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johnl58670991
johnl58670991
Inspiring
May 24, 2022
Answered

OpenType - PS

  • May 24, 2022
  • 2 replies
  • 1346 views

Hello,

I've been doing a search in Suitacse for PostScript fonts to get an idea of what's eventually going to be of no use with my Adobe suite. I've noticed that I have quite a large selection of OpenType-PS fonts. I'm assuming the PS stands for PostScript? Will these font types still be supported? Many thanks.

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer jmlevy

    Yes, they will.

    2 replies

    Andrew Strauss
    Andrew Strauss
    Participating Frequently
    June 27, 2022

    The quick answer:


    Any font that Suitcase labels as ‘OpenType–PS’ is a genuine OpenType font. These font files will continue working after the Adobe applications that you use drop support for PostScript Type 1 fonts.


    The more detailed answer:


    Back in the 1980s and 1990s, two digital font formats became popular:


    • Adobe’s PostScript Type 1;
    • Apple and Microsoft’s TrueType.


    Each format had its own particular advantages, and each used a slightly different mathematical approach to describing the shapes of a font’s characters.


    The OpenType format was introduced in the mid-1990s with several new features:


    • Unicode: a universal character encoding standard;
    • Support for multiple languages with large character sets;
    • Universal support for different operating systems;
    • The ability to make it easy for typefoundries to convert their existing fonts into the new OpenType format.


    The result was two major formats of OpenType font files: ‘OpenType CFF’ and ‘OpenType TT’. OpenType CFF (Compact Font Format) – sometimes known as ‘OpenType PS’ – are fonts that are built using PostScript font data. OpenType TT fonts are built using TrueType font data.


    And that’s the basic reason why many users are so confused today about the nuances between various font files they have installed on their systems. You could have both a PostScript Type 1 font and an OpenType CFF (OpenType PS) font installed on your computer – each with exactly the same PostScript font data – and they’d both work just fine today.


    But in the future: the font files in the PostScript Type 1 format will no longer be actively supported. Be assured: any font files in the OpenType CFF (OpenType PS) format that are installed on your system will continue to work. It’s just that software like Suitcase will still somehow identify those OpenType fonts as being somehow ‘PostScript’, because the font data they contain shares some of the same digital information as their PostScript Type 1 predecessors do.


    I hope that answers your question. If not, please let me know.


    Best regards
    Andrew


    –30–

     

     

    ANDREW KEITH STRAUSS / ACTP / CTT+ / ACI / ACE / ACP
    johnl58670991
    johnl58670991Author
    Inspiring
    June 27, 2022

    Many thanks for the in-depth reply, Andrew. That's reassuring. 

     

    Andrew Strauss
    Andrew Strauss
    Participating Frequently
    July 12, 2022

    It’s a pleasure. Font standards can get esoteric and abstract quite quickly; the idea that an OpenType font can also be a PostScript font can be quite confusing.


    Hopefully, the typefaces that you use regularly are all available in OpenType CFF format. If you still need to work with layouts dependent upon PostScript Type 1 fonts, you have a number of choices on how to adapt. Or not.


    One simple method: keep older machines in operation for those times when you need to access or work on archival working layouts. That’s what I’ve done for years.


    That means if you have an old client approach you to ask for the same work with minor alterations, you don’t have to rebuild the work from scratch to accommodate them. Just open a copy of the original file in the version of software you used to build it, make the necessary changes, and you’re done.


    Best regards
    Andrew


    –30–

     

     

    ANDREW KEITH STRAUSS / ACTP / CTT+ / ACI / ACE / ACP
    jmlevy
    Community Expert
    jmlevyCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
    Community Expert
    May 24, 2022

    Yes, they will.

      johnl58670991
      johnl58670991Author
      Inspiring
      May 26, 2022

      Magic. Thank you.

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