CHAPTER 10. FONT FAMILIES 102
10.2.3 Raster vs Vector
Raster Fonts:Ultimately, fonts are rendered as pixels on the user’s screen
or on a printed page. Raster fonts were used originally and are defined in
terms of these pixels. Basically, all screens are raster. Even the retinas of
our eyes are raster, with their individual cones and rods. If you magnify a
raster font, the curved edges eventually become pixelated or jagged.
Exam Question 177 (p.346): What kind of font represents shapes as
pixels?
Acceptable Answer:raster
Vector Fonts:To avoid jagged edges, it is desirable to define characters as
mathematical curves instead of a raster of pixels. Vector fonts are defined
in terms of the curves that describe each character, and those same curves
can generate raster images in a variety of sizes. Vector fonts are widely used
now. If you magnify a vector font, the edges always remain smooth.
Exam Question 178 (p.346): What kind of font represents shapes as
strokes?
Acceptable Answer:vector
Vector fonts are also calledscalable fontsbecause they can be resized
(scaled) to different sizes without getting rough edges.
10.2.4 Copyright and Knock-Offs
Copyright does not cover raster character shapes. If it did, you could copy-
right a font, and then print anything you want using that font, and no-
body could photocopy it because the individual characters were copyrighted.
Courts in the US have rejected that idea.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual_property_protectionof
typefaceshas more.
Instead, copyright and licensing do cover mathematical instructions for
drawing the shape of individual characters. This also includes kerning tables
that control the distance between characters. If you want the original font
in all its original glory, you need to get it from the original font designer or
foundry.
Exam Question 179(p.347): What does kerning control?
Acceptable Answer:distance between adjacent letters