[clue-tech] gimp fonts for [printed] graphics

[Jeff Cann]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

On Wednesday 22 December 2004 9:01 am, Matt Gushee wrote:
> Jeff Cann wrote:
> > I'm using gimp 2 to build CMYK flyers which will be printed at a press,
> > rather than to a color laser printer.
>
> Hmm ... last I heard, CMYK support in the GIMP was still rather crude.

I'm using the 'separate' plugin on gimp 2.0.  The author of this plugin just 
sent me the latest version.  It uses some Adobe palette information, which I 
hope will make it work well.  He tells me that he thought this feature would 
be included in Gimp 2.2, but now more likely in 2.3 or 2.4.

> But I haven't really checked lately; maybe it's usable these days. And
> you probably know this, but bitmap graphics are not great for print
> documents. Unfortunately, Linux doesn't yet have a vector graphics
> editor anywhere near as good as the GIMP.

Is photoshop a vector program?  Other people I know use it for CMYK.  Just 
curious.

>
> > Previously, we had created these brochures in open office, exported to
> > PDF and printed at kinkos.  The fonts looked clean.
> >
> > Now, using the same fonts in gimp, some fonts (esp italicised) look
> > jagged. This particular font is a true-type which I imported from a
> > windoze machine.
>
> Do they look jagged on screen or when you do a test print? 

Jagged on screen but decent on my [very old] HP Deskjet 722c.

> BTW, what fonts are you using? There are huge differences in quality
> among Windows TrueType fonts. The best of them, e.g. the Bitstream fonts
> that used to come with Corel Draw (still do?), are acceptable for
> professional print jobs. If you're using, say, Verdana, Georgia and
> such--they were really designed for the Web, so maybe they don't look so
> good at high resolution.

I am using Verdana so thanks for the tip on that font.  I'll find another one 
that will work for high-res.

> Hope this proves useful.

Yes, thanks Matt for the links.  Paying $50 for a good set of fonts is 
probably worth it.  I'll check it out.

Jeff

- -- 
"Faith that does not affect a person's culture is a faith not fully embraced, 
not entirely thought out, not faithfully lived."
- - Pope John Paul II

http://isuma.org/


-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.2.1 (GNU/Linux)

iD8DBQFBymQyi4b9OApLCmoRAr5MAJkB9VAcTbDX/IdUv5JhWmDfipzw4QCgiabZ
LkdNAzpdoClvUeHcK3cnABk=
=1dW4
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----