Universal Font Format Enhances User Experience and Integrates Print and Web Authoring Environments; Industry Endorses Open Standard and Font Embedding Solution
NEW YORK - April 23, 1997 - Adobe Systems Inc. and Microsoft Corp. today announced the availability of an OpenType™ font specification for developers and ISVs. OpenType is a universal typography solution co-developed by the two companies that combines today's leading Type 1 and TrueType font technologies. OpenType is a next-generation type format that streamlines font management, provides richer formatting options, and includes an integrated Internet publishing environment for font embedding and management for Internet-based applications. Unlike proprietary font embedding technologies, OpenType is an open, freely licensable solution for developers who want to build support into Web browsers and authoring tools. The OpenType specification is available on both the Adobe (http://www.adobe.com/) and Microsoft (http://www.microsoft.com/) Web sites.
Industry-leading font developers, including Agfa Typographic Systems and Monotype Typography Inc., have publicly endorsed OpenType and font embedding for high-quality typography across all publishing media and for protection of intellectual property rights.
These companies, as well as Adobe and Microsoft, plan to deliver OpenType typefaces by early 1998. Additionally, Microsoft today unveiled its first OpenType typeface, a new expanded-character set version of Hermann Zapf's Palatino. Zapf has overseen the project with Linotype-Hell AG at every stage. The new font was shown today in the Type Gallery at the Seybold Seminars New York 97 conference.
"OpenType unifies the best features of Type 1 and TrueType and brings all the benefits of traditional publishing to the Web," said Sharon Wienbar, director, Adobe type products.
"The publication of the OpenType specification is a huge step forward for type," said Tod Nielsen, general manager of the developer relations group at Microsoft. "The level of industry support makes it clear that OpenType will be the new universal font format. Microsoft and Adobe have worked hard to make this happen and to simplify life for anyone using fonts on computers."
Integrated Web Publishing
OpenType will provide an integrated authoring environment that allows publishers to use the same font and formatting features across media. OpenType fonts used in a traditional publishing environment can also be embedded into Web documents using lossless compression. This will allow designers' hinting and quality enhancements to be maintained, ensure highest-quality viewing and output, and substantially reduce file sizes for faster transmission of Web pages.
"OpenType clearly provides the highest-quality typographic solution for viewing and printing documents in all publishing environments, including the Internet," said Ira Mirochnick, Monotype president. "The Monotype Typeface Library will be available in the OpenType format."
In addition, OpenType fonts will protect designers' intellectual property by reporting to an authoring system how, and if, a font can be embedded. Unlike proprietary font-embedding technologies, OpenType is an open standard for developers who want to build support into Web browsers and authoring tools.
"Our customers' applications demand high-quality typeface designs," said Bob Givens, Agfa's vice president for typographic systems. "OpenType and font embedding will deliver the creative freedom content designers require, while fully protecting the intellectual property of font vendors."
Enhanced User Experience Across Multiple Platforms
The OpenType format will allow users to choose typefaces that meet their functional or aesthetic requirements rather than making choices based on the font format or computing platform. Developers can build OpenType faces with characteristics of either Type 1 or TrueType - for example, small file size or enhanced screen output. OpenType fonts will function the same on different computing platforms, including the Windows® 95 and Windows NT® operating systems and Macintosh, and can easily be moved across platforms without the compatibility issues that exist today.
Advanced Typography Capabilities
OpenType will provide richer formatting options to a single font. For example, document authors can select swash letters and small capitals without changing fonts and easily access ligatures and other alternate characters within a typeface. OpenType will also enable easy use of ligatures, better joining scripts, and enhanced metrics and kerning information to improve spacing, line breaks and justification.
International Character Support
OpenType provides complete international character support for TrueType and Type 1. This includes the ability to support multiple language groups in a single OpenType font, for example, Latin and Cyrillic. While OpenType will support the Unicode standard for character encoding, it provides the additional glyph selection features that are required to correctly set text in many languages. For example, Arabic requires both ligatures and contextual substitution to properly display the appropriate form of each character.
About Microsoft Corp.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.
About Adobe Systems
Based in San Jose, Calif., Adobe Systems Inc. develops and supports products to help people express and use information in more imaginative and meaningful ways, across all print and electronic media. Founded in 1982, Adobe helped launch the desktop publishing revolution. Today, the company offers a market-leading line of applications software and type products for creating and distributing visually rich communication materials; licenses its industry-standard technologies to major hardware manufacturers, software developers and service providers; and offers integrated software solutions to businesses of all sizes. For more information, see Adobe's home page at (http://www.adobe.com/) on the World Wide Web.
Microsoft, OpenType, Windows and Windows NT are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
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