Fonts
August 13, 2009 11:28 AM Subscribe
I want to convert an image into a font. The application where I want to use this font supports a maximum size of 24 points. But in 24 points, the image is coming very small.
Is there a way I can increase the imaze size or the font area at point 24 ?
In most Font applications like SigMaker or FontCreator, you can change the font's width by moving the guidelines, but unable to change the font height.
How is the height of the font at a particular point size determined ? Is there a maximum height for a given point size ? Is it defined as a property of the font, or at Operating System level ?
In most Font applications like SigMaker or FontCreator, you can change the font's width by moving the guidelines, but unable to change the font height.
How is the height of the font at a particular point size determined ? Is there a maximum height for a given point size ? Is it defined as a property of the font, or at Operating System level ?
Response by poster: I am new to this. I am looking for a step by step guide. In point size 24, the height of a font is approx. 10 millimeters. I want it to be around 25 millimeters.
Also can I try this on the evaluation copy of any software.
posted by inquisitive at 11:48 AM on August 13, 2009
Also can I try this on the evaluation copy of any software.
posted by inquisitive at 11:48 AM on August 13, 2009
FontForge is open source, 100% free, and very powerful. You need to install Cygwin first to run it.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 12:08 PM on August 13, 2009
posted by Optimus Chyme at 12:08 PM on August 13, 2009
The font system is based on inches. 12 points in a pica, 5 pica in an inch: so, 60pt text is one inch tall, and 12pt text is 1/5 of an inch tall. so, 24pt = 2 pica = 2/5 of an inch, or 10.16mm.
Luckily, 25mm is almost one inch (.984"), so 60pt might do the job, but if you needed to be exact, you could use 59pt and get to .9833".
posted by tjenks at 12:33 PM on August 13, 2009
Luckily, 25mm is almost one inch (.984"), so 60pt might do the job, but if you needed to be exact, you could use 59pt and get to .9833".
posted by tjenks at 12:33 PM on August 13, 2009
To answer your ancillary questions, height at a point size is deterministic, as points are a unit of measure themselves. so the height is the point size, and this is defined not in the operating system, but by printers operating letterpresses way back before the age of desktop publishing :)
posted by tjenks at 12:40 PM on August 13, 2009
posted by tjenks at 12:40 PM on August 13, 2009
There are 6 PostScript/modern picas (72 points) in an inch, tjenks, not 5.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 12:46 PM on August 13, 2009
posted by Optimus Chyme at 12:46 PM on August 13, 2009
Response by poster: But as I said, I can not use a font of 59 pt size. The application where I want to use this font supports maxmium 24 pt size.
But in 24 pt size, I want a height of 25 mms. Is it possible or not? From the above comments, since pt size and mms are related, it does not seem to be possible.
posted by inquisitive at 9:44 PM on August 13, 2009
But in 24 pt size, I want a height of 25 mms. Is it possible or not? From the above comments, since pt size and mms are related, it does not seem to be possible.
posted by inquisitive at 9:44 PM on August 13, 2009
No, it's not possible, if you need confirmation: to sum up what's been said above, point sizes are heights.
It's a little more complicated than that obviously, but asking for 24 points to be 25mm is effectively asking for 10mm to be 25mm.
posted by AmbroseChapel at 10:48 PM on August 13, 2009
It's a little more complicated than that obviously, but asking for 24 points to be 25mm is effectively asking for 10mm to be 25mm.
posted by AmbroseChapel at 10:48 PM on August 13, 2009
Actually, I recall seeing Postscript type 1 or TrueType fonts where some ascenders or descenders went outside of the area defined as the body of the face (thus bigger than the selected point size). They often had trouble rendering on screen (the out-of-bounds parts sometimes were clipped when other lines were drawn) but printed just fine on a Postscript printer. Definitely not a recommended way to construct a font.
(I just went through my type library using Linotype FontExplorer and found a few crappy old freeware fonts which do indeed draw out-of-bounds. OS X's font renderer draws them properly, too, which wasn't the case back in the old days.)
posted by D.C. at 11:36 PM on August 13, 2009
(I just went through my type library using Linotype FontExplorer and found a few crappy old freeware fonts which do indeed draw out-of-bounds. OS X's font renderer draws them properly, too, which wasn't the case back in the old days.)
posted by D.C. at 11:36 PM on August 13, 2009
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posted by Optimus Chyme at 11:43 AM on August 13, 2009