and PC systems contain mostly the same fonts between the two of them. PC uses more of the Arial system because it has the ability to display an extensive character set, like Greek, Hebrew, and Arabic characters. Macintosh's use fonts like Geneva, Monaco, Chicago, and Charcoal because of their distinctive names. Multiple Master Fonts are another fear to a post press operate because the fonts come up as unknown. The process goes like this, "Start with a PostScript font, and then give users the ability to create multiple weights, angles, and widths (such as condensed or extended) of a single font. Problems happened from lack of education. Multiple Master Fonts are still used for display and printing when fonts are missing in a PDF and for displaying text when fonts are unavailable for an InDesign or Illustrator file. Fonts are licensed because you don't think of it as a software because its usually included in a software, which is why its copyrighted. They contain instructions for their appearance and imaging. It is actually very expensive and complex when designing fonts. When you use fonts for a project be careful when you send them to a printer because the licensing situation for fonts are more complicated than you think. You need to be in compliance with the End User License Agreements (EULAs) because sometimes the printer doesn't always own the font you would like to use.

Chapter 7

Chapter 7 is all about cross-platform issues, such as naming files, file extensions, fonts, and graphic formats. When naming files, you do not need punctuation. Most people use an underscore where there should be a space so you computer will recognize the file quicker and have no confusion. Length is not the only thing that affects file names. Like I said before using an underscore is the best, don't use characters like these: !@#$%^&*()":{}<>?,. Stick mainly to letters that are coupled with numerals, spaces, underscores, and hyphens. When you upload images to the web, it is best not to put any spaces between any letter or word of the file name or the file won't be recognized. Sometimes it is also best to include file extensions. Macintosh does not yet require this to determine which application should be used to open a file, which the icon should have a picture on it of the file it needs to be open in. Most file extensions consist of three letters such as .rtf, .pdf, and .tif. The period always separates the file name from its extension. Failure you to do this will result that you won't be able to open this on a PC from a Mac or vise versa. Ending this blog, I will talk about formats that can cross platforms. The Print Production with Adobe Creative Suite Applications by Claudi McCue says, "All current graphics formats including TIFF, PSD, EPS, AI, JPEG, and PDF, are perfectly happy jumping platforms. Just don't forget the file extensions." All the information that I typed above was all from the Chapters 6 and 7 in the book, Print Production with Adobe Creative Suite Applications by Claudi McCue.