4/23 Fonts: Bitmap & Outline

• Roll call

• Video: Outline Fonts

• Lecture:– bitmap fonts– outline fonts

Fonts: General

• Fonts are sets of stylized letters.

• They matter only to the monitor, printer, and people.

• Inside the computer, the letters are just ASCII code, not a particular shape or style.

Bitmapped vs. Outline Fonts

• Bitmapped fonts come in specific sizes. They are actually dot-matrix layouts of letters.

• Outline fonts are geometric designs for how a letter looks.

Bitmapped Fonts: A Pro & A Con

• Pro:– faster to process

than outline fonts

• Con:– lack flexibility:

limited to “stepped” sizes

McGwire image courtesy of http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Sideline/5121/macpics.htmPrisoner image courtesy of http://www.eyewire.com

Bitmapped Fonts: Simplicity!

• The computer sends ASCII code to the printer.

• The printer uses the information in its ROM to print the corresponding bitmap on the page.

41h = A

Outline Fonts

• Outline fonts consist of mathematical descriptions of each character, called algorithms.

• Other algorithms are used for alterations to a letter: bold, italic, etc.

Outline Fonts

• Some typefaces include hints, special instructions for certain situations, such as really, really tiny printing, etc.

Outline Fonts

• The font is a description of the outline only. The software sets the area inside to black (or red, or striped, or…).

Outline Fonts: Pros & A Con

• Pros: The flexibility is vast with outline fonts, and the quality of the printed letters is often better.

• Con: Much slower than bitmapped fonts when printing: the entire page is treated as a graphic.