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> From: <A href="mailto:bmcken@pobox.com">bmcken@pobox.com</A><BR>
<BR>
** Sorry with my bad English :-[<BR>
<BR>> "Hinting" is the task of analyzing each glyph at each and <BR>> every point size and making sure that each *pixel* is <BR>> pushed/aligned in exactly the *best* location in the grid of <BR>> pixels that are available at each of the specific point sizes.<BR>> <BR>
.../...<BR>> unusable, because they have not had any hinting applied.<BR>> <BR>> In other words, each glyph is very rough looking, as the <BR>> font on the main page at openfontlibrary.org appears - at <BR>> least to me on my system - and that is how most of the free <BR>> fonts that my Scribus install adds look to me on my system: <BR>> very rough/jagged, i.e., without any hinting.<BR><BR>
** Depending first of the font format. PS fonts (or using PS outlines<BR>
like OTF), hinting is made with stemH and stemV. TTF (or truetype<BR>
outlines) initial hints are "transformed" into TT instructions.<BR>
Fontforge is a very good tool to do that, but for TT the best way is to<BR>
use Xgridfit by Peter Baker, and his Junicode fonts have this technology.<BR>
Fonts are programs inserting tables used by other apps. Now,<BR>
all depends how they work in your system. As Rolf said, many <BR>
things should explain screen troubles (but not for printing).<BR>
AFDKO from Adobe has command lines tools to hint PS fonts only.<BR>
If you are Windows user, install cleartypePowerToy. This one could rule<BR>
some problems (most of them)<BR>
<A href="http://www.microsoft.com/typography/ClearTypePowerToy.mspx">http://www.microsoft.com/typography/ClearTypePowerToy.mspx</A><BR>
See also here:<BR>
<A href="http://www.microsoft.com/typography/cleartype/tuner/step1.aspx">http://www.microsoft.com/typography/cleartype/tuner/step1.aspx</A><BR>
<BR>
Freetype2, is a very good rendering engine...<BR>
Just try a live CD with linux to see changes :-)<BR>
<BR>
I don't know how Scribus uses the font realy, but how this ones<BR>
appears on the screen not depending from it, I think. Now, how<BR>
your documents are printed ?<BR>
<BR>> So, I'd be especially grateful if anyone would offer any <BR>> comments about the 'hinting' issue with most of the free <BR>> fonts installed with Scribus and most of the free fonts <BR>> offered on the web.<BR><BR>
** Strangely not only free fonts ! other problems could appears with <BR>
too many points, node not at extrem, overlaps, bad direction... <BR>
This is also true for fonts converted as web fonts without <BR>
followed font format specifications.<BR>
I'm working to a "new" TTF (not realy new but more to change<BR>
some Table values). The next step will be to work dirrectly with<BR>
Xgridfit into FF... under development...<BR>
<A href="http://arkandis.tuxfamily.org/fonts/Test01.zip">http://arkandis.tuxfamily.org/fonts/Test01.zip</A><BR>
I'm very interesting by feedback off list<BR>
<BR>> (...and this doesn't even bring us up to the next task of <BR>> kerning, which can't be applied until each glyph at each <BR>> point size is hinted...)<BR><BR>
** Not sure to understand. Kerning just rules side bearing values<BR>
between 2 glyphs like VA or WO. Generaly I make Hint at the end<BR>
when nothing more is needen and all changes and adjustments are made.<BR>
Maybe I wrong here.<BR>
<BR>
Best<BR>
Hirwen<BR>
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