Volume 16–1.pdf

60
Berthold:
High Fidelity in
Typographic
Communications
Matrix Nasties
BERTHOLD TYPES
In a recent ad, we mentioned that these days we
see ourselves more as a software house than an equip-
ment manufacturer.
While this argument entails a little licence on our
part, for we still design and manufacture a number of
our own products, we are quite happy to admit that
many basic items in our product line are bought in
from outside suppliers.
Then the equipment is modified with additional or
replacement hardware, and fitted with (or prepared for)
the hero of this ad, Berthold software.
Take our M-Series Workstations, for example. Using
Sun Microsystems terminals as a platform, we supply
the modified units with up to seven different software
packages, all according to the sort of work that is likely
to be produced.
AND NOW A WORD FROM OUR SPONSORS...
For the record, our equipment is immensely flexible;
it applies state-of-the-art technology yet is specifically
designed to provide exceptionally high fidelity typo-
graphic and graphic images as the final product.
Our typefaces are legendary, and we are without
doubt leading the field in professional electronic com-
position.
Let's suppose that a left-hand character group contains
r, v, w and y (due to their common shape on the
right of the characters) and a right-hand group contains
e, o, q, and s (because they have a round shape
at the top left). These two groups happen to be kerned
by six units.
All the combinations —re, ve, we, ye, ro, vo and so
on, set perfectly, with the exception of rs, which sets
too tightly.
If "rs" is entered as an over-ride pair with a kern
of three units, this value will take precedence over
the six-unit matrix value, without affecting all the
other "r" combinations.
Also, characters which infrequently require kerning
— such as g or numerals — may be entered as overrides
to avoid cluttering the matrix.
For instance, "gg" nearly always requires a slight
positive kern, while "74"frequently needs adjustment—
more or less alone among numerals. In the matrix,
inclusion of each of these combinations would use up
31 potential positions, but as over-rides they take up
just two positions.
And with all that neatly out of the way, we can get
on with the software; telling you exactly what can be
done with our systems.
A subject, we are sure, that your eyeballs are just
itching to explore.
IN THE BEGINNING THERE WAS... PROFIPAGE
The main operational software for our work-
stations is "ProfiPage (Don't ask where the name
came from, just applaud its originality...)
Although it originated as far back as 1967 as
the operating system for our diatronic machines,
ProfiPage has undergone continuous develop-
ment for each subsequent equipment generation.
But throughout all this, the operating logic —
the underlying typographic techniques — have
stayed in place, simply being expanded to take
account of the increasing flexibility and
dramatic increases in speed and sophisti-
cation that the electronic technology has
allowed us to implement over the years.
ProfiPage enables an operator to pro-
duce any style or type of setting that is
required, but also serves as a gateway to
other, more specialized programs.
Tasks such as type size calculation (to
the nearest hundredth of a millimeter cap
height), automatic programming of inferior
and superior figures, manual kerning, auto-
matic paragraph indentation — visually if
you like, recalculation of text to new para-
meters, management of auxiliary memories
and input and output operations, job and typographic
data storage and recall are all part of the program.
EVERY WHICH WAY...
ProfiPage enables typesetting to be produced in
various ways: by using specific positional area co-
ordinates — with each component element being
placed exactly where designated by the operator —
or in a formatted column style which is ideal for
multiple-page documents, such as reports, bro-
chures, books and so on.
In the Berthold Workstation environment, Profi-
Page allows complete flexibility of positioning of
graphic and typographic elements in the electronic
composition context.
So if you want something slanted, sloped, upside
down, back to front, you've got it.
There are five major support programs that
work with ProfiPage: Aesthetik 2, Ruling, Contour,
Exception Hyphenation and TexConnection.
All are remarkable for their ease of use and
flexibility. And more important, they turn a setting
system that is already highly flexible and sophisti-
cated into an absolute winner.
AESTHETIKS: IN THE EVE OF THE BEHOLDER
We hate to sound like we're forever blowing our
trumpet, but there again we're paying for this ad, so
we do have the right.
Taking off our "modest" hat, we reckon that
our most outstanding software achievement is the
Aesthetik 2 program: it not only increases productivity,
but simultaneously improves typographic quality.
There are very few products that can honestly claim
to fit that description.
But before you admit to being impressed, you'll want
to know how it works.
Groups of similarly-shaped characters are placed
within a definable 16x16 matrix (which includes the word
space), so that complete groups are kerned together.
By also providing a priority category which can take
up to 128 additional pairs — which also override matrix
pairs — users are able to both reduce wasteful matrix
usage and eliminate matrix-derived "nasties" (see sidebar).
Another function of the program allows as many as
77 characters to be specially positioned against the right
and left margins.
This enables characters such as W, T, Y to be visually —
rather than mechanically — aligned, and punctuation to
be visually (and automatically) "hung:
And these adjustments work for indents and within
tables and forms, too.
More good news: as all our kerning is defined in
relative units, kerning and adjustments are effective
regardless of the size of type being set.
With our typefaces unitized on a basis of 192 units,
Aesthetik 2 grants unmatchable flexibility.
IBM is o registered trademark, and PS/ 2 is a trademark of IBM Inc. Framework III is a trademark of Ashton-Tate Corporation.