nih-at / ttftot42

Use TrueType fonts with PostScript interpreters with TrueType rasterizers. (deprecated)

Development on this project has stopped. It will no longer be updated.

This is ttftot42, a program to facilitate using TrueType fonts on PostScript interpreters with TrueType rasterizer.

You need the FreeType library to compile and use it.

TrueType fonts cannot be converted to Type 1 fonts without loss of quality, since conversion introduces rounding errors and loses hinting information. Therefore, newer PostScript interpreters (Adobe PostScript since version 2013, ghostscript since 5.03) include a TrueType rasterizers. To use a TrueType font with them, it has to be embedded in a PostScript font dictionary; this format is called Type 42.

This program generates such Type 42 fonts from TrueType fonts. It can also generate Adobe Font Metrics files (AFM files), including kerning information.

Support for the creation of CID keyed fonts from large TrueType fonts (East Asian or Unicode fonts) is included in this version, but it is far from finished: AFM files are not created and glyph substitution for vertical writing mode and alternative glyph forms (e. g. localized versions of kanji) is not done, since support for it is not implemented in FreeType 1.2. Thus, the resulting fonts cannot be used in vertical writing mode.

Not yet supported are TrueType Collections.

If you make a binary distribution, please include a pointer to the distribution site: https://nih.at/ttftot42

The latest version can always be found there.

Mail suggestions and bug reports to [email protected].