A postscript font is a scalable outline font that meets a specific Adobe Software specification. Postscript fonts match the Type 1 fonts that are needed for a PostScript printer. Type 1 is one of over a dozen different types that are part of the Adobe Fonts. Their scalable nature means that regardless of zooming, the font stays sharp and clearly visible. There aren’t any visible jars or cuts, and no aliasing effect is visible the way it would be on a bitmapped font.
Technipages Explains Postscript Font
Speaking of bitmapped fonts – they often print with crude edges and curves, a result of the negative impact that aliasing has, and one that PostScript printing avoids entirely. Their outline font technology results in smoother letters that a printer can then render at the highest possible resolution. PostScript fonts each come with a screen font and a print font – the screen font simulates the exact appearance of the font on the screen, while the print font is the one that is used for printing. The print font is not stored on the computer but rather installed on the printer – either by default or by manually downloading and installing it to the machine.
Visually, the two types of fonts are identical, but they are, in fact, separate. In the case of PostScript fonts, it’s possible that without the corresponding Adobe Type Manager software, a computer might end up showing PostScript fonts with jagged edges on a screen. The software adds support for its scalable properties. Type 1 fonts are natively supported in modern software environments like Windows and Mac now.
Common Uses of Postscript Font
- PostScript fonts are the font format for single-byte digital fonts.
- PostScript fonts used to be proprietary but were released from that some time ago.
- A lot of popular fonts like Helvetica are PostScript fonts.
Common Misuses of Postscript Font
- A PostScript font is one that has special effects applied to it after the text is typed out, but before it is printed.
