Do You Use PostScript Type 1 Fonts?

[Fred Weiss]

Font technology has been divided for many years with the competing technologies of PostScript Type 1 and TrueType. More recently, OpenType has also become a major part of the mix. So the question is: Do you still have and use Type 1 fonts on your computer(s)?

 

[JoshLoring]

Maybe a couple. Mainly Tt and Ot fonts these days. I think most fonts have progressed since PS1 and adobe type one.

 

[GAC05]

I have one.
I needed it for a customer and it was only available as a type 1 from Adobe.

wayne k
guam usa

 

[Fred Weiss]

Maybe a couple. Mainly Tt and Ot fonts these days. I think most fonts have progressed since PS1 and adobe type one.

They have. The question mostly relates to whether or not you have Type Ones that are archived and ready for use should you need one of them and don't have the TrueType or OpenType version on hand.

 

[JoshLoring]

I think all the old ones have been replaced by ttf files. I'm sure they are there.. Buried in the font manager. But newer versions have taken their spots in rotation.

 

[Bobby H]

I have a pretty large collection of Postscript Type 1 fonts as well as a few in Type 1 Multiple Master format. Quite a few of those old fonts still get frequent use. Take Akzidenz Grotesk for example. Illustrator 4 included much of that type family as well as some other Berthold faces. I don't care so much if they're in True Type, Type 1 or OpenType format. It's just pretty handy having some of those old Berthold "BE" faces.

I do prefer OpenType quite a bit over "legacy" Postscript Type1 and TrueType formats. But I'm not going to buy Akzidenz Grotesk all over again just so I can have it in OpenType format. It would take a very serious, very specific customer need to justify such a purchase.

If I'm buying a typeface now, I'll certainly try to get it in OpenType. Additionally, the extra OTF features like extended character sets, multiple language support, fraction numeral sets, etc. will increase the value of the type purchase.

In the end, those new OTF typefaces are going to live side by side with the T1 and TT fonts I already use. With what I do, all the type often gets converted to outlines once I'm finished with the design anyway.

 

[ProWraps]

no.

 

[OldPaint]

i have a lot of type 1 fonts. some are loaded in my XP windows fonts. seems with XP it doesnt separate them from TTF. i use BITSTREAM FONT NAV and it sees both and handles them as the same. poppl-laudatio is one i have used a lot.

 

[Bobby H]

Poppl-Laudatio is another face I found bundled in with Adobe Illustrator 4. The fonts were one of the better parts of the package. Illustrator 4 itself was severely limited compared to the versions of CorelDRAW and Aldus Freehand that were available at the same time. If you wanted to do funky things with type in Illustrator 4 you had to use the separate Type Twister application.

 

[J Hill Designs]

I have a mixed collection, and just let bitstream figure out which one i used

 

[oldgoatroper]

We have the Digital TypeFace Corp Masterworks Type Collection bundled with our first LaserMaster Lots of URW and ITC faces. All type1 fonts. Still use a lot of them.

As well, over time, have purchased others, but by the end of the 90s, started buying TT fonts.

 

[Bigdawg]

I've converted the majority of them to TrueType fonts with Crossfont. Not all my design programs will properly display Type 1's anymore.

 

[Suz]

20 years ago I had Post Script fonts, I think I had about 100 of them that came with my $1200.00 HP Postscript laser jet printer. Never bought any more than that, as I think they very expensive for each font family (?). Anyhow, it was outrageous back then, so I used TT fonts whenever I could, still do that now.

 

[Roto]

Yes ... but I try to use Open Type as much as possible.
Roto

 

[Bobby H]

Not all my design programs will properly display Type 1's anymore.

Which applications are giving you problems with Postscript Type 1 fonts? I don't have any problems using Type 1 fonts in CorelDRAW or various Adobe applications.

Crossfont isn't perfect at converting Mac-based Type 1 fonts over for use in Microsoft Windows and vice versa. Font editors like Fontographer and FontLab can do a better job. I've rarely encountered problems with Type 1 fonts that were output specifically for use in Windows.

Never bought any more than that, as I think they very expensive for each font family.

I think the T1 vs. TT cost difference is an illusion. Most vendors of commercial type, be it MyFonts or whoever, charge the same amount of money for a certain typeface regardless of the format you choose to download. If there's any discounts for choosing TrueType that would be news to me. It's kind of a non-issue anymore since just about anyone is going to choose OpenType when needing to buy a commercial typeface. Sometimes you'll get the Type 1 versions included anyway. That happened when I needed to buy Gotham.

 

[signswi]

Haven't used type 1 in a half-decade, probably more. Last time I can remember using them regularly (as in, not fixing something someone else did with Type 1) was nearly 10 years ago.

 

[Jester1167]

I used to use them exclusively. When you cut larger characters you could see that typically the Type 1's were cleaner with less flaws.

I used Adobe Type Manager in Win 95, then Win XP 32 bit added Type 1 support (left it out in XP 64 bit). Then it disappeard in Win 7 so we converted all our fonts to opentype. Opening old files can be a pain substituting the correct font. Thanks Microsoft and the powers that be...

 

[Bobby H]

You can install Postscript Type 1 fonts in Windows 7, even the 64-bit version. The first attached image shows a Type 1 version of Insignia A installed in Win 7.

The only fonts that won't work are the Type 1 Multiple Master variety since Adobe Type Manager Lite won't operate under Windows Vista or Windows 7.

In a certain respect, many graphics people are still using Postscript fonts. OpenType fonts contain either TrueType or Postscript font outlines. The OTF layout expands the character map and adds cross-platform compatibility. The second attached image of Gotham Ultra shows an OpenType font with Postscript outlines.

 

[Jester1167]

Windows Vista, Windows 7
PostScript Type 1 support is limited. Only Postscript fonts who include PFB + PFM can be installed. If you have only PFB + INF + AFM, installation is not possible. If you’ve installed previosuly such fonts under Windows XP with Adobe ATM, you should have somewhere a PFM created by ATM. No garantee of any support on Windows 7.

from http://www.typofonderie.com/alphabets/technical/type1/

It was hit an miss so we converted them to OTF.

 

[Bobby H]

PostScript Type 1 support is limited. Only Postscript fonts who include PFB + PFM can be installed. If you have only PFB + INF + AFM, installation is not possible.

What do you mean by "limited"? My Type 1 fonts are working the same within graphics apps running under Win 7 as they would under WinXP or earlier versions of Windows.

You can't install any Type 1 fonts that are missing the PFM file. That file contains all the metrics of the font data. None of the Postscript fonts I have in my collection dating back to the early 1990s are missing PFM files. The quoted link suggests that Adobe's ATM utility generated the .PFM files. That's not true. The .PFM files are supposed to be included with the .PFB (and .AFM, .INF files if applicable). Even with the OpenType collection of Gotham I purchased, it's companion set of Postscript Type 1 fonts all contained .PFB, .PFM, .AFM and .INF files. Further, Windows 7 keys off the .PFM file to identify the Type 1 font and allow it to be installed with a right click.

The example of Insignia A that I posted earlier had PFB, PFM, INF and AFM files.