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Portable Web Fonts


WebReview.com: Portable Web Fonts

At a Glance

Want to find out who's the leader in online font technology? Bitstream's TrueDoc has become the font format of choice for Java, network computers, and for televisions across Europe. Let's see what advancements have been made to push TrueDoc to the forefront of Web font technology.

As absurd as this may seem, it was easier in 1997 to add streaming audio and video to a Web site than it was to ensure that the reader saw the font a designer specified.

The problem was that the standard for font embedding was fractured: Netscape first introduced Bitstream's TrueDoc for Navigator 4, then Microsoft released a competing standard in their TrueType font embedding for IE4. While not mutually exclusive, each system was totally different, so few, if any developers invested the time required to make both systems work for a single site.

But on March 17, 1998, Bitstream announced that TrueDoc is now a cross-browser solution for font embedding by releasing a free ActiveX control for IE4 that allows it to display TrueDoc fonts just as Netscape does. (The current version is a beta, but it worked flawlessly for me under Windows. A Mac version is forthcoming.) What's more, due to the ActiveX architecture, the end-user receives the update automatically, so they don't have to go out of their way to download a plug-in. It's fast, it's simple, it's automatic, and it works.

The significance of this is five-fold:

  1. For the first time, Web developers can use a single font embedding technology, Bitstream TrueDoc, and know the results will appear on all 4.0 browsers.
  2. Microsoft's system was revealed to have serious security flaws which threaten the intellectual property rights of font designers and foundries. Microsoft's system allows embedded fonts to be easily and permanently installed on the end-user's system for use with all their software. (Read more about this.) This made Web developers justifiably wary, and as a result, the Microsoft system has not become very popular.
  3. TrueDoc offers a number of applications for Mac and Windows. Microsoft's system has only one authoring tool, which only runs on Windows.
  4. TrueDoc supports both TrueType and Type1 format fonts. At this time, Microsoft's system only supports TrueType (Type1 support was supposed to come last year, but no time-frame has been given for this support).
  5. Finally, with Netscape's development efforts not being as robust as they once were, it's questionable whether they will bother to develop support for the Microsoft TrueType embedding system when they already have a cross-browser system built in.

Advantage, TrueDoc

Bitstream, once the apparent underdog in this race, is now the clear leader. Not only is TrueDoc supported by both major browsers, but it is also the font format of choice for Java, NC's, and televisions in the European community. TrueDoc's elegant, compact design and low memory overhead makes it more practical for thin devices.

TrueDoc is based on a simple concept: Instead of actually embedding a font, the TrueDoc "Character Shape Recorder" goes to the system (Windows or Mac) and requests character shapes. It then records the shapes of just the characters in use, discards the hinting, and saves them into a very small package that doesn't require compression (important on small systems because it means one less component).

When the browser encounters a page with an embedded font, the browser first displays the page in the default font (so the user doesn't have to wait to read the page). The browser then calls the .PFR (Portable Font Resource) much the same way it would call a GIF or other multimedia file. Once the PFR has been downloaded, the screen is redrawn in the font specified by the designer. (Microsoft's doesn't show plain text by default first. In fact, it can only display text first with the addition of a JavaScript.) TrueDoc is transparent to users. It simply works.

What's different under IE?

Under Netscape, the fonts are anti-aliased (even in 8-bit), which not only eliminates any quality loss brought on by elimination of a font's original hinting -- it actually makes many screen-unreadable fonts perfectly readable. (Bitstream says hinting is actually not used during anti-aliasing anyway.) Anti-aliasing, however, is a subjective thing. Some people find that it makes on-screen type smoother and easier to read. Others think it makes it "fuzzy." While I personally find it useful, and have watched as otherwise unreadable fonts such as Garamond are easily readable; it's still a matter of personal preference. It's also processor-intensive, and slows screen redraws. Bitstream says future versions will be faster.

Under IE4, anti-aliasing is optional. In fact, if you want it, you must download Microsoft's Font Smoother, an extension to Windows 95, and run your graphics at 16-bit or greater. Then Microsoft's own anti-aliasing kicks in, depending on font settings. Most fonts are shown "smoothed" up to 7 point, then unsmoothed but hinted up to 14 point, then hinted and smoothed above that. But some fonts, such as Adobe's WebType fonts, are anti-aliased up to 6 point, shown hinted but not non-anti-aliased from 7 to 18 point, then are hinted and smoothed above that. This means the most commonly viewed body text sizes gounsmoothed using these fonts.

Even without anti-aliasing, I found the TrueDoc fonts to be clear and readable. Some foundries complain that TrueDoc isn't saving the full quality of their fonts, but what it is saving seems more than adequate for on-screen viewing, and certainly no more than you'd want to freely distribute on the Web. Microsoft's system retains all original outlines and hinting, but basically makes the full-quality fonts available for downloading; hardly a situation foundries should find preferable.

Announcing TrueDoc.com

Another change in Bitstream's strategy is that rather than insisting people buy an authoring tool, Bitstream opened a site called TrueDoc.com. This site features excellent examples of TrueDoc in action and instructions on how to add TrueDoc fonts to your Web pages. It also contains free PFR files for more than 20 faces from the Bitstream library, with more to come. This means if you want to use one of those faces, you don't need to buy another authoring tool, you don't need to generate or upload PFR's, you just add a few lines of code to your page and the fonts are displayed in both Nav4 and IE4.

It's a clever way to introduce people to TrueDoc and get them used to embedding fonts in their pages. Once this happens, people will understand the difference type makes in a mostly-type medium, and be willing to invest a little in tools to create their own PFR's from any font they own.

IE4 visitors arriving at TrueDoc.com automatically download a 60-Kbyte ActiveX control that displays TrueDoc fonts in IE, preparing them for any other TrueDoc-equipped site. (HTML is provided so the ActiveX control can be automatically downloaded from any site.)

For those wanting TrueDoc authoring tools, HexMac Typograph and Extensis BeyondPress are both currently shipping. SoftQuad has agreed to be a licensee, but has yet to announce a release date.

The bottom line

This latest development signals a true maturation of the font embedding market. Why it took so much longer than streaming media -- which is really so much more complex -- can only be described as a testament to type's ubiquity -- something that apparently makes people take it for granted.

But now, with a single, simple, secure solution for both major browsers, it's time to start thinking about font embedding as an integral part of your Web development program. All your other text-based materials should use typefaces carefully selected to send the right impression, and now there's no reason why your Web pages can't as well.


New Faces in the Crowd
In addition to recent advances in TrueDoc technology, some new faces are also being released including Bitstream's Prima, and Monotype's Monotype.com. These new faces were designed with the Web in mind, and will surely make your pages easier to read.


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